As usual, thank you all for your thoughts. The battery is up to 11.3 volts after 1.5 days on the smart charger. I will definitely have it load tested when it is done charging. As to warranty replacement- the discharge was my fault. Would they still replace it under warranty under those circumstances? When I call Mid-state should I already have done the load testing? Do I need it at steady state on the recharge before I load test it?
On Aug 27, 2013, at 8:17 PM, Chuck S <cscheaf...@comcast.net> wrote: > Not sure I like this? You never answered if you or on a mooring? Mooring > What are you charging with? Alternator on boat. Now at home using smart charger. Considering adding a solar panel since the boat sits a week at a time often with no power at the mooring just to be topped up without having to run the engine. I run the engine quite minimally because I can sail off and on the mooring, so this would seem a good idea. > The engine alternator or shorepower? Is the battery completely isolated? Isolated from what? > I think you should remove every wire from the batteries and charge > individually with a good charger connected to shorepower. That is what I am doing at home. NO way to do it on the boat. > Then let sit overnight to be sure it holds the charge on it's own. Before I return it to the boat, I will do that and load test it. BTW, if this is delayed, any reason I can't use one of my older wet cell batteries in its place, or is mixing AGM and wet cell a bad idea. > > Chuck > Resolute > 1990 C&C 34R > Atlantic City, NJ > From: "David Knecht" <davidakne...@gmail.com> > To: cnc-list@cnc-list.com > Sent: Tuesday, August 27, 2013 9:22:00 AM > Subject: Re: Stus-List Drained AGM battery > > I used a pair of jumper cables and hooked up the dead battery in parallel > with an old but servicable battery I had at home and hooked up the charger to > it. After an hour I had about 7 volts. Now the charger would recognize the > dead AGM and is charging it. It was up to 10V overnight, so I am hoping it > will finish the job. If so, then I am back to figuring out what drained it > or if there is an alternator problem. I presume if I measure the voltage at > each battery while the engine is running it will be the charging voltage? > If I get 14.4 volts or so at both batteries, then presumably my alternator is > OK? Then I would be back to the propane alarm issue as the most likely > culprit. Does that plan sound reasonable? Thanks- Dave > > On Aug 26, 2013, at 11:08 PM, Russ & Melody <russ...@telus.net> wrote: > > Hi David, > > 1. - yes, a new battery can fail and a two month old battery is still on > warranty. Give it back for a load test / replacement. > > 2. - The AGM will charge from an alternator if discharged but may not charge > from a smart regulator as the have a dumb battery validation check. If you > want to use a smart charge on a really flat battery then you need to jump > start the process with a dumb charger or another battery. > - you should see life in the battery after a half hour on the alternator but > a few hours for a good bulk charge > > You may have a fried diode in the alternator which can deplete a battery when > the engine is not running (and not isolated from the battery) and give > insufficient charge voltage. > > Cheers, Russ > Sweet 35 mk-1 > > > At 07:04 AM 26/08/2013, you wrote: > I am beginning to feel that I have bad karma with my new boat. First the > good news: based on all the advice I received, the Universal starting issue > seems definitely fixed- since I cleaned the ground connection, it has started > smoothly every time. The only strange thing is that all the directions I > have read say that you should continue to push the glow plug button while > pushing the start button. However, on mine, the engine will not turn over > unless I release the glow plug button. Also, the GPS restarts each time I > start the engine, which may mean there is still some electrical issue, but > neither is a serious problem at this point. > Also, the black smoke etc. is largely gone since I cleaned the bottom and > prop as best I could. The shaft and prop were completely crusted with > barnacles, so clearly my Pettit zinc coat did not do its job. I may try > Velox next spring based on the advice of a local old timer. > > So yesterday I go went to the boat and found that my #1 battery is completely > dead. This is the battery that is wired for the auto-bilge pump switch and > propane fume alarm (that is all I know of). The batteries are 2 month old > Power-tech AGM group 27's. I could not get much of any charge after a day of > running the engine for a few hours totals. > Questions: > 1. do new batteries fail at some rate? > 2. Will an AGM charge from the alternator if fully discharged? If so, > roughly how long would it take? I brought it home and tried to use my smart > charger and that is not charging it at all (the charging light does not come > on). > Perhaps related- I twice was on the boat briefly during the week and found > the Xintex propane fume alarm going. Both times I checked the propane system > and the tank shutoff was closed and all switches were off. So I don't believe > there were really propane fumes in the cabin. So could the sensor have > failed? Could the alarm going for many many hours drain the battery (I don't > think the bilge pump is doing it). > > > David Knecht > Aries > 1990 C&C 34+ > New London, CT > > <pastedGraphic.tiff> > > > > _______________________________________________ > This List is provided by the C&C Photo Album > http://www.cncphotoalbum.com > CnC-List@cnc-list.com > _______________________________________________ > This List is provided by the C&C Photo Album > http://www.cncphotoalbum.com > CnC-List@cnc-list.com > > David Knecht, Ph.D. > Professor and Head of Microscopy Facility > Department of Molecular and Cell Biology > U-3125 > 91 N. Eagleville Rd. > University of Connecticut > Storrs, CT 06269 > 860-486-2200 > 860-486-4331 (fax) > > > > > > > David Knecht > Aries > 1990 C&C 34+ > New London, CT > > <pastedGraphic.tiff> > > > _______________________________________________ > This List is provided by the C&C Photo Album > http://www.cncphotoalbum.com > CnC-List@cnc-list.com > _______________________________________________ > This List is provided by the C&C Photo Album > http://www.cncphotoalbum.com > CnC-List@cnc-list.com David Knecht, Ph.D. Professor and Head of Microscopy Facility Department of Molecular and Cell Biology U-3125 91 N. Eagleville Rd. University of Connecticut Storrs, CT 06269 860-486-2200 860-486-4331 (fax)
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