PROPER MAINTENANCEB

Before you decide to head out on the water it is very important to do some preventive maintenance. Maintaining your Marine Battery is one of the most important things you can do for your watercraft. This means, charging, testing, and adding water (when necessary) to ensure that your battery is operational when you need it.

Cables and connectors are an often overlooked area of maintenance around batteries. Look at your cables connecting the battery to your boat’s electrical system. If they are rusted, frayed, torn or look week, then they will need to be replaced.

Next check your battery water level. When you pop the cap off and look down into the battery, if you can you see the lead plates then your water is too low and you need to add some distilled water.

Having a volt meter is a very important tool to have as well. Your volt meter will tell you the state of charge on your marine battery! If it is low you are going to want to charge it. You can charge your marine battery one of a couple ways… The BEST way to charge your marine battery is to use an on board charger. This is a permanently installed charger that you plug into shore power whenever you aren’t using your boat to maintain your batteries.

Otherwise, a good portable charger is great for lead acid batteries of all kinds (deep Cycle or Starting). They are available in three different models and all are made in the USA by Associated Equipment. They are a very good, cost- effective charger ($175-$500) that will last longer than your batteries…

FACT: Most battery failures aren’t failures at all. Rather, they are instances of UNDERCHARGING whether by alternator or charger!

BATTERIES

The biggest consideration when hitting the lake with your shiny toy is this: WHAT KIND OF BATTERY IS POWERING YOUR FUN?

The math is quite simple… The battery you own might be a Deep Cycle Marine battery with a useful life of 227 Minutes at a (conservative) draw of 15Amps. That’s only 3 and a half hours of runtime! If you have a Dual bank of batteries, that’s only 7 hours! And if you aren’t running the motor (using the alternator to recharge the batteries), you’re killing your Sunday off!

The very best marine battery on the market today is the Lifeline AGM Deep Cycle Battery. It is a DUAL PURPOSE (Cranking and Deep Cycling) Absorbed Glass Mat – that is – AGM Battery that recharges faster, last longer, and is completely Non-Hazardous and maintenance-free – unlike your Flooded Lead Acid Battery.

JUST IN CASE

Let’s suppose that you’re still not convinced that you need to go and spend a lot on batteries or that you even care to buy a new charger for your boat because you have yet to have a battery failure, it would still be a wise investment to buy a portable jump starter. This will give you enough boost to get back to the dock.

Since most vehicle and marine batteries sold in America are Flooded Lead Acid batteries, this tidbit of information could prove valuable to you:

Summer heat is killer, especially for your marine battery. Whether you’re talking about sun stroke, heat exhaustion or your boat’s performance, heat can take a toll on your boat or jetski’s performance. This includes your battery, starter, and alternator.  All of which could leave you stranded.

Heat is the primary cause of battery failure where flooded lead acid batteries are concerned. It causes the water in the battery’s electrolyte to evaporate, causing rapid corrosion to the positive plate grids.

What To Look For:

If your flooded lead acid battery in your boat or jetski is more than 4 years old, there is a good chance it is working harder than it has to.

• As a battery gets older, it holds less of a charge, causing the alternator to work harder to charge it. It also means if you take short trips where your battery doesn’t receive a long charge from the alternator, but you use it more because of frequent cranking – you could be driving on borrowed time.
• If your battery is holding less of a charge, there is good possibility that it is producing fewer cranking amps than it did when it was new. Over time, this  adds stress to your starter. Unfortunately, this could mean a more costly repair down the road … or the water.
• A large portion of the Flooded Lead Acid Marine Batteries in America are actually “low-maintenance” batteries as opposed to NO maintenance. If you own a battery that has these words written anywhere on it, you might think about checking the water level.