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Can charging shorten battery life?


Sunstone

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I have a 23HPS and the onboard charger charges all batteries.  My question is is the house battery getting over charged because it is really fully charged from the motor.  The house battery died after 3 years but I usually pull the charger plug after 15 to 24 hours.  I have a friend that has a 2017 HPS and the house battery died in 1 year but he leaves the charger on always.   

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My good friend is a battery guy and has most of the NE FL marinas; his words “ALWAYS put your batteries on charge as soon as you possibly can and don’t take them off until you take the boat out.” My old boat batteries were 9 years old and worked perfectly when I sold it. 

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X2........My PF service mgr has said the same. I replaced the house battery two years ago for safety sake. The TM batts are now 5+ years old, and all are always plugged into the charger/tender, sometimes for several weeks when we are on a trip or at home. Still plenty of power and lasts most of the day trolling or spot locked.  Additionally, I almost always run on the “one out, two in” program.

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The short answer is no.  Charging you batteries does not shorten their life. Over charging them definitely. Most folks use the big motor on a separate battery. House batteries and trolling batteries get a charger. With that said, some “smart chargers” will provide initially x amps to all batteries. Others will ”evaluate“ for 20 minutes and then kick on.  The net is charging does not kill them.  Under and over does.

 

with all that BS, a  3 year old battery needs to be replaced by good maintenance. With the vibration and impact a battery endures during the day on the water, it simply will not survive. 

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12 hours ago, Sunstone said:

I have a 23HPS and the onboard charger charges all batteries.  My question is is the house battery getting over charged because it is really fully charged from the motor.  The house battery died after 3 years but I usually pull the charger plug after 15 to 24 hours.  I have a friend that has a 2017 HPS and the house battery died in 1 year but he leaves the charger on always.   

Which brand/model onboard charger do you have?  Like said above, the smart chargers are designed to sense when the batteries are fully charged, and switch to float charging mode to keep the batteries topped off and in best condition (independently).  The owners manual recommends to leave the charger powered on - always.

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50 minutes ago, Sunstone said:

I have a promariner 300 tournament 30 amp.  I know it's suppose to go to trickle charge after charging.  No surprise needed one after 3 years but started me thinking because of my friends battery going in just 1 year.   

 

That's a good charger from what I've heard.  It strikes me these days, how it seems like bargain brand batteries have a timer built into them, and they die just after the warranty expires. o.O

Odyssey and NorthStar batteries are pricey, but have a very good reputation for power and long life.

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My chargers are on all of the time. The pathfinder has a pro mariner and optima AGMs and the Maverick Powermania charger and Dekka AGMs. Both the chargers only charge which battery needs it and goes to trickle when done. I am not sure I would do it with flooded cell batteries but no issue with AGMs.

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Answer: No way!

My batteries are almost always full. I plug in for about 5-10 minutes each month strictly for piece of mind. Stealth AC/DC charging system for the win! 

Many boats burn due to faulty charging systems that are always plugged in. It's one of the main culprits of physical damage done to vessels that are stored on their trailers. Just saying....

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Well the answer could be yes. If something is left powered on while the charger is on, (powerpole, radio, or other) then the battery will drain down, and then the charger will kick on.  With a charger connected and something left on, this will result in many small cycles over the time the boat is sitting. Small cycles are worse for a battery than regular drains of 50%. So be sure the battery switch is off, and nothing is powered. Also if the motor or the charger is actually over charging the battery, then yes battery life will be shortened.

Also I agree with conocean, I don't leave mine connected all the time. I have fear of an electrical short, and if he says many burn I would believe it.

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1 hour ago, conocean said:

Answer: No way!

My batteries are almost always full. I plug in for about 5-10 minutes each month strictly for piece of mind. Stealth AC/DC charging system for the win! 

Many boats burn due to faulty charging systems that are always plugged in. It's one of the main culprits of physical damage done to vessels that are stored on their trailers. Just saying....

Winner, winner. X2

My Interstates are 5 1/2 years old. 

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I am probably a classic charging guy   I have 3 cars that are charged for 6 mos at a time.  They are stored for the winter while I'm in FL.  I also have 4 boat deep cycle batteries stored also for 6 mos for the same reason. Besides these chargers ,I keep a boat stored in FL for the summer with 2 batteries being trickled charged plus a car being charge.   I have never had a battery have an issue for over 10yrs of this charging program..  The batteries all last a normal 4-6 yrs,so power up the chargers when you're done with the  boat.

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8 hours ago, conocean said:

Many boats burn due to faulty charging systems that are always plugged in. It's one of the main culprits of physical damage done to vessels that are stored on their trailers. Just saying....

I believe what you are saying Conocean, without a doubt, and when you share your knowledge from many years in the boating industry, I listen and learn.  But boat ownership is not limited to people with good sense.  Just watching the weekend show at the boat ramp will confirm that!  Plugging into improperly wired AC outlets, using extension cords without ground prongs, running the charger in a non-ventilated space where it can overheat, etc ... Yup, good recipe for disaster!  Every computer and electronic device I own at home and at work is plugged into a battery backup power source, that is powered on 24/7, year after year, float charging the batteries in case they are needed when we lose power.  The batteries die after several years and get replaced.  None have caught fire yet, thank God.  Since my occupation involves computer system field service, I'm a little weird about electricity though - I always carry an outlet tester to test every circuit before I plug in my laptop or a customer's new computer.  It'll be the same routine before I plug in my new boat battery charger, away from home as well.  All that said... if there's a doubt about safety, of course we should not risk damage to our boat.  If I did more long distance runs, the Stealth system would already be installed on my sled.

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