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Started By
Message
Why would a boat battery die, even with a master switch?
Posted on 7/29/24 at 1:22 am
Posted on 7/29/24 at 1:22 am
I keep my xpress in the water at the marina. For a while, there was some kind of parasitic draw, and every time I'd check on the boat, every few weeks, the battery would be dead. I recently installed a master kill switch, basically a store brand perko switch. I figured that would solve my issue, yet the battery still is drained pretty much every time I check on it. What am I not getting here?
11
Posted on 7/29/24 at 4:26 am to indytiger
How old is your battery ? They deteriorate over time and go bad.
Could you possibly still have something connected to it that drains it ?
Could you possibly still have something connected to it that drains it ?
Posted on 7/29/24 at 5:42 am to indytiger
Sounds like your battery has some cells that are dead.
Posted on 7/29/24 at 6:39 am to indytiger
Lead acid batteries .... once they've been depleted to zero, they're done. You can sometimes bring them back using a welder but .... best thing to do is turn it in, hope for some credit, and get a new one.
Leave a trickle charger on the next one when not in use. They make solar chargers for marina use.
I've been told that steel, aluminum and concrete floors suck energy out of batteries but I dunno.
Never let a lead acid deep cycle battery go to zero ... they have memories.
The master kill switch is a good idea or you might just disconnect one of the posts. Still, once drained, it doesn't matter. It's going to want to go back to zero regardless.
Leave a trickle charger on the next one when not in use. They make solar chargers for marina use.
I've been told that steel, aluminum and concrete floors suck energy out of batteries but I dunno.
Never let a lead acid deep cycle battery go to zero ... they have memories.
The master kill switch is a good idea or you might just disconnect one of the posts. Still, once drained, it doesn't matter. It's going to want to go back to zero regardless.
Posted on 7/29/24 at 6:43 am to indytiger
Most bilge pumps are direct wired fyi, I’ve heard of other items being direct wired like electronics also as some people prefer that. Did you look to see if that’s the case? Assuming you did if you stalled a master switch.
Posted on 7/29/24 at 7:48 am to indytiger
I've found that a battery tender always connected makes the battery last well past their expiration date. I replaced one last year that was a 2017 & it was still decent. Just didn't trust it anymore.
Posted on 7/29/24 at 8:07 am to indytiger
Batteries eventually go bad. Charger may also be bad. May still be some sort of parasitic load. I would bet on it simply having gone bad. I have 5 lead acic batteries in my duck/fishing boat and 5 in my RV. All are connected to smart chargers. None last more than a couple of years. They eventually get to the point that they will not take a charge. I buy the cheapest ones WalMart sales. I usually replace the boat batteries every February whether they need it or not because experience has taught me that they will start causing problems by July if I do not. I have kept the ones in the RV a couple of years but I play that by ear...if my automatic step or slideouts start acting silly I know the batteries are dead or dying and replace them.
Posted on 7/29/24 at 8:12 am to scrooster
quote:
I've been told that steel, aluminum and concrete floors suck energy out of batteries but I dunno.
I have always thought this was true but apparently there is no data to support it. I always keep batteries off concrete and have a plastic box to isolate them from my aluminum hull. Batteries are usually stored on steel racks and installed on steel racks in industrial settings so I doubt they discharge on steel racks BUT I have always kept them off concrete. I don't know if it helps or not but I have been told numerous times that concrete was a bad idea...again, not hard data that I am aware of but 50+ years of habit is hard to break.
I suspect batteries in a boat in a marina and in the water all the time can discharge to the atmosphere...high humidity. I do not know this for a fact but it seems like something that could happen.
Posted on 7/29/24 at 8:18 am to baldona
quote:
Most bilge pumps are direct wired fyi, I’ve heard of other items being direct wired like electronics also as some people prefer that. Did you look to see if that’s the case? Assuming you did if you stalled a master switch.
At least one bilge pump, in my opinion, should be hard wired. Overcurrent protection is required but should be a breaker and readily accessible, especially in a boat that is kept in the water. Some folks install them without fusing but to me that is as risky as a blown fuse...sinking or burning to the water line. Sinking, in a slip, is usually not catastrophic if the motor is not submerged, and even then may not be, burning to the waterline is about as bad as it gets.
Posted on 7/29/24 at 10:17 am to AwgustaDawg
How is a battery that is covered in plastic know what floor it’s on? Seems fairly easy for manufactures to install rubber feet or someone to sell a battery base if it was really an issue
Posted on 7/29/24 at 10:31 am to indytiger
quote:
I recently installed a master kill switch
Did you put this kill switch on the positive side or the negative side of the battery?
Posted on 7/29/24 at 11:03 am to Shexter
quote:
Did you put this kill switch on the positive side or the negative side of the battery?
Positive. Was I wrong?
Posted on 7/29/24 at 11:12 am to indytiger
Pull everything off the negative post and put a test light between the wires and the post. If it lights up you have a draw. No light, no draw. A marginal battery will die sitting on a shelf unhooked rather quickly.
Posted on 7/29/24 at 11:42 am to baldona
quote:
How is a battery that is covered in plastic know what floor it’s on? Seems fairly easy for manufactures to install rubber feet or someone to sell a battery base if it was really an issue
I agree. I do not think there is anything to it but I have always made an effort to keep batteries off concrete LOL. I have done some minor "research" into it and there is no data to support the idea but a lot of people believe it.
Posted on 7/29/24 at 11:48 am to indytiger
I have had 2 boats with mystery draws. Drove me nuts. Current boat shows zero draw after turning off the master at the console. So nice to not have to install a Perko in the bilge and for my Power Pole to have its own dedicated switch. .
Posted on 7/30/24 at 8:32 am to indytiger
Boat wiring over time gets wild. I would try to run through all electronics just to be sure.
Posted on 7/30/24 at 8:53 am to indytiger
buy a new boat
Posted on 7/30/24 at 9:33 pm to Deep Purple Haze
I had a set of std 12 volt batteries blow up on an rv. About like a hand grenade. Low water levels provide space of H2 to build up and an internal spark goes bang
Posted on 7/31/24 at 5:06 am to Trevaylin
quote:
I had a set of std 12 volt batteries blow up on an rv. About like a hand grenade. Low water levels provide space of H2 to build up and an internal spark goes bang
Had it happen in a pickup once when I connected the positive jumper cable...it scared the hell out of me. I was 15 at the time and helping a girl at school....luckily it was an old batterie and was mostly water. Not much worse than a minor sunburn but it was terrifying.
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