Can i leave the battery switch on either 1,2 or 1+ 2 when garaging the boat.?

Question

Want to get the best life out of these batteries and realiability as i have a crew of 6(4 kids)Should i leave in off position.

Answer 1

take the batteries out and store them in a warm place,,but mark all the boat wires so you know where they go when your ready to put it back in the water.

have you got a battery charger with a 2 amp rate??

Answer 2

When you leave the boat you should put the battery switch in the off position so that incase you left something on it will not kill battery 1, 2, or both. If you leave it in the water the bilge pump should be wired so that the automatic side of the pump is wired direct to one battery. If you are storing the boat for any length of time you should charge the batteries once a month and check the water level, fill with distilled water as needed.

Answer 3

The best thing to do is disconnect the batteries, when the boat is garaged.

Answer 4

Turn the switch off that way there is no chance of the bateries draining due to a short or some other draw. it also prevents people(children, any body mischeivous) from turning on things or playing with trim etc. DO NO REMOVE BATTERIES FROM BOAT. I have been in the marine business for over thirty years and MORE batteries are damaged/ruined from improper handeling and hookup. Besides batteries LAST LONGER in a cool or cold environment as long AS THE SPECIFIC GRAVITY IS NORMAL. THIS INCLUDES FREEZING TEMPS! most battery manufacturers will also tell you this. this is also why many people store camera batteries in the refridgerator. the cold temps SLOW DOWN the chemical process adding length to the life of your battery. JUST MAKE SURE THEY ARE CHARGED. I have seen probably 5 to 1 batteries damaged by improper handeling vs freezing., and I live in the coldest place in continental US. I stored up to 75 boats a time in freezing temps and ALL batteries were left in. they all are good in spring. But I ensure that they are charged and either disconnected or switched off or know for sure that the boats electrical system is short free.

Answer 5

take the batteries out and slow charge them once a month

Answer 6

Just to take issue with the first answer, if you take the batteries out they are better off in a COOL (but dry) place.

Answer 7

During the summer season, when the boat isn't in use just shut the batteries off. Make sure that the bilge pump has a float switch either hooked up to it or built-in to the pump housing, and that it's wired "hot" to one of the batteries, that is, wired directly. When the switch is off, nothing will drain the batteries except for the bilge pump. However, when winter comes, you shouldn't have to worry about it either. We have a marina, and where we are, boats only see a 4 month season before being put away for the other 8. We see marine batteries go for about 5 years or so before they're done, and really, you probably don't want to take a battery much beyond that. Replacing it every five years is like cheap insurance so that you know you won't have a problem when you have a boat load on the water and it dies because you didn't want to replace the battery. We store over 300 boats, and we never take the batteries out of them during the winter, and never see a freezing problem, but I'm thinking that's because 99% of the boats in our buildings have high-quality, deep cycle Interstate batteries in them. They're also full of acid/water when they go in for storage anyway. All we do in the fall is disconnect them and put them away. We hit them with a good charge in the spring and then they're ready to go. The main thing is to have a good, strong battery charger that can put a ton of power into that battery in the spring. Putting them on a trickle charge for a few days really isn't that productive because sometimes they need a good "wake up." We have super-strong chargers that can jump start a dump truck without a problem. You probably don't need anything that big, but a good charger makes all the difference.