shore power and battery maintenance

K

Kevin White

Active member
Joined
Sep 8, 2020
Messages
39
Fluid Motion Model
C-248 C
Hello Tuggers. Should I run shore power to keep my batteries charged during long term storage? I read the battery charger manual and I gleaned that it is a smart charger and will keep the batteries charged and maintained without overcharging. Is this true and is it a good idea to keep the shore power plugged in during long storage periods?
Thanks,
Wildest Dreams
 
Batteries can get damage or their life will be reduced if allowed to discharge too much. I recommend keeping it plugged in if possible, this is what we do at the slips
 
Kevin, we keep our 25 Classic on shore power all winter to power the two A/C heaters and two dehumidifiers in the boat. On our 5th winter doing so without issues. Thruster/Windlass and Engine rotary switches off and House rotary switch on. The ACRs will keep the start and thruster batteries charged even with the rotary switches off. We keep the battery charger and two outlets switched on at the A/C panel and everything on the DC panel switched off. Make sure your batteries are full if you have flooded batteries.
 
Same for us... boat lives on a trailer on our driveway connected to shorepower 24/7. We keep inverter, thruster and motor switches turned off, and house bank on. Shorepower on, charge batteries on, port and starboard outlets on, and electric stove outlet on with Kenyon stowed... I use this outlet for a bilge heater and other outlets for (2) fan heaters in cabin / v-berth for heat and air movement. It works great!

The Doghouse 2
 
Does it matter if the rotary switches are on or off? I thought the batteries charged either way.
 
JamesC28, It doesn’t matter for battery charging if the rotary switches are on or off. My purpose in turning the thruster/windlass and engine rotary switches off is to prevent electrical or potential fire issues if anything “downstream” of the rotary switches had a problem over the winter. Like, heaven forbid, a mouse chewing on wiring while the boat was in storage.
 
Thank you almanac, Jamesc28, scross and doghouse22. I live in Ojai, CA so I won't have a problem with freezing temps too often. My soul purpose is to keep the batts healthy and happy. So, it sounds like, in my case, I should have everything on the DC panel off and the batt charger switch on the AC panel, on. All Rotary switches off. I won't need any outlets or anything else while she's tucked away down my side drive. I have AGMs. Thanks again. It's a new boat with lots of bells and whistles and I don't know how to ring or blow all of them yet; probably won't ever either. I'm just trying to get to know my boat and I want to learn all I can before we do a big trip. The inner passage and the great loop and points around and in between are on the ticket three years from now. Hope to have it all dialed in by then. 🙂
 
Kevin, I'm sure, as you've already seen, Tugnuts is a great resource for any level of boater.

Although you might not have issues with freezing, your cabin environment will most likely differ from the outside. That being said, keeping a modest heat source that has air movement will help prevent mildew.

The Doghouse 2
 
Kevin,
Completely agree with The Doghouse 2 about need to keep inside of boat as dry as possible during the winter.
We use two of these to keep air flowing and humidity lower.
https://www.fisheriessupply.com/caframo ... r-with-fan
To minimize humidity in the bilge, I suggest pulling the keel drain plug and putting in a GoldenRod heater even though you are not worried about freezing temps. On my 25 Classic I open the cabin entry step to allow air to circulate between the cabin and bilge compartment and as a path to run the electrical cord between the outlet in the cabin and the GoldenRod in the bilge.
https://www.cabelas.com/shop/en/goldenr ... difier-rod
To run those items is why I leave two A/C outlets turned on at the A/C panel.
 
Thank you scross. I read you loud and clear and will get the air circulator and golden rod. Where do you place the golden rod in the bilge? Anywhere in particular?
Kevin
 
Kevin,
Here’s where my GoldenRod heater is positioned.
gallery2.php?g2_itemId=76471

The little black stands are pushed close together and rest on the gearbox so the rod itself isn’t touching anything.

PS: Also remember to store the boat with the mast up! Very important step to keep water out of the radar dome!!
 
Maybe I should have mentioned the battery charger. I have the ProMariner ProTech 1220i Automatic Marine Battery Charger. I also have 4, AGM batteries, Group 27. Is the charger I have the kind of charger that won't over cook my batteries. I have the buttons set to the factory suggestions. Should I leave it plugged in when I have it in storage?
 
Kevin White":2m0be0qd said:
Maybe I should have mentioned the battery charger. I have the ProMariner ProTech 1220i Automatic Marine Battery Charger. I also have 4, AGM batteries, Group 27. Is the charger I have the kind of charger that won't over cook my batteries. I have the buttons set to the factory suggestions. Should I leave it plugged in when I have it in storage?
Click to expand...

The charger will maintain the individual batteries and not (COOK) the batteries if they are not combined. That is the important component not combined. The charger has three charging outputs + with a common ground. The charger "senses" the batteries charging needs and will charge an individual bank has needed (if they are not combined). The variable is the ACR's will combine all banks when the voltage requirements are met. If all batteries are conditionally the same and there are no discharges from any banks this will probably not be an issue. If one battery or battery bank is marginal the charger will charge at a rate to maintain the weakest link and could (COOK) the other batteries. There is a easy solution for this during storage if the charger is to be used. Disable the ACR's. This can be done by removing the ground wire terminal 16 ga wire. With the ACR's removed from the charging system the charger will charge each bank individually.
 
Thank you Brian. I have had the battery charger plugged in over night and when I checked it in the morning it the "Ready" led light was on. So, I think it's working well. The AGMs I have are new and I have used them for 4 hours so far.
I'm not sure exactly what an ACR is, but from you information above, the charger I have has 3 charging outputs. The battery bank has two batteries for the house an engine battery and a thruster battery. I would assume that the two house batteries are on one output and the other two on the others. Thank you for your expertise. I want to learn as much as I can.
 
Kevin White":3g254sqg said:
Thank you Brian. I have had the battery charger plugged in over night and when I checked it in the morning it the "Ready" led light was on. So, I think it's working well. The AGMs I have are new and I have used them for 4 hours so far.
I'm not sure exactly what an ACR is, but from you information above, the charger I have has 3 charging outputs. The battery bank has two batteries for the house an engine battery and a thruster battery. I would assume that the two house batteries are on one output and the other two on the others. Thank you for your expertise. I want to learn as much as I can.
Click to expand...

ACR- Automatic Charge relay. https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q ... vEJlqo-T4b

The charger should be wired to three battery banks House ( normally 2 batteries) thruster ( normally 1 Battery) engine (normally 1 battery) The charger will charge based on the needs of each bank as long as each bank is isolated from the other.

The ACR's if used will combine all batteries if the conditions are satisfied. When this happens the charger is charging the batteries as one bank. With new batteries and no amperage draw from any bank it probably doesn't matter if they are all paralleled together by the ACR's but I prefer to keep them isolated if I am planning on long term storage charging. Just my opinion.
 
Thank you Brian. I really appreciate your expertise. I feel confident moving forward with keeping the shore power connected and battery charger on full time.
 
Ideally if you are wrapping boat for winter batteries should be removed and kept on a bench somewhere they can be monitored. I have seen many batteries destroyed over the winter from a "maintainer" as well as acid damage from vented FLA cells. Float voltages should be in the 13 - 13.5 volt range. I have tested many chargers and maintainers both auto and marine that say after battery is full they drop to a float voltage level - this is not always the case and needs to be verified. I have documented some "maintaining" batteries between 16 and 17 volts. This is even higher than an "equalizing" charge should be and that is normally only done for an hour or so depending on the A/H rating of bank.

One option is putting your charger on a timer to come on for an hour or so per day.

Regards,

Rob
 
The charger will maintain the individual batteries and not (COOK) the batteries if they are not combined. That is the important component not combined. The charger has three charging outputs + with a common ground. The charger "senses" the batteries charging needs and will charge an individual bank has needed (if they are not combined). The variable is the ACR's will combine all banks when the voltage requirements are met. If all batteries are conditionally the same and there are no discharges from any banks this will probably not be an issue. If one battery or battery bank is marginal the charger will charge at a rate to maintain the weakest link and could (COOK) the other batteries. There is a easy solution for this during storage if the charger is to be used. Disable the ACR's. This can be done by removing the ground wire terminal 16 ga wire. With the ACR's removed from the charging system the charger will charge each bank individually.
Click to expand...

This is just not true.....the only way it would be true if your smart charger actually has multiple voltage regulators and multiple power supplies inside it, then a switch in the negative lead can allow the charger to charge each bank with its own fully independent charge profile.
 
snydzy":1ickpkn9 said:
The charger will maintain the individual batteries and not (COOK) the batteries if they are not combined. That is the important component not combined. The charger has three charging outputs + with a common ground. The charger "senses" the batteries charging needs and will charge an individual bank has needed (if they are not combined). The variable is the ACR's will combine all banks when the voltage requirements are met. If all batteries are conditionally the same and there are no discharges from any banks this will probably not be an issue. If one battery or battery bank is marginal the charger will charge at a rate to maintain the weakest link and could (COOK) the other batteries. There is a easy solution for this during storage if the charger is to be used. Disable the ACR's. This can be done by removing the ground wire terminal 16 ga wire. With the ACR's removed from the charging system the charger will charge each bank individually.
Click to expand...

This is just not true.....the only way it would be true if your smart charger actually has multiple voltage regulators and multiple power supplies inside it, then a switch in the negative lead can allow the charger to charge each bank with its own fully independent charge profile.
Click to expand...

Snydzy,
I can't dispute your claim because I have not proven your theory. I posted what I was told by a service representative at ProMariner. Last winter I did an electrical presentation at the SW Florida rendezvous. There has been many threads about this subject on Tugnuts so I thought I would pick the brain of a person from the manufacturer. I explained that I was giving a presentation and wanted the facts. I specifically asked can the unit profile each battery and maintain accordingly with a common ground if the ACR's are in service. His short answer was "no". My next question was will it profile each battery if the ACR's are not in service? His short answer was "yes" His long answer provided the explanation of why. My statement above was based on the information I received from Promariner. If you have different information from the manufacture about the design and function of the unit than I apologize for posted incorrect information. I was stating what was explained to me by ProMariner representative not my opinion.
 
Brian,
I’ll link you to this article by Marine How to.... https://marinehowto.com/automatic-charging-relays/
Specifically myth & lore number #10...” all batteries get the exact same charge profile just as they would if you fed charger output #1 to HOUSE and then used an ACR to charge the START battery.” The illustrations should make it clear...
 
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