battery tender/trickle charger help

[sparkyaber]

I bought my first boat this last year and have just finished winterizing it.

I want to keep the batteries charged all winter so I bought them inside the house and am looking for a good charger/tender to keep them up to snuff.

I have one starting battery and two deep cycles to keep charged. I put them all in parallel (is it ok to put a cranking battery and deep cycle batteries in parallel to charge them?) and want to put a charger on them and just "walk away" not having to mess with them until spring. I do have a very small (1.5 amp charger/tender) that I use for my motorcycle/atv batteries.

Now is this little charger good enough to support these three big batteries or do I need to look into something different?

Does anyone have any thoughts on brand and size? I do have a regular sized charger so I don't need that feature.

I had a vector and it died after two winters of tending my motorcycle battery. The brand of the little tender I have now is schumacher 1.5 amp slow charger.

Also let me know how you store your batteries, Hey I might have it all wrong.

thanks

[Pat K]

Very dangerous to charge a battery in the house. The hydrogen gas given of during charging is explosive. If it comes in contact with an ignition source like a gas furnace, water heater or a spark from your charger, BANG! Only seen 1 battery explode, it was in a classic car inside a pole building. Loudest concusion I have ever heard, thankfully only damage was acid in the engine copartment and on concrete floor. Blew shards of plastic 25 to 30 feet. Hate to see how much damage it would cause in a house, even if there wasn't a fire.

He was taking the car out of storage for a parade. Had charged the battery that day. When he turned the ignition there was a small spark and a loud bang.

Pat K

[sparkyaber]

Pat you post got me thinking- and I did some research and found this:

"Charging a wet lead-acid battery naturally produces hydrogen and oxygen gasses as electrolysis of the water occurs and needs to occur in well ventilated areas. While spark retarding vent caps help prevent external battery explosions, sparks occur when jumping, connecting or disconnecting charger or battery cables and ignite the gas causing an explosion. From the U.S. Department of Energy, DOE-HDBK-1084-95, "Precautions must be routinely practiced to prevent explosions from ignition of the flammable gas mixture of hydrogen and oxygen formed during overcharge of lead-acid cells. The maximum rate of formation is 0.42 L of hydrogen and 0.21 L of oxygen per ampere-hour overcharge at standard temperature and pressure. The gas mixture is explosive when hydrogen in air exceeds 4% by volume." Less common internal explosions usually occur while starting the engine or using the battery and normally just blow the filler caps or cover off the battery and splatter electrolyte all over the engine compartment or battery box.

The most probable cause of internal battery explosions are from a combination of low electrolyte levels below the plates in the battery, a low resistance bridge is formed between or across the top of the plates, and a build up of hydrogen gas in the cell. The low resistive bridge is called "treeing" between the positive and negative plates. When current flows in the battery, a spark occurs and ignites the residual gas in one or more of the cells. A second possible cause is a manufacturing defect in the weld of one of the plate connecting straps causing a spark igniting the residual gas. Another source of internal battery explosions are caused from direct electrical shorts across the battery's terminals. The battery rapidly over heats form the high current and can explode. The largest number of internal battery explosions occur in hot climates due to the loss of water while starting the engine. Most internal battery explosions could have been prevented if the plates were always covered with electrolyte."

Found that on a battery Q&A HSOforum.

So it sounds possible just not likely.

Also if anyone cares, putting batteries on concrete is not bad for them, on the contrary it may be good for them! The temperature is more of a factor in a battery discharging. Found that on the same site, as well as a bunch of other worthless knowledge.

[Fisherman For a Lifetime]

Howdy,

My good friend is a retired deep cycle and regular Battery Design Engineer and I asked him about battery storage after I got my new rig.

He said to leave the batteries in the boat in the garage. There is no advantage to bringing them inside. Keep them charged on occasion. The concrete thing is a myth also.

Good luck out there.

[sparkyaber]

Thanks Fisherman, The only reason I like to bring them in is because I heat up my garage a few times a week to work out there and the huge temp swing causes a lot of condesation on the terminals, I have put a spray on them, so I wonder if would keep the condesation off of them?

[Big Roy]

Every fall I take out the 2 deep cycles in the boat along with the starting battery and also I have a deep cycle in my R.V. I use a Battery Minder on all 4 to keep them at peak level. The boat batteries are 5 years going on 6. I would never leave them in the boat all winter. Go to RV.net HSOforum and look at the tech forums, everyone recommends using a maintainer on batteries

[Rivernut]

I have left my batteries in the garage for the last 20 yrs. I do charge them up once every 6 weeks or so. I get 4-5 yrs. from most of the trolling batteries. I dont think it matters if its in or out, just make sure you charge them from time to time.

[Fisherman For a Lifetime]

The Battery Design Engineer has done many life tests, accelerated life tests, he knows what he's talking about. It's just a waste of time and effort to bring them in for no extra advantage. But hey, everyone can make their own decision.