GL: Battery Charging

[Randy Pickelmann]

Bob,

My Gel batteries were 9 years old when I replaced them last year.  We
typically do not leave the battery charger on when at the dock.  I used to
never leave the automatic float switch on because I liked to be able to
monitor how much water the boat "made" in a week.  That was when I was able to
check the boat mid-week since I kept it in the same town.  Now that I'm 1000
miles away, I leave the float switch on automatic.  Last winter, when we were
absent owners, we left the charger off and all the through-hulls closed.  We
left the boat with fully charged batteries and returned to 96% a month later.
Having said that, now that we are leaving the air-conditioning on the
dehumidify setting and its thru-hull open, we are leaving the charger on.

You mentioned that you leave the charger on "trickle".  If you mean that you
have a trickle charger on the batteries you are sending them to an early
grave.  For AGM batteries, the charger must be set to the proper voltage.  The
same with gels although the voltage is different.  A trickle charger doesn't
have that capability.   We use a three-stage charger which drops back to a
"maintenance" level after establishing a full charge.

I'll be interested in hearing what others are dong and what their experience
has been.

Regards,
Randy Pickelmann
hard aground in Clearwater
MORNING STAR
lying in Anchorage Marina
Baltimore, MD
www.morningstar.talkspot.com