Battery Maintenance

[Dave 205]

Hey All,

I have been going through my new to me manuals, and have not come across much on battery maintenance.

It appears my 2006 has its original battery, so I'm probably going to replace it soon.

The dealer had it fully charged when I took delivery last week. I've used the battery a bit just testing some things out. I probably won't get my first trip on the boat until mid April. (Snowed 6" here this morning.)

How do you maintain a marine battery that is out of service 6 months a year?

Trickle charger? Do you pull the battery from the boat, or can you leave it in the engine compartment. With all the warnings about bilge blowers being used in a boat like mine, I don't want to blow up the boat in my garage with a spark from the battery!

Is one trickler charger better than another?

Thanks!

 

[Go Aweigh2452]

Assuming you have a smart charger and shore power, it is recommend you leave shore power on and ensure the breaker panel has the charger on. Your boat most likely has a smart charger based on it's age. Keeping power on will clean the battery plates and will make for a longer lasting battery.

 

[northern]

Use distilled water when topping up batteries. Make sure they are topped up when you put boat away for season.
A smart charger is a must or you could damage the batteries.

 

[Lazy Daze]

Yes, a smart charger such as Battery Minder or Battery Tender (personally, I use the Minder when the batteries are out of the boat and not using the onboard charger). They are under $50. Leaving it on all the time is the best thing you can do for your battery.

 

[brstephe]

I'd second Lazy. New 220SD owner and having used golf cart chargers and automatic/10/5/2 tickle charger for a fishing boat battery I can say the Battery Minder is the way to go. Plug it in and leave it, they desulfate too. I do leave my battery in with battery switch off. The unit comes with terminal clips or ring terminal. Think the new onboard unit comes out April 1.

 

[Dave 205]

Thanks for all the suggestions. The 220 Sundeck is probably most similar to my boat - probably a single battery, located in a closed compartment.

Based on the suggestions, I've been leaning toward getting this model 12151 BatteryMinder:


http://www.batteryminders.com/batte...ard-Battery-Charger-Maintainer-D-p-16177.html

I've read the use and installation instructions that come with it, and it definitely seems that it is intended to be installed on the boat. I'm just hesitant to do that. The owner's manuals for my boat are not real clear. It says to use an appropriate charger, and disconnect the battery from the boat's electrical circuit. (Apparently disconnect the cables as my boat does not have a battery shut off switch.)

The manual goes on to say if the boat will not be used for several weeks, remove the battery and connect it to a charger.

It also tends to smell like fuel under the sunpad cover when I first open it (is this normal?).

It would sure be handy to install the BatteryMinder as the manufacturer recommends and leave it on board. Even better if I don't have to remove the battery cables. My boat sits in a garage, and running an extension cord down from the garage door opener outlet and right into the engine compartment would be extremely convenient.

Words of wisdom?

 

[Lord Farringdon]

.

It also tends to smell like fuel under the sunpad cover when I first open it (is this normal?).

Probably not.:smt100

I can see why you don't want to be unneccessarily removing battery leads.!! Whichever way you go, remember to top the battery fluid up every 2 weeks to a month. When on constant charge, the battery remains slightly warm and vents off water vapour along with hydrogen gas :wow...another good reason not remove battery cables unless the area is well ventilated.)

Terry

 

[Lazy Daze]

Fuel smell (especially with a carb'd engine) isn't totally abnormal - but it depends on how much there is. Take a good close look at all connections on the tank and then follow them to everywhere they go on the engine - tighten as you go. See if you can't use your sniffer to figure out where it's coming from (remove the flame arrestor cover and start there).

If you're confident everything is OK, then I wouldn't worry about - you've got to open the engine cover to plug it in, anyway. I wouldn't worry about keeping it attached to your battery - it'll be fine. Just shore the charger up somehow so it's not flopping around.

 

[Dave 205]

There is definitely a fuel odor. On first glance, the only thing I found is an item coming from the starboard valve cover that sort of looks like the PCV valve.

The PCV valve on this is on the port side, and connected to a rubber hoase that runs to the engine.

The thing I don't know is an item that looks like a PCV valve on the starboard valve cover, and is connected to plastic line that looks like electrical protective cover. This protective cover runs toward the carb but stops short and is sitting on top of the engine not connected to anything. Any idea what this is?

On the charger, are you recommending that that engine cover be left open when charging?

Thanks!

 

[brstephe]

Dave, no wisdom here either as I'm learning this as I go. I'd be real careful with fuel and ventilation though. I leave cushion off, cover off and prop front/back canvas a bit. That 12151 is the one I thought wasn't coming out until April. I could be wrong, but didn't see ANY reviews on it. I like it too. I decided against it for the reasons you stated too... I was just a little hesitant. The ring terminal permanently attached with the quick release plug on the 12117 works well. And should I need to charge a different battery somewhere else I can just take the charger, grab the terminal clips and use them.

Do know that I don't know if there is a right or wrong here and I'm no expert, I did some research myself. For all I know I should be removing the battery but I thought I'd take the chance and wire it up directly. Think I read a few places and others that did the same. The instructions were odd too in that I don't know overly much about electrical... instead of hooking the negative ring terminal to something ground (other than neg) i hooked it up to neg post. Reasoning being that's how we've charged troll motor batteries AND because neg has a ring terminal... sure looks like it's supposed to go on a battery post!

 

[Lazy Daze]

The black electical conduit just catches and directs crankcase vapors back into the engine to be burned. By the way, be sure you clean your flame arrestor a few times a year. Take a look at it and see how dirty it is.

No, you can certainly leave your engine pad down/closed and by all means leave the battery in there. I just meant to say that until you get the gas fumes thing figured out (again, might be normal) you could always open it to air it out before you plugged in.

Yes, the rings can go directly to the battery posts.

 

[Dave 205]

Lazy, thanks for the words on the electical conduit. What does it connect to at the engine? It falls just short of a round opening that is about the size of the conduit - and there are no connections or clips there.

I have taken off the flame arrestor, and it seems clean on first glance. Certainly not plugged up like a dirty air cleaner. I'm going to clean it anyway, just to get a baseline on my new toy here.

So, you think charging with my sunpad cover closed should be okay - once the fuel issue is ruled out?

The fuel smell seems to be strongest just when I lift the cover, and toward the front of the engine, near the fuel tank which is partially visible under the floor. The fuel in lines seem to be connected to the tank just under the floor where I can't see it. I've located the fuel lines, fuel filter (dang, that thing is huge on a boat - looks like an oil filter), etc. No obvious leak yet.

brstephe - Hopefully the links work. I get a kick out of the installation diagrams for the chargers. They show the pos and neg leads going to the battery, and another diagram shows battery connections plural. Yet, the text says that the negative lead should go to the engine block, away from the battery - kind of like hooking up jumpers on a car. But, they only give you a 6 inch lead... engineers should not do their own documentation!

I guess, but don't fully understand, but the negative battery cable simply goes to the engine block. So, it would seem that if you connected the charger's negative lead to negative terminal, you might have your ground? Except, the issue of the text saying that the connection should be away from the battery.

The instructions for the model you currently have use a similar logic, and talk about a well ventilated area.



BatteryMINDer 12151 Instruction Manual

BatteryMINDer Models 12106 12106A8V 12117 12118 Instruction Manual

 

[Lazy Daze]

Normally, there is a plastic elbow that pops into that hole in the valve cover - the conduit then attaches to the other end of the elbow. It's probably about $2 part at your local Merc dealer. Get that taken care of - you don't want that hole open as dirt or debris can get right into your engine.

Yup - leaving the cover down will be just fine.

If you can't get to all the connections from the bilge, look for a plastic access plate in the floor, further forward. Maybe under your bench seat, if you have that seating option.

Do you get this smell even if the engine hasn't been run? In other words... you open things up, smell the gas, leave things open for a bit to air it out... then close it up and come back to it a day or two later... is the smell back? Just as strong? Maybe you should get another opinion as to how strong the smell is (maybe it's not as bad as you think)? Possibly, just drive it to your local shop and have them come out and smell it.

 

[Adzam]

Based on the suggestions, I've been leaning toward getting this model 12151 BatteryMinder:


http://www.batteryminders.com/batte...ard-Battery-Charger-Maintainer-D-p-16177.html

I am looking for a good charger as well. Per the Battery Minder website, it says that all their 12V Chargers will charge up to four batteries... EXCEPT the 12151. Anyone know why this is? I am looking for something I can mount in my boat, and hook up to my 2 batteries and leave it, and apply shore power at will.

 

[Lazy Daze]

I don't know why that it is. However, just know that no matter which one you get, you MUST have identical batteries and they need to already be in a state of full charge. After that, the Minder will keep them that way and condition them. If one battery is not as charged as the other, it won't work as well.

To do that, you'd need to step up to a real "onboard" charger that is designed for charging two or more individual batteries.

 

[Dave 205]

Normally, there is a plastic elbow that pops into that hole in the valve cover - the conduit then attaches to the other end of the elbow. It's probably about $2 part at your local Merc dealer. Get that taken care of - you don't want that hole open as dirt or debris can get right into your engine.


Do you get this smell even if the engine hasn't been run? In other words... you open things up, smell the gas, leave things open for a bit to air it out... then close it up and come back to it a day or two later... is the smell back? Just as strong? Maybe you should get another opinion as to how strong the smell is (maybe it's not as bad as you think)? Possibly, just drive it to your local shop and have them come out and smell it.

Thanks! The elbow is in the valve cover, and the conduit is attached to that. The conduit runs toward the carb, and falls short. That is the end that is not connected to anything.


I do have the rear bench, and the only access under it is a round cap opening that gives access to, I believe, the fuel sender. It tends to smell a bit in the compartment under the seat as well. The fuel sender area looks good - the device is in tight with a gasket that looks to be in good shape. The engine has not been run in 2.5 weeks since my sales demonstration. The boat sat under cover for two days after I got it home, and finally had a chance to unveil it for some family - folks standing ten feet away commented on the fuel oder when I lifted the sunpad. I was the one with his head over the engine, and it was strong. Now, if I leave the cover down 12-24 hours, it smells pretty strong of fuel when I open it.

My dealer appears to have the ski's I want, and the cool part is the price seems competitive. So, I'm sure I'll be in there in the next few days to ask some questions.

 

[Lazy Daze]

Yes, definitely take it with you to the dealer and see what they think (leave the cover down for a few days before you go). It's hard to diagnose this over the internet, other than to say you should get it checked.

On the flame arrestor, there should be a small male piece that the hose would fit onto. If it's not there, I'm sure the shop would have it. But, you could even make one out of some light bar stock. Without that hooked up, you'll basically end up with oil fumes covering everything in the engine bay.

 

[Dave 205]

There are little flat tabs on each side of the flame arrestor. I noticed a few days ago that the conduit would slide on the tab and stay there quite well, but the connection seemed kind of hokey to me. Figured that couldn't be right - not a clean full seal. The little tabs are the closest thing to a male end that the conduit will connect to.

Is the tab the connection point?

 

[Lazy Daze]

Yup, that's it:smt101. Been the same way for decades - except they used to be made of metal. It doesn't need to be exceptionally tight since as the carb (engine) sucks air in, it sucks in anything else that is the vicinity (oil vapor from conduit) as well.

 

[Dave 205]

Thanks- Just poking around the engine compartment has been fun. I used to mess with cars in the early 80's, and have been out of it forever. I'm hoping to stay involved with the maintenance on this as part of my new hobby!