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Battery inquiry

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Sportlock

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I have a 2022 SSR 22. I like to entertain on the boat so the music, chartplotter etc. is always on. Lately I’ve been putting a trickle charger on the battery after each use and noticed it’s pretty depleted each time, however, it’s never gave any signs of running dead.

Is charging the battery between uses something everyone does or is it a sign I may need a new battery next year?
 
Good question. Do you have a dual battery set up, or just a single battery? It could be a sign the battery is going bad, but if you got all that drain for hours and hours on end, it will happen. Heck, I have issues with everything drawing on my house battery in my dual battery set up and I am considering a solar powered trickle charger myself. But, that said, I’ve gotten by without one these past 8 years, with only a couple hiccups along the way (mainly due to Sea Legs battery draw/consumption).

Recently we simply started bringing our wireless BT speaker with us on the boat to handle those down times anchored up or on the sand bar. Then I can simply turn off the entire boat electrical system to save the drain on it.

Now that said, I am assuming you are seeing this issue due to running your electrical system for music, chart plotter, etc… while the motor is off. If you are noticing this problem WHILE running your motor, then its certainly a sign something is wrong…and easily most likley the batteries going bad.

How old are the batteries?
 
Vikingstaff said:
Good question. Do you have a dual battery set up, or just a single battery? It could be a sign the battery is going bad, but if you got all that drain for hours and hours on end, it will happen. Heck, I have issues with everything drawing on my house battery in my dual battery set up and I am considering a solar powered trickle charger myself. But, that said, I’ve gotten by without one these past 8 years, with only a couple hiccups along the way (mainly due to Sea Legs battery draw/consumption).

Recently we simply started bringing our wireless BT speaker with us on the boat to handle those down times anchored up or on the sand bar. Then I can simply turn off the entire boat electrical system to save the drain on it.

Now that said, I am assuming you are seeing this issue due to running your electrical system for music, chart plotter, etc… while the motor is off. If you are noticing this problem WHILE running your motor, then its certainly a sign something is wrong…and easily most likley the batteries going bad.

How old are the batteries?
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It's just a single battery/cutoff switch and yes, running everything with the engine off. I keep a jump pack onboard as a rule of thumb just incase and the battery seems to be in fine working condition, just wondering if its normal to have to recharge after long days on the water to keep the battery above 50% to maximize battery life or should the battery recharge while the motor is running while going back to the marina? Appreciate the response my friend
 
Sportlock said:
It's just a single battery/cutoff switch and yes, running everything with the engine off. I keep a jump pack onboard as a rule of thumb just incase and the battery seems to be in fine working condition, just wondering if its normal to have to recharge after long days on the water to keep the battery above 50% to maximize battery life or should the battery recharge while the motor is running while going back to the marina? Appreciate the response my friend
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It will recharge from motor and its alternator. But depending on battery, motor, length of trip and RPM’s it may not charge up very fast at all - especially after being drained for hours on end with electronics going. Radio systems can really drain down a battery. And if it’s a big marine AGM battery or something, it can take some decent enough RPM’s and a fair amount of time to charge it back up. So those things really can factor into it.

How old is the battery? Can you get it load tested, or do you have a TopDon battery tester you can use on it to check battery health in detail?

If what you are doing is going to be your typical usage, then perhaps a second battery and switch system would be good, or a solar battery tender to recharge it during down time at the marina, or shifting to BT portable speakers when the motor is off. Probably other options too.

Battery management can be a real challenge/concern…no doubt about it.
 
So there's alot of factors here to determine what you should do. So in my case I have two group 31 batteries. But I also have two massive amps for my stereo and my trip back to the marina is typically about 45-50 min. So after a long day at the sandbar its not enough to fully charge my house battery back up so ill throw a trickle charger on at the dock. If I'm out motoring around for a few hours I wont have to run the trickle charger. I really hated when I would run the radio with only one battery., just didn't give me the warm and fuzzies relaying on a jump pack to get home. Really depneds on what you have for a draw on the batteries vs what your motor puts out for available amps to charge it back up. If you have a short trip back in you could run into the same problem I have.
 
couple thoughts... i'd highly recommend having one battery be a starting battery and the other a deep cycle to run at anchor. the other suggestion (i'm currently assembling myself), would be to grab something like a cheap 25W solar panel from harbor freight, and a solar charge regulator (https://www.harborfreight.com/home/electrical/solar/7-amp-solar-charge-regulator-96728.html)

idea is that i'll wire the regulator to the battery pack such that i can plug in the panel when i dock the boat and it will float charge the batteries while i'm away. I don't have access to shore power/water, so it's the best i can do
 
Consider the Blue Seas, add-a-battery with the charging ACR, your cranking and house batteries are kept separate for discharge, but your engine will charge both and you can plug the unit into 120 volt shore power to charge and maintain both batteries. Very good system. I've used for 4 years on my saltwater flats boat and now installing another one my Bennington. Worth a look...
 
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