Winterized, Batteries & Charger

H

HappyPlace

Well-known member
Joined
Feb 11, 2016
Messages
145
Fluid Motion Model
C-302 SC
Hull Identification Number
FMLT3133A414
Vessel Name
Happy Place
Good evening all,

This is our first winter with our 2014 R31 CB and Happy Place was pulled out of the bay on Friday, where she will sit covered for a few months. Oil, filters, fuel filters, impellers changed as well as freshwater system winterized. Planning on having her shrink wrapped in a few days to weather out the Northeast winter elements.

I have a couple questions regarding the AGM batteries and charger. I noticed that a few pieces of equipment are wired prior to the battery switch, such as the propane switch, ammeter and CO monitors. I am assuming that a few months without being charged these will probably draw too much and damage the house batteries. I have a few options and would like some input.

1. Locate the fuses for the running equipment and remove them.
2. Disconnect the negative side of the house batteries.
3. Transport my generator to the marina every few weeks and let the onboard charger work for awhile.

I haven't seen where the boat was placed, so it is possible that I am close enough to one of the slip outlets at the marina, negating the need to transport my generator. If I disconnect the batteries, do they still need a trickle charge over the winter? In the past, I have brought all batteries home and left them on a charger, but they were not the AGM type. If I run down to charge them every so often it would give me an opportunity to check on the boat and perhaps get a few spring tasks done early, but I wasn't sure if this was necessary if I were to remove the fuses. Lastly, does anyone know if the charger charges the batteries when the main battery switches are in the Off position?

Thoughts, opinions?

I like to take preemptive measures when it comes to maintenance and safety. I appreciate any and all input, as I consider myself a rookie in this department!

Regards,
Al Sr.
 
Al,
This is my first winter with my 2012 R27 as well. Do you have a solar panel ?
After shrinkwrapping, my solar panel still generates and puts out a charging amperage of 1/2 to 1 amp. I have brought this up on a recent posting and the consensus is that it should be enough. Someone recommended that I turn the parallel switch ON to be sure all the batteries are getting charged. (All my other battery switches are off.) My boat is only three miles away so I get over to visit pretty regularly.

In discussion with my guy at the boatyard, he could have used a section of clear shrinkwrap on top to boost the solar capacity.

I did pull my CO and Propane fuses.
Check out my other post. viewtopic.php?f=5&t=8400

I'm sure we'll get some more comments.
rich
 
Good morning Rich,

FYI, no solar setup on our boat, so I do not have a constant charge. I decided against adding this feature, as even on the hook I would prefer to run the genset at least once per day to put a load on it. At the rendezvous in Cambridge, MD this past summer, the mechanic recommended running it every time we went out and to make sure we put a load on it as well. He advised against saving the hours so to speak of and that it would be beneficial to keep things lubricated, etc. With that said, there is not much reason for the solar system with our boating style.

I suppose I could look at the ammeter to see how much of a draw it has if I disconnected the fuse on the remaining devices to figure out how much time I might have between charges. I don't like taking too many chances with them, as they are expensive to replace and we reply on them when out.

We are a little over an hour away from the marina. Not too bad of a commute, but I was looking for the easiest, most beneficial way to handle this problem.

Al Sr.
 
Ammeter... I don't have one. That would be a good (or fun) thing to have. All I have is volts.

I started to think about where you might be keep ing Happy Place and then you mentioned Cambridge and it occurred to me. Husband, wife and Al Sr..... Were you tied up next to us? We were on the Bay Ranger (under new management) Blue Hull R27.

rich
 
Quite frankly, when I had my boat up in the Northeast for the winter I used that time to disconnect the batteries and brought them to the house and left them on my workbench. I checked them once a month and they were fine. In the spring I cleaned all the terminals on the batteries and the connections, reconnected everything, applied corrosion block and I was good to go. No need to worry about what may be draining the batteries etc.

I would take a picture of you batteries before disconnecting and I also zip tied the wires together and marked which terminal they went to. Never had an issue on the reconnect.

Then there is the alternative of leaving the boat in Florida for the winter. 😀
 
Yes, I believe so! Husband, wife, father in-law, and Roscoe the Border Terrier!

rpmerrill":22zxdtrq said:
Ammeter... I don't have one. That would be a good (or fun) thing to have. All I have is volts.

I started to think about where you might be keep ing Happy Place and then you mentioned Cambridge and it occurred to me. Husband, wife and Al Sr..... Were you tied up next to us? We were on the Bay Ranger (under new management) Blue Hull R27.

rich
Click to expand...
 
I have poster on the topic of the roll of the parallel switch in a previous thread (Solar Parallel Questions). Quoting from the R-27 and the R29 manuals, section "POWER DISTRIBUTION PANEL (P.D.P)
PARALLEL SWITCH: " Once the EMERGENCY PARALLEL switch is placed in the on position the power from the HOUSE batteries will be transferred to the ENGINE battery. Use only for EMERGENCY." This page of the manuals also shows an image of the battery switches. I note that the parallel switch image in both manuals shows a single on position, not a #1 and a #2 setting. (The #1 and # 2 position switch may be a factory modification introduced for tugs produced after the user manual was written). For my 2012 R27 the manual information is correct.
My point is that without checking for your tug, do not depend on the parallel switch linking all batteries, engine, house and thruster, into a single bank. However, if sufficient circuit voltage is present, the ACRs will establish the complete linking. On the topic of ACR , note that each ACR has a typical open current draw of 15 mA. This draw will contribute to battery charge draw down during storage, that is during non-charging periods.
 
Yup, Osprey raised a good point about the ACR's. I did a little bit or reading after he mentioned it and, as I understand it, the ACR's need to sense a voltage differential caused by the charger (over and above the battery voltage) in order to open (close) the relays. Once the relays make the connection, they stay connected with no voltage drop between the separate batteries and the charger. Thus they will all charge equally. But he raises a good point about the idea of a "guaranteed" jumper.

I do think that the parallel switch does the same thing, but I'm not entirely sure. I'm waiting and watching to see.
 
During storage it is a relatively easy procedure to connect a temporary, moderate wattage solar panel to your boat's battery circuits. Coleman is but one company which markets suitable panels . These panels come complete with stand and a controller. A 40 watt panel would be more that enough power to keep the boats batteries fully charged.
 
From time to time a factory representative helps to straighten out (clarify) views of owners. I think we could benefit from a factory clarification on the action of the battery parallel switch i.e. this switch connects what to what?
 
Parallel switch joins the house to the engine. So if your engine dies you just flip to parallel and the engine should start. However, if the engine battery is below (I think) 11 volts or less the ACR won't engage the battery until it is above the minimum voltage threshold. Therefore, if your house battery needed to be put in parallel then you should leave it on until your engine battery is charged up. If you switch it off after you start the engine will just quit.

Under normal circumstances the ACR's will open and close accordingly when the charger is on or the engine running as long as the batteries are in a healthy charge.

Hope this clarifies things.
 
My policy on all of my boats and Rv's I've owned with complicated or simple battery systems is to remove them, take them home where I have a heated garage, and move a smart battery charger from battery to battery to assure that each gets topped up once every 6 weeks. It has worked well for me for 28 years. But some of you have boats with huge batter banks and accessibility can be an issue.
 
harry ames":29e5la7w said:
My policy on all of my boats and Rv's I've owned with complicated or simple battery systems is to remove them, take them home where I have a heated garage, and move a smart battery charger from battery to battery to assure that each gets topped up once every 6 weeks. It has worked well for me for 28 years. But some of you have boats with huge batter banks and accessibility can be an issue.
Click to expand...

Ditto - I made up a wire that joins the batteries together and with one connection from the charger they all get topped off at once. And as I said in my previous post it gives you the opportunity to clean all the posts and wire connections on the boat.
 
Here's a great web site that address this issue in detail: http://www.pbase.com/mainecruising/self_discharge
His main points are that a fully charged battery will not freeze until -70, cold weather is better than warm weather for a battery, do not leave unattended batteries in a boat on a continuous charge.
Check out all the articles on the web site, great info and Winter reading.
 
After reviewing many of the posts throughout the site and web, I have decided to leave the batteries connected on the boat. I have disconnected the fuses from the CO monitors, LP relay, etc. My ammeter indicates the batteries are at 100% and other than the meter itself, there appears to be no draw on them. Even though the boat will be shrink wrapped, I would want to check on it throughout the winter. If I go every three weeks, that will only be five trips. When I visit, I can hook up to shore power and let the onboard charger run for a couple hours, while I work, clean or read a little. It will give me piece of mind making the visits.

Thanks for all the input!!!! Very helpful and enlightening!

Al Sr.
 
To be sure no battery goes bad and shorts out then takes all the others with it, or any other issues occurs I disconnect all the negative, yellow, wires from the batteries. Then for sure no current will flow. Negative lines easier to work with than ththe red lines that have fuses etc.
 
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