RCR Guidance on minimising problems

[Alan de Enfield]

I wonder if this means that if you have a battery bank of (say) 4 batteries it will take 8-12 hours to recharge from fully discharged?

 

 

Maintenance tips

RCR Managing Director, Stephanie Horton, explains:

 

The right batteries

Starter systems must have the right batteries.  A cranking battery delivers a high output quickly while a leisure battery delivers a lower continuous output, so needs regular charging to maintain capacity.  If in a good condition, each battery in a bank generally requires two to three hours charging to achieve full performance once fully discharged.

Each battery cell can affect the whole battery bank so to prevent deterioration, regularly check and top up the cells’ water levels with de-ionised water.  If one cell’s water level drops to below 50% it will bring the battery bank capacity down to the same level, irrespective of how good the other batteries are.  Never mix batteries and always replace a whole bank of old with new.

I

 

Edited October 30, 2019 by Alan de Enfield

[WotEver]

10 minutes ago, Alan de Enfield said:

I wonder if this means that if you have a battery bank of (say) 4 batteries it will take 8-12 hours to recharge from fully discharged?

Perhaps he took the 12-16 hours to fully charge a battery from empty and divided it by 4, for a typical installation

[eightacre]

33 minutes ago, Alan de Enfield said:

  If in a good condition, each battery in a bank generally requires two to three hours charging to achieve full performance once fully discharged.

 

I note that it says "full performance". Not "fully charged".

[Alan de Enfield]

38 minutes ago, eightacre said:

I note that it says "full performance". Not "fully charged".

Maybe you could explain how you can get full performance (say) 110Ah from a 110Ah battery that is not fully charged.

 

I'd be most grateful as it could save me running the engine for hours and hours.

[cuthound]

2 hours ago, Alan de Enfield said:

I wonder if this means that if you have a battery bank of (say) 4 batteries it will take 8-12 hours to recharge from fully discharged?

 

 

Maintenance tips

RCR Managing Director, Stephanie Horton, explains:

 

The right batteries

Starter systems must have the right batteries.  A cranking battery delivers a high output quickly while a leisure battery delivers a lower continuous output, so needs regular charging to maintain capacity.  If in a good condition, each battery in a bank generally requires two to three hours charging to achieve full performance once fully discharged.

Each battery cell can affect the whole battery bank so to prevent deterioration, regularly check and top up the cells’ water levels with de-ionised water.  If one cell’s water level drops to below 50% it will bring the battery bank capacity down to the same level, irrespective of how good the other batteries are.  Never mix batteries and always replace a whole bank of old with new.

I

 

 

I didn't realise that RCR now provide lithium Ion batteries.?

[Dr Bob]

2 hours ago, Alan de Enfield said:

I wonder if this means that if you have a battery bank of (say) 4 batteries it will take 8-12 hours to recharge from fully discharged?

 

 

 If in a good condition, each battery in a bank generally requires two to three hours charging to achieve full performance once fully discharged.

 

 

Even if they are assuming just one battery takes 2-3 hours (so 4 will take a lot longer) - I  think it is wrong.

Most batteries we have are 110Ahr. Therefore when FULLY DISCHARED ie DoD 100%!!! you will need to put back in 120-130Ahrs.

The first 2 hours most peeps would get 70Ahr back in - starting at say 80A and dropping to 40-50A. The remaining 50-60Ahrs would take at least a couple more  if not 3 hours to get to 100%.

I think they need to define what fully discharged means. Yes if it is 50% DoD.

It is a very misleading statement as most peeps will have more then a single battery and who with any knowledge fully discharges them?

[dor]

I think many of us on this forum are now far better informed than we used to be, and, in my experience, much better informed than the majority of boaters who don’t follow it.

 

25 years ago, when I started boating, it used to annoy me when the TV cut out half way through the evening when it turned off at 10.6 volts. I like to think that I understand it a bit better now. 

 Unfortunately, many so- called professionals are still at that same stage of understanding batteries.

[ditchcrawler]

4 hours ago, WotEver said:

Perhaps he took the 12-16 hours to fully charge a battery from empty and divided it by 4, for a typical installation

He?? Stephanie Horton

[WotEver]

9 minutes ago, ditchcrawler said:

He?? Stephanie Horton

Oh yeah

1 hour ago, Dr Bob said:

Even if they are assuming just one battery takes 2-3 hours (so 4 will take a lot longer)

Eh?

 

4 will take exactly as long as 1 or 10 assuming a large enough charge source. 

To fully charge a LA battery (or batteries, of any quantity) takes between 12 and 16 hours. 2 to 3 hours is unlikely to get them much beyond 70% SoC from fully discharged (whatever that means). 

[cuthound]

4 minutes ago, WotEver said:

Oh yeah

Eh?

 

4 will take exactly as long as 1 or 10, irrespective of capacity, assuming a large enough charge source. 

To fully charge a LA battery (or batteries, of any quantity) takes between 12 and 16 hours. 2 to 3 hours is unlikely to get them much beyond 70% SoC from fully discharged (whatever that means). 

 

Corrected that for you. ?

[WotEver]

I just read the paragraph below the one that Alan quoted and I don’t even understand it. No, I’ve not edited it, it does actually start with “Cables this...”

 

Cables this is primarily due to their exposure to the elements as most of the cable terminus is set outside. If not used regularly, cables will rust so to prevent this, grease the end of the cable, particularly if leaving the boat for a long period of time, and when you do set off, check for any roughness or stiffness. If fitting new ones, keep any cable bends to a minimum as these are the areas likely to suffer high stress and so may fail in the future.

[MtB]

4 hours ago, Alan de Enfield said:

If in a good condition, each battery in a bank generally requires two to three hours charging to achieve full performance once fully discharged.

 

I too thought aha, RCR have started selling lithiums!

[WotEver]

Just now, cuthound said:

 

Corrected that for you. ?

Indeed

 

Now can you interpret the next paragraph for me please?

[MtB]

2 minutes ago, WotEver said:

I just read the paragraph below the one that Alan quoted and I don’t even understand it. No, I’ve not edited it, it does actually start with “Cables this...”

 

Cables this is primarily due to their exposure to the elements as most of the cable terminus is set outside. If not used regularly, cables will rust so to prevent this, grease the end of the cable, particularly if leaving the boat for a long period of time, and when you do set off, check for any roughness or stiffness. If fitting new ones, keep any cable bends to a minimum as these are the areas likely to suffer high stress and so may fail in the future.

 

 

Reads like someone with the merest smattering of knowledge making it up as they go along.

 

 

 

 

[WotEver]

2 minutes ago, Mike the Boilerman said:

Reads like someone with the merest smattering of knowledge making it up as they go along.

Having now read it for about the 10th time I’ve realised that she’s referring to control cables for throttle & gear change. 

[cuthound]

15 minutes ago, WotEver said:

Indeed

 

Now can you interpret the next paragraph for me please?

 

A fully discharged battery is one with cells at 1.75 volts or less.

 

In my experience, charging a completly discharged battery back to 100% takes around 20-24 hours.

[MtB]

33 minutes ago, cuthound said:

 

A fully discharged battery is one with cells at 1.75 volts or less.

 

In my experience, charging a completly discharged battery back to 100% takes around 20-24 hours.

 

Unless you are the boss of RCR!

 

 

[dmr]

I read this article in a canal magazine a while ago.

The thing about not letting the water level drop below 50% is interesting, I have obviously been over zealous in my topping up. A couple of times I have let the water go just below the top of the plates and got quite cross with myself but sounds like I only need to keep half the plates in the water.

 

and the usual garbage about a bad battery dragging all the other batteries down to the same capacity.

 

.................Dave

[MtB]

4 minutes ago, dmr said:

The thing about not letting the water level drop below 50% is interesting,

 

I've sussed the problem. She is writing about them newfangled Lead-Water batteries, not them old lead acid things you insist on using....

 

 

[dmr]

The water level here dropped to below 50% today and there was a lot of creaking and groaning from the mooring ropes so maybe RCR are onto something.

I did note that most boats dropped to the same level as the lowest one, except for those on the other side that hardly dropped at all but instead exposed their bottoms.

 

..................Dave

[cuthound]

44 minutes ago, dmr said:

I read this article in a canal magazine a while ago.

The thing about not letting the water level drop below 50% is interesting, I have obviously been over zealous in my topping up. A couple of times I have let the water go just below the top of the plates and got quite cross with myself but sounds like I only need to keep half the plates in the water.

 

and the usual garbage about a bad battery dragging all the other batteries down to the same capacity.

 

.................Dave

 

I think she was referring to the washing up! ?

[Boater Sam]

Now don't argue, Stephanie is God as anyone who has had dealings with her will be made well aware. She is always correct, impossible for her to be wrong, ever. And if she ever was it would be everyone else's fault.

[frangar]

1 hour ago, Boater Sam said:

Now don't argue, Stephanie is God as anyone who has had dealings with her will be made well aware. She is always correct, impossible for her to be wrong, ever. And if she ever was it would be everyone else's fault.

She certainly doesn’t take criticism of her company well that’s for sure...lost count of the times her & her business partner have threatened me with all sorts for pointing out their failings....hilarious really. 

[Dr Bob]

3 hours ago, WotEver said:

 

4 will take exactly as long as 1 or 10 assuming a large enough charge source. 

 

Yea, but we dont all have large enough charge sources. Most of us are relying on 90A alternators that get hot and reduce output after a few hours full blast in bulk so most are imited to not much  more than 50A once the alternator gets hot.

[cuthound]

11 hours ago, Dr Bob said:

Yea, but we dont all have large enough charge sources. Most of us are relying on 90A alternators that get hot and reduce output after a few hours full blast in bulk so most are imited to not much  more than 50A once the alternator gets hot.

 

I think most Beta 43 and similar engined boats, built over the last 15 years are 120-175A domestic alternators.