I've got a two year old house bank of two Group 27B's. (the 27B's are
supposed to be a little bit better than a plain Group 27) Last summer
they seemed to loose their ability to keep my refrigerator and anchor
light working as long as they used to and I'm wondering if they are shot
or not. They have gotten a lot of use these last two years, so I won't
whine too much if they are gone, but I would hate to replace them if
they aren't.

How do I check this out?

Is there some way to de-sulpher the plates or something to re-energize
them and save me a $130 trip to Sam's Club?

Capt. Jeff

You can test the acid in your batteries ("specific gravity") and you can take
them to an auto-shop and have them load tested...

When was the last time they got a good full charge?

We're going on 3 years with a couple of die-hard deep cycles..
Last year; one battery wouldn't keep the anchor light & cabin lights going all
night -- we took them home & put them on the battery charger and gave them a
full charge, back to normal now...

On Sun, 15 Feb 2004 22:28:14 -0600, Messing In Boats
wrote:

I've got a two year old house bank of two Group 27B's. (the 27B's are
supposed to be a little bit better than a plain Group 27) Last summer
they seemed to loose their ability to keep my refrigerator and anchor
light working as long as they used to and I'm wondering if they are shot
or not. They have gotten a lot of use these last two years, so I won't
whine too much if they are gone, but I would hate to replace them if
they aren't.

How do I check this out?

Is there some way to de-sulpher the plates or something to re-energize
them and save me a $130 trip to Sam's Club?

Capt. Jeff


---
Remove x's to send.

You can test the acid in your batteries ("specific gravity") and you can take
them to an auto-shop and have them load tested...

When was the last time they got a good full charge?

We're going on 3 years with a couple of die-hard deep cycles..
Last year; one battery wouldn't keep the anchor light & cabin lights going all
night -- we took them home & put them on the battery charger and gave them a
full charge, back to normal now...

On Sun, 15 Feb 2004 22:28:14 -0600, Messing In Boats
wrote:

I've got a two year old house bank of two Group 27B's. (the 27B's are
supposed to be a little bit better than a plain Group 27) Last summer
they seemed to loose their ability to keep my refrigerator and anchor
light working as long as they used to and I'm wondering if they are shot
or not. They have gotten a lot of use these last two years, so I won't
whine too much if they are gone, but I would hate to replace them if
they aren't.

How do I check this out?

Is there some way to de-sulpher the plates or something to re-energize
them and save me a $130 trip to Sam's Club?

Capt. Jeff


---
Remove x's to send.

My experience has been if you don't recharge deep cycle batteries soon
after depletion, say less than 24 hours, a few times of this and your
battery's capacity is reduced. You can get some 29-MAXX's at Wal-Mart
for $65 each. These have a little more life than 27's which go for about
$55 each at Wal-Mart. Both are worth what they cost.
Peter
http://cgi6.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/e...sort=3&rows=50

Messing In Boats wrote:

I've got a two year old house bank of two Group 27B's. (the 27B's are
supposed to be a little bit better than a plain Group 27) Last summer
they seemed to loose their ability to keep my refrigerator and anchor
light working as long as they used to and I'm wondering if they are shot
or not. They have gotten a lot of use these last two years, so I won't
whine too much if they are gone, but I would hate to replace them if
they aren't.

How do I check this out?

Is there some way to de-sulpher the plates or something to re-energize
them and save me a $130 trip to Sam's Club?

Capt. Jeff

My experience has been if you don't recharge deep cycle batteries soon
after depletion, say less than 24 hours, a few times of this and your
battery's capacity is reduced. You can get some 29-MAXX's at Wal-Mart
for $65 each. These have a little more life than 27's which go for about
$55 each at Wal-Mart. Both are worth what they cost.
Peter
http://cgi6.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/e...sort=3&rows=50

Messing In Boats wrote:

I've got a two year old house bank of two Group 27B's. (the 27B's are
supposed to be a little bit better than a plain Group 27) Last summer
they seemed to loose their ability to keep my refrigerator and anchor
light working as long as they used to and I'm wondering if they are shot
or not. They have gotten a lot of use these last two years, so I won't
whine too much if they are gone, but I would hate to replace them if
they aren't.

How do I check this out?

Is there some way to de-sulpher the plates or something to re-energize
them and save me a $130 trip to Sam's Club?

Capt. Jeff

Jeff,
The first question I would try to answer if a client approached me with
this situation would be - are the two batteries strapped together or are
they charged separately. The typical answer is that are strapped
(hardwired) together.

If they are, separate them, check them out, then try to charge them back
to max SG (probably 1.270 but check the battery and temp)

It is very hard to get two batteries that are in parrallel to both fully
charge.

You can also get a line powered device that will de-sulpate the plates
to some extent, but with out doing a two hour chemistry lesson, it is
tough to explain.

http://www.batteryfaq.org/ will lead you to a whole lot more than I
feel like writing.

Matt Colie www.yachtek.com
"Free answers to simple questions"


Messing In Boats wrote:
I've got a two year old house bank of two Group 27B's. (the 27B's are
supposed to be a little bit better than a plain Group 27) Last summer
they seemed to loose their ability to keep my refrigerator and anchor
light working as long as they used to and I'm wondering if they are shot
or not. They have gotten a lot of use these last two years, so I won't
whine too much if they are gone, but I would hate to replace them if
they aren't.

How do I check this out?

Is there some way to de-sulpher the plates or something to re-energize
them and save me a $130 trip to Sam's Club?

Capt. Jeff

Jeff,
The first question I would try to answer if a client approached me with
this situation would be - are the two batteries strapped together or are
they charged separately. The typical answer is that are strapped
(hardwired) together.

If they are, separate them, check them out, then try to charge them back
to max SG (probably 1.270 but check the battery and temp)

It is very hard to get two batteries that are in parrallel to both fully
charge.

You can also get a line powered device that will de-sulpate the plates
to some extent, but with out doing a two hour chemistry lesson, it is
tough to explain.

http://www.batteryfaq.org/ will lead you to a whole lot more than I
feel like writing.

Matt Colie www.yachtek.com
"Free answers to simple questions"


Messing In Boats wrote:
I've got a two year old house bank of two Group 27B's. (the 27B's are
supposed to be a little bit better than a plain Group 27) Last summer
they seemed to loose their ability to keep my refrigerator and anchor
light working as long as they used to and I'm wondering if they are shot
or not. They have gotten a lot of use these last two years, so I won't
whine too much if they are gone, but I would hate to replace them if
they aren't.

How do I check this out?

Is there some way to de-sulpher the plates or something to re-energize
them and save me a $130 trip to Sam's Club?

Capt. Jeff

Hi Jeff,
You can have a battery load tested at most battery stores (Maybe even
Sam's). This will indicate the life/load remaining. House batteries are
notorious for going bad over winter. They don't like freezing cold, being
run low on electrolyte, or not being trickle charged over extended periods.
Last year (July), I installed "Optima" brand, maintenance free batteries in
my cruiser. I will let the group know about the lifespan results later in
the year. So far, they have worked well in north Florida conditions.
--
Capt. Frank

__c
\ _ | \_
__\_| oooo \_____
~~~~|______________/ ~~~~~
www.home.earthlink.net/~aartworks
"Messing In Boats" wrote in message
...
I've got a two year old house bank of two Group 27B's. (the 27B's are
supposed to be a little bit better than a plain Group 27) Last summer
they seemed to loose their ability to keep my refrigerator and anchor
light working as long as they used to and I'm wondering if they are shot
or not. They have gotten a lot of use these last two years, so I won't
whine too much if they are gone, but I would hate to replace them if
they aren't.

How do I check this out?

Is there some way to de-sulpher the plates or something to re-energize
them and save me a $130 trip to Sam's Club?

Capt. Jeff

Hi Jeff,
You can have a battery load tested at most battery stores (Maybe even
Sam's). This will indicate the life/load remaining. House batteries are
notorious for going bad over winter. They don't like freezing cold, being
run low on electrolyte, or not being trickle charged over extended periods.
Last year (July), I installed "Optima" brand, maintenance free batteries in
my cruiser. I will let the group know about the lifespan results later in
the year. So far, they have worked well in north Florida conditions.
--
Capt. Frank

__c
\ _ | \_
__\_| oooo \_____
~~~~|______________/ ~~~~~
www.home.earthlink.net/~aartworks
"Messing In Boats" wrote in message
...
I've got a two year old house bank of two Group 27B's. (the 27B's are
supposed to be a little bit better than a plain Group 27) Last summer
they seemed to loose their ability to keep my refrigerator and anchor
light working as long as they used to and I'm wondering if they are shot
or not. They have gotten a lot of use these last two years, so I won't
whine too much if they are gone, but I would hate to replace them if
they aren't.

How do I check this out?

Is there some way to de-sulpher the plates or something to re-energize
them and save me a $130 trip to Sam's Club?

Capt. Jeff

Yea, you can get a de-sulphator like the Battery Minder or something
similar. I can't find the links right now, but I have one and love it.

--


Keith
__
Never let a boat take you somewhere your brain didn't get to five minutes
earlier.
"Messing In Boats" wrote in message
...
I've got a two year old house bank of two Group 27B's. (the 27B's are
supposed to be a little bit better than a plain Group 27) Last summer
they seemed to loose their ability to keep my refrigerator and anchor
light working as long as they used to and I'm wondering if they are shot
or not. They have gotten a lot of use these last two years, so I won't
whine too much if they are gone, but I would hate to replace them if
they aren't.

How do I check this out?

Is there some way to de-sulpher the plates or something to re-energize
them and save me a $130 trip to Sam's Club?

Capt. Jeff