Laugh at my battery mishap (then tell me what to do)

[Ribs77]

Welp... I may have goofed up my battery.

Long story short - I store my boat at a family farm about 180 miles from my house during the winter. It's in a covered barn guarded by a cat, and it's free, which is a really good price.

I have the boat all tarped up and covered, with moisture wicking buckets inside and a Noco Genius tender on the battery. Except... I didn't realize that when you turn the lights off in the barn, the outlet also turns off

Last winter, the boat was only there from February-April, so the effect of the charger not charging the battery didn't come into play. The boat was charged up enough when I retrieved it that it was fine. I didn't notice, anyway.

This year, I brought the boat down there in October. In December, I uncovered the boat to hang out inside and drink some beers. The radio worked, so I guess it was still charged enough. Here's where the goof comes in.

After hanging out in the boat drinking beers with family, I left the battery set to "ON" by accident. It was still plugged into the Noco, however, so I didn't think it would be a problem. Well, I finally had a chance to go check and turn the battery OFF, but I noticed that the Noco was indicating almost no charge (slow, pulsing red). This is when the lightbulb went off (in my head, this time) and I realized that I hadn't been charging the battery at all.

I found an outlet in the adjacent shop that will stay on all the time and got the boat plugged in for real, but how screwed is my battery from all this sub-optimal draining and storage?

 

[FSH 210 Sport]

Depends on what the voltage was when you found it really low. If it was down in the 8 volt range its toast.. or on borrowed time.

I assume it is a group 24 flooded lead acid battery? Is it a dual purpose battery? E.G. start / deep cycle?

You say you have a noco charger hooked up to it, how many amp noco charger is it?

Once its charged up use a hydrometer on the cells to check the specific gravity on all of the cells, this is two fold, to make sure the specific gravity is where it should be and to see if the cell to cell measurements are different, if the cell to cell measurements vary then run a manual equalizing charge, your noco charger should have that ability. When that is done recheck the cells for balance and the specific gravity should have come up as well. Don’t start a manual equalization charge and walk away, it doesn’t take that long anyway. Important, make sure the battery switch is off.

These specific gravity checks should be done throughout the boating season anyway to get the most out of your battery for both performance and for longevity.

 

[Ribs77]

Hmm, I don't know where the voltage was at. I was sort of creeping under the cover and tarps without wanting to fully unwrap the boat - so I didn't turn the key on to see what the voltage indicated would be. Didn't think to do that, either.

I'm now back in Seattle, but I may be back at the barn next weekend, in which case I'll see if it took a charge. To be honest, using a hydrometer (which I don't have) to check liquid in the battery is beyond my pay grade - at that point, I'll probably just buy a new battery.

Is there a more lowbrow way to know if the battery is toast? Other than getting stuck out on the water, which I'm trying to avoid? (I have a battery jump pack that I always bring with me, but... I'd rather not risk it.)

I won't be launching the boat until late April or early May, so there's no rush on this.

 

[jcb1977]

Hmm, I don't know where the voltage was at. I was sort of creeping under the cover and tarps without wanting to fully unwrap the boat - so I didn't turn the key on to see what the voltage indicated would be. Didn't think to do that, either.

I'm now back in Seattle, but I may be back at the barn next weekend, in which case I'll see if it took a charge. To be honest, using a hydrometer (which I don't have) to check liquid in the battery is beyond my pay grade - at that point, I'll probably just buy a new battery.

Is there a more lowbrow way to know if the battery is toast? Other than getting stuck out on the water, which I'm trying to avoid? (I have a battery jump pack that I always bring with me, but... I'd rather not risk it.)

I won't be launching the boat until late April or early May, so there's no rush on this.

assuming that battery is original and from 2021 or there abouts? I would just replace, and it call it a day. getting 4 or 5 years out of a battery is not bad.

Or (assuming you only have one battery), take the opportunity to replace the switch and add a second battery. I think all boats should have two batteries for redundancy. you can keep the one you have now for the house battery and you'll know soon enough if it's toast, but wouldn't be stranded anywhere if you find out its toast.

 

[FSH 210 Sport]

You need to learn how to use a hydrometer, it looks a lot like a turkey baster, super easy to use.

Here is a great source of how to maintain a deep cycle battery.

Trojan Battery | Battery Maintenance

The key to achieving optimum performance and long battery life is to follow a regular care and maintenance program. Read our tips for high performance battery maintenance.

www.trojanbattery.com

If you do not want to maintain a battery then get a maintenance free flooded lead acid battery, or get a AGM battery.

 

[jthackman]

frustrating way to find out about that plug. next time you're at the boat remove the battery and bring it home for testing and charging or replacement.
to make re-connection easy, i wrapped a color coded piece of electrical tape to each battery's terminal's wires, so that i don't get them mixed up.

 

[FSH 210 Sport]

frustrating way to find out about that plug. next time you're at the boat remove the battery and bring it home for testing and charging or replacement.
to make re-connection easy, i wrapped a color coded piece of electrical tape to each battery's terminal's wires, so that i don't get them mixed up.

Great advice about the color coded tape…if the battery cables are hooked up reverse polarity there is a good chance the connext screen will be destroyed.