www.iFourWinns.com

What kind of life is everyone getting out of their batteries? Is 3-4 years about the max for marine deep cycle batteries?

The original batteries(Diehard) that came in my boat when I bought it had a date of 2009 on them. They lasted until 2013 when one would not charge anymore. so I replaced them both with the same brand. Last fall when I removed them I noticed one had a couple low cells. So I topped them off and charged both up. I put them inside and stick the charger on them every 4-5 weeks during the winter. The one that had the low cells has stopped charging all the way now. I'm pretty sure it is toast.

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2004 248 Vista "Amante"
MC 5.0MPI/B3

What kind of charger?

What voltage are you getting in the battery you say is toast?

Did you try a load test?

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2004 - 288 Vista
Twin - 5.0 Volvo Penta GXi DP

If your removing your batteries for the winter, your best bet is to use a battery tender and keep them on charge all the time.
That will keep them toped up with no fear of overcharging or not getting them to a true 100%.

I keep my boat in the water year round. About every 3 to 4 weeks I turn the battery charger in the boat on for a day to make sure they are topped off. That way I am using the charger designed for the boat.

I get at least 5 years from my batteries this way. Current ones are 2013 models. Seem very strong for now and have been out a couple times already this year.

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The Dance II
2007 278 Vista
6.2L Mercruiser

It is a Diehard automatic charger. Set for 2A trickle charge. Haven't measured the voltage yet. I may have it load tested this week.
The other battery charges just fine. This one never reaches full charge.

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2004 248 Vista "Amante"
MC 5.0MPI/B3

I wish I could just leave them in the boat and plug in the shore power once a month. Gets way too cold here for that. Taking them in and out is one of my least favorite things.
They are on the boat charger all summer when its in the water.

I am a little disappointed that I only got three seasons out of them.

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2004 248 Vista "Amante"
MC 5.0MPI/B3

I still have one that's 8 years old. Just tested it yesterday. 12.78. Deka group 27.
Gets put on trickle charge once over the winter.

.

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2004 - 288 Vista
Twin - 5.0 Volvo Penta GXi DP

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2004 - 288 Vista
Twin - 5.0 Volvo Penta GXi DP

The good battery is reading 12.8v and the one that won't charge reads 12.2v.
The cell that i topped up in the fall looks like it could be too full now. Maybe that is my problem. The plates were exposed in that cell when I removed it from the boat.
I will get the level down to the bottom of the filling port like it is supposed to be and leave it on the charger for a while.

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2004 248 Vista "Amante"
MC 5.0MPI/B3

I agree with that statement. I have trouble checking mine to see if the cells are full so I unhook them and pull them out. It's a real pain to get them out and I always feel like a pull something lifting them while laying on my stomach to reach them. I leave my boat plugged in on the charger in the boat over the winter and so far that has worked OK with this set of batteries.

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2008 Vista 278 Volvo Penta 8.1 Gi 375 hp
1999 Horizon 220 5.7 GSi

I moved to AGM batteries which are much lighter and is a much easier chore now to remove/install. My last interstates only lasted 2 years.. UGH! I believe my onboard charger was overcharging and eventually fried them. One actually exploded on me last summer. After the explosion I didn't take any chances and to get my wife back on board I put a nice new charger in with new wiring and Optima's which I really like in other vehicles I have them in. I still believe the root cause of the overcharge was the poor wiring job they did and the sense wire was too small.. Go figure, a Four Winns with lousy wiring......
I still don't leave the charger on when we are not around. I usually turn it on when we get to the boat and leave it on. AGM's don't have the same discharge as a lead acid so they can actually stay all winter without being topped off. They are much more expensive but for me its well worth it. I should get more time out of them too because they are better type of battery.

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--2002 3880 Regal Flybridge | Twin Merc 8.1HO **Seven**
--2003 AB 13 VST Console Inflatable | Tohatsu 40hp TLDI **Phish'n ski**
--310 Mercury Inflatable | 1982 9.9 Johnson

I thought about switching to AGMs. Is a different onboard charger required to charge the AGM batteries?

When I had PWCs years ago, I was lucky to get two seasons out of the lead/acid batteries in them. My guess was because of all the sloshing around they got. I eventually bought dry cell batteries for them and never had an issue again. Just unhook them in the fall and give em a full charge in the spring before hooking them back up. Got five years out of them and they were still going strong when I sold the PWCs.

I'd love to find batteries like that for the boat.

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2004 248 Vista "Amante"
MC 5.0MPI/B3

The Optimas can be found pretty much at any auto store. I find the best price usually at Autozone. Just make sure you get the right ones. the only stipulation is they are not as large amp capacity as some of the bigger lead acids so they may not work in every case but you can get other brands that are very good as well.

You will most likely get the blue top but pay close attention to what color the case is. Light grey is a deep cycle and dark grey is cranking(dual purpose). Do not get a deep cycle for a starting battery. The Volvo manual even states not to do this as there isn't enough amperage to run the computer when cranking and can fry the board.

As for the charger, you should be able to use the existing on board charger. It may not be optimized for AGM batteries but you can use it on Optimas.
An example is I have a red top in my truck which I don't use every day but I do use once a week or every other week and I never use a maintenance charger. It just chargers off the alternator. Its the same battery except has different connections for a car so you can rapid charge with the same voltages as lead acid.

You don't need to leave the maintenance charger on all the time on an AGM unless you have something running. They don't have the same drain.

I know I was long winded and its up to you if you want to spend like twice the price and you may not get twice the years out of it but there are other advantages. I've done lots of research on batteries because I get bored in the winter... LOL! They work for me...

btw, a 800 amp lead acid is like 65lbs a 800 amp optima is 38lbs. that was the other reason I bought them, it help my list to port.

http://www.rodauthority.com/tech-stories/ignition-electronics-efi/the-hows-and-whys-to-selecting-the-right-optima-battery/

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--2002 3880 Regal Flybridge | Twin Merc 8.1HO **Seven**
--2003 AB 13 VST Console Inflatable | Tohatsu 40hp TLDI **Phish'n ski**
--310 Mercury Inflatable | 1982 9.9 Johnson

I use to remove our boat batteries and take them home for our typical winter lay up (Mid October - Early May), but I have not removed batteries from our boats for probably the last 15 years. I just make sure the batteries are close to fully charged when the boat is lifted out for the winter, disconnect the negative battery cables, then measure battery voltage in the spring to make sure battery voltage is good, hook the negative cables back up and proceed on to enjoy the start of the boating season (after all the fun stuff like bottom painting, washing and waxing etc.). I have not had a battery fail yet from not charging them over the winter months. This is how our marina deals with many boats that are winterized by them and stored on site.

Mike.

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Current Boat
- 2001 Four Winns 328 Vista "Hour Decision"
- 2010 310 Mercury Inflatable

Previous Boats
- 30' Doral Prestancia
- 25' Doral Citation

One thing that can help is periodically checking your charging rate with the engine running with a digital volt meter. The dash gauge can be off by a surprising amount. I found that my old alt was charging at 15.5V because of resistance in the sense wire circuit. Because of resistance also in the dash wiring, the gauge was reading normal. This was the cause of my less than normal batt life (like 4 years). I installed a new alt and rewired the sense circuit as recommended by Arco (maker of the alt). That brought it down to a more normal 14.2V.

BTW I was not aware that Optimas are lighter than normal lead acid batts. The ones I've compared (Deka gp 27--> Deka gp 27 AGM) were always heavier for AGM.

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88 Four Winns 200 Horizon
4.3 OMC Cobra-4bbl
2002 Walker Bay 10/2012 Suzuki 2.5
2008 Walker Bay 8

1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4.0/Selectrac
2007 Jeep Grand Cherokee 5.7 Hemi/Quadradrive II