How long does it take to kill your battery?

[REEL ADDICTION]

I was out the other night fishing I had my vhf, radar, gps, and my lights we on my battery went dead after about an hour. My radio would die so I would turn my boat and they would charge right up my question how long should the battery last before going dead with everything on? I would also run my small generator to charge the batteries and it would only charge them to 12.5 and when I would run the engine it would go to 13.6 any ideas if this is normal? My batteries are 1 year old.

[CClassic28]

I believe battery discharge rates would differ depending upon load, battery size, type & condition. That being said, 1 hr seems way too fast for a total discharge.

Be aware that a radar that is transmitting does pull some juice, perhaps leaving it on guard mode would help your situation.


Chris

[REEL ADDICTION]

Thanks I will try that I did leave the radar running all night

[Bullish]

I have run my spreader lights and electronics (including radar) all night at the canyon on two batteries. I used to do this by bringing a set of jumper cables and setting up the second battery before night fall. I now use the portable genny like you mentioned. An hour sounds very short.

Were you fishing for stripers? If so, where did you go?

[REEL ADDICTION]

I was fishing in the Raritan we had about 10 bass over 36 and a bunch of bluefish was a great night.

[Bullish]

Nice.

I may have to consider moving my boat north next year....i hate to pay the cost of a slip fee in hudosn county though.

[REEL ADDICTION]

I used to keep my old boat down the shore before moving it up north I would only use my boat once a weekend and then have to deal with the traffic now I go down the boat a few times a week yes it is more expensive but for the amount of money we pay for our boats and how are season is only a couple of months every time down on the boat is worth every penny

[Armageddon]

I have a '99 Carolina 28. I have never had problems with batteries for the first 3 years. I would go on overnight canyon trips to the Hudson, Toms and Lindenkohl. After my second year, I added a portable Honda generator to the mix for the early to mid October canyon nights (they get really long that time of year.) I don't exactly know your situation with batteries. I am assuming your have 3 batteries like mine. It sounds like the charge is enough to start the engines, but the voltage is low until the engine alternator loads the battery back up. Not a good situation 80 miles offshore. If your onboard charger is not charging your batteries with your generator running, it may be the charger. If you have a C-charger onboard installed by Carolina Classic, there could be a blown internal fuse issue (there is an AC and a DC fuse inth these that needs to be checked if you experience charging problems)or some other malfunction. This actually happened to me last season. Since I bought the boat in 2000, the charger was out of warranty in 2006. I contacted Charles Industries (manufacturer) and sent the charger to them. They gave me a refurb for under $120. Retail is over $300 for a new one. Now my batteries are full everytime I leave the dock and while I have the generator on. You should never need to run your engines at night if you have a generator to charge the batteries out at sea.

You should also check to see what type of batteries you have and their MCA. My boat firat came with 650 MCA form the manufacturer. The next year, I upgraded to 1000 MCA which worked out great but took a beating in the canyons after about 3 years. I switched to the Interstate Optima Maint Free Batteries last year. These should last 5 more years instead of 3 with the lead acid batteries. Haven't had any problems with my new batteries.

Hope this helps ....

[REEL ADDICTION]

Did they fit in the same place your old batteries were in? My batteries are the same that come on the cc boat from the dealer.

[REEL ADDICTION]

Sorry but they are 1 year old

[Armageddon]

The batteries are in the same box between the two engines and have a platform on top that you remove to access the batteries. The C-Charger is mounted on the forward wall of the engine room next to the automatic CO extinguisher. The C-Charger should have an amp dial that moves back and forth as the batteries are charging (during dockside or generator charging.) If the dial is stuck on a specific reading all the time(even when you pull the dockside plug out), the charger needs servicing.

Even if your batteries are only 1 year old, boat manufacturers do not always look for the best possible "standard features" that you need to "do what you do" when you fish, cruise, etc. They may make a GREAT HULL, but may overlook us overnight fisherman. Check the cold cranking amps, reserve time, etc. on your current batteries. If they are not maint free, make sure the acid chambers are full. If not, make sure you add the correct level of DISTILLED WATER. Everything starts at the batteries and work themselves to the charger and then to the various items that draw power from the batteries.

When I thought I needed new batteries, I took ALL of them out one day and took them to my local Interstate Dealer. They checked all of them for FREE. They even told me that I had at least 2 more years before I should consider replacing them and told me to put the batteries back in the boat. If all else fails, have you mechanic check it out. It might be something that we are all overlooking.

Let me know how things go.....

[Beowulf]

Battery Issues

The battery issue had been a problem on my 28 and the new 32. I had solved the problem on the 28 by installing Optima batteries and and a battery voltage indicator and usage guage. The insturments are made by a few companies and they show Voltage used,Amperes,and time remaing till battery discharge. The installation was a bit complicated but well worth the trouble. Seems to me it should be a option on any boat used overnight. As for my 32 I just repalced all three batteries with Optimas and hope to install the same digital electrical readouts as I had on the 28. One important change is to use a deep cycyle as your house battery. Important note is that if you do change to Optimas you must have Charles MArine change the settings on the charger. On the newer Charles Chargers there is a switch on the back of the unit which you can switch to AGM.

Steve
Beowulf CC-32\Cape May, NJ