Well I started all of this and agreed to finish the story. I took a short cruise on Lake Washington about 2 weeks ago, sat on the hook for 5 hrs and when I went to start, the 3 batteries together barely started the diesels. So I got the hint. First, I looked up exactly how long I had these AGM 8D's (Trojan) and it's been 8 years not 6. Yike. I now am the proud owner of 3 new AGM's (Trojan again- because the others were so strong and long lasting) and I immediately realized I had forgotten how a start is supposed to sound. Zing and were off! I guess I was lucky. The yard experts said that when these AGM's get old they die very quickly, with little warning and won't take a charge. Good thing I wasn't in the middle of nowhere. My idea of using the generator to charge them back up would not have worked.
So the lesson here is don't wait too long. I had hints of this last year and should have changed them then. Also, be sure to keep the number of leads from the battery to a few, utilizing fused buss bars to organize all the various leads that get added over time. Engine room fires are always electrical and a result of faulty wiring. We've had a rash of boat fire in Seattle because of this problem. On Friday, July 26, 2013 8:28:32 AM UTC-7, Georgeviking wrote: > > Steve I run a small marine electrical biz ....tough to get my customers to > take the plunge on the jells but they hold up to vibration and pounding > much better none I put in our past six years old but two customers I have > our eight years old with smart chargers. I use a tester that measures a > batteries capacity ....not a load bank > > Sent from my iPad > > On Jul 25, 2013, at 1:20 PM, Steve Campbell > <[email protected]<javascript:>> > wrote: > > > On Tuesday, April 2, 2013 2:52:02 PM UTC-7, Bob S wrote: >> >> I have a twin diesel 42'. I had my batteries changed about 6 years ago. >> At the time I had 3 8d AGM batteries put in with a smart charger. They seem >> good as new but I am feeling I might need to change them. Anyone know how >> long these types should last? Is there any test I can do to >> check whether they are close to done? Or is it a simple thing a yard could >> do with the right equipment? They aren't cheap or light so I would want to >> get the most I can from them without getting stuck somewhere. >> Thanks in advance. I always get great advice from this site. >> > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "UnifliteWorld" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected] <javascript:>. > To post to this group, send email to [email protected]<javascript:> > . > Visit this group at <http://groups.google.com/group/unifliteworld> > http://groups.google.com/group/unifliteworld. > For more options, visit <https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out> > https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out. > > > > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "UnifliteWorld" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/unifliteworld. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
