[Sea Dog]

Hi all

I have a Bertram 38' convertible, I have a battery problem on my boat, I have 4 new batteries that I have just replaced on my boat. My problem is after 3months the batteries have already crapped out on me, in other words they are stufft! I found out that only one side of the boat was getting charged when on shore power. I phone a local boat shop that deals with this sort of problem, they said, most boats are only ment to charge on the one side, in my case its the starboard side that’s getting the charge, the port side aint. I didn’t believe this, so id thought id write to you guys and see what u say.

Thanks

[K1W1]

Hi,

I would say the boat shop that told you that has little or no experience of how most boats work.

All your batteries should get at least a trickle charge if your boat is not used all the time and spends a lot of time on shore power. ( This is how it works on a big boat)

[Pascal]

makes no sense... your battery charger (powered by shore or generator) should charge all your banks.

what kind of charger? what kind of batteries? did you check the water level if lead acid?

older chargers will boil water out of your batteries (lead acids) so you may need to top them off monthly.

keep in mind that fully discahrging batteries will damage them too...

[Capt J]

All batteries should be charged by the battery charger. I would invest in a new battery charger like the Pronautic, which has the capability of charger different types (agm, gel, flooded) and has different rates of charging. It will extend the life of your batteries.....

[revdcs]

It is unusual - but you may have a manual (or automatic) switch between the battery banks. If you have, and it's faulty, that may be why you aren't getting charged on one side.

[walkinginshadow]

That have i seen on small boat whit manual or automatic switch between battery banks.
Test the battery and check your charger.
And also check your electric installations see if you can found any faulty type leaky power.
walkinginshadow
Tec

[Sea Dog]

Originally Posted by Pascal

makes no sense... your battery charger (powered by shore or generator) should charge all your banks.

what kind of charger? what kind of batteries? did you check the water level if lead acid?

older chargers will boil water out of your batteries (lead acids) so you may need to top them off monthly.

keep in mind that fully discahrging batteries will damage them too...

Hey all thanks

Thanks for all your replys. The make of the converter/battery charger is a Raritan, its about 10-20 years old, the boat is second hand so im nt to sure if it came standerd for bertram models of her age. The batteries i got are deltec batteries 105ah each sealed lead acid batteries.

[walkinginshadow]

Here i got from the raritans web site.
I hope that will answer your quest my friend.
/walkinginshadow

http://www.raritaneng.com/informatio...erters.html#a2


A1
What is a converter?

A converter converts A.C. voltage to D.C. voltage. Raritan converters utilize a transformer to reduce the voltage from 120 (or 240) volt household voltage to nominal 12, 24 or 32 (depending on the particular converter) volt D.C. battery voltage. In the marine environment, a converter is primarily utilized as a battery charger.

All standard Raritan converters are equipped with (3) outputs, allowing them to charge three batteries or three banks of batteries. On special order, certain Raritan converters are available with (4) outputs, enabling them to charge four batteries or four banks of batteries.

A2
May Raritan converters be used to charge "gel" cell batteries?

Raritan "F" series converters are designed for conventional lead/acid batteries only. Attempting to use the "F" series converter to maintain "gel" cell and the newer "AGM" batteries will give unsatisfactory results.

Raritan "B" series converters will satisfactorily maintain "gel" cell and "AGM" batteries but require an internal adjustment, contact Raritan Technical Support for details.

A3
Are Raritan converters ignition protected?

Yes. All Raritan converters are solid state and are ignition protected.

A4
What is the difference between the "F" and the "B" series?

The "F" series Raritan converter uses Ferroresonant technology that eliminates the need for a control circuit. It will slowly bring the batteries up to full charge and maintain them at that level.

The "B" series uses linear SCR technology and operates much faster than the "F" series. When plugged in at dockside it will pick up a D.C. load from an onboard accessory, such as a bilge pump, and instantly replace it, up to the capacity of the converter. When the load exceeds the capacity of the converter, it will continue to put out amperage after the load has terminated until the battery(ies) come up to full charge.

[Stonie]

My current boat requires that you have the battery parallel switches on to charge both banks.

[NYCAP123]

It's time to change chargers AND boat shops. Yes, both sides should get charged, but those old chargers can't be left on as they'll only go to trickle and eventually cook your batteries which is what I suspect has happened here. Even with no charger on the batteries may drain in 3 months, but they shouldn't be shot. You should also have a tri-position battery switch so you can connect all batteries for starting and charging while running but be sure to shut that switch when you leave the boat. The charger and bilge pumps should be direct wired so they'll still work, but a light left on won't drain you.

[NYCAP123]

Originally Posted by Stonie

My current boat requires that you have the battery parallel switches on to charge both banks.

The charger should bypass that switch going directly to the bats.