How to verify charger is working.

[CharlieO.]

What’s the best way to verify my charger is working.

Just want to verify before I leave the boat for a week.

Thanks

 

[High Wire]

Start with reading the specific model manual. If no manual here is a simple test
Turn it off
Run the battery down some
Clip a digital volt meter on the battery terminals
Turn on the charger
Verify voltage increases on all connected batteries.
Verify it shuts down or drops to float voltage when the batteries reach full charge
Fwiw a week without a charger is no problem at all unless something is left on like a radio, refrigerator, frequently running bilge pump, cabin lights, etc. or the battery is on life support.

 

[CharlieO.]

Thanks Archie,
I kept my batteries in a heated Garage all winter and kept them on a “smart” charger. They always read right around 12.5 volts at rest. In the boat I read 13.1 volts now with both batteries in.
I just have a battery bank of 2 12 volt batteries.

I do have a small bilge pump that comes on a couple times an hour to pump out maybe a couple gallons. When I close the seacock, that will save some dripping.

When I kick on the bilge pump manually the amp gauge goes up to 5 amps then comes down when the pump kicks off

 

[Scottwb96]

aside from voltage on the batteries rising when plugged into shore/gen. You should also check the amps being delivered. If you don't already have one, get yourself a decent clamp-on multi-meter.

https://www.amazon.com/Southwire-To...hwire+voltmeter+with+amp+clamp,aps,134&sr=8-9

 

[Bmarler]

Thanks Archie,
I kept my batteries in a heated Garage all winter and kept them on a “smart” charger. They always read right around 12.5 volts at rest. In the boat I read 13.1 volts now with both batteries in.
I just have a battery bank of 2 12 volt batteries.

I do have a small bilge pump that comes on a couple times an hour to pump out maybe a couple gallons. When I close the seacock, that will save some dripping.

When I kick on the bilge pump manually the amp gauge goes up to 5 amps then comes down when the pump kicks off

if you're reading 13.1 volts there's a charging system online. lead acid fully charged, at rest, reads around 12.7
your meter jumps to show the current required to run the bilge pump as well.
why do you need to pump twice per hour?

 

[koliver]

I do have a small bilge pump that comes on a couple times an hour to pump out maybe a couple gallons. When I close the seacock, that will save some dripping.

You have a leak that stops when you close a seacock? Already found your leak, but can't get at it to fix it? Willing to rely on the bilge pumps/batteries/ to deal with up to 4 gallons an hour. Over a week, 7x24x4g=672g. That could easily be overtopping your batteries if you once fail to close that seacock, systems fail and the leak continues.
Priorities?

 

[C lectric]

why do you need to pump twice per hour?

I wondered about this also. Even with a standard stuffing box once the engine is stopped, shaft no longer spinning, the drip should slow to almost nothing in a few minutes.

So what valve do you turn off to stop the water ingress?

 

[CharlieO.]

My seawater strainer has a bit of a drip. I haven’t been able to source any other leaks for sure yet. Not seeing water in the Laz, not seeing any from the shaft, not seeing anything leaking from any other through hulls.

I’m going to crawl around a bit more before I have to leave. Finding where the water is coming from is on the top of my list.

Thanks everyone for addressing my questions through out this forum.
I’ll have more

 

[ScottC]

It could be that the strainer cover is simply not fastened down fully—and most importantly— EVENLY.
Don’t tighten cover bolts in a circular pattern. Gradually tighten ”opposite” bolts (or as close to opposite as possible)

 

[Bacchus]

Check for cracks in the strainer bowl.

 

[BruceK]

Hard to tell but the reputable brand Charles charger pictured looks like an old ferro resonant charger. You just spent $$ on purchasing and servicing your boat, priority may be low, but replacement with a modern multi stage charger is worth considering.The old ones are not so good for the batts when left on for long periods at the dock.

 

[CharlieO.]

For those that asked about where the water is coming from, thanks. It made me dig a little further. Turns out the block the muffler sits on in the bilge was the culprit. It doesn’t look like they block was fiberglassed over the top. So water was coming up between that block and the fiberglass laid in the bilge that wrapped up the side of said block but didn’t continue over the top of block.The fiberglass was delaminated from the side of the block allowing water from the keel up through that spot between the fiberglass and wood block.

Oh, and my charger works fine.

Found a couple not quite tight enough screws on the strainer. But I’m going to put it on my list to rebuild or replace.

 

[READY]

Are you saying you have water coming up from your keel? So not just a leak in a sea strainer? Whether or not the block was fully fiberglassed does not sound like the real issue. How is water getting inside your hull? Also be sure to find out if you have any wood core in your hull. If so and you have water getting in from the keel that wcould be a big problem.

 

[CharlieO.]

Thanks Ken,
No cored hull, concrete filled keel. Not an uncommon issue on these boats, most find it an issue with the shaft tube. It something I definitely plan to address.

 

[alormaria]

I have an even older charger on Angelina. I check the water in the batteries every month and they rarely ever need topping up. I've always gotten 7 years out of my batteries. As long as your charger is working its fine.


The leak is worrying. Perhaps it will take up (or clog up). A few miles in the lower Hudson should do it. {8^)

 

[CharlieO.]

Al,
Not an ideal situation, but will keep an eye on it, and come up with a solution for next haul out. I was able to do a temp seal that slowed down the leak considerably.

 

[koliver]

Al,
Not an ideal situation, but will keep an eye on it, and come up with a solution for next haul out. I was able to do a temp seal that slowed down the leak considerably.

Curiosity.
What did you seal temporarily? You mentioned the block upon which your muffler rests, as a source of water. I am having a hard time visualizing that, as for how it could be connected to outside water.
You also mentioned that in some of those boats, the shaft pipe leaks. Check here for some insight as to the difficulty getting at the "shaft pipe" and how some have repaired it. Is this simply a guess, based on what someone with a similar boat has said? Do you have any evidence that yours is leaking? How is this connected with the through hull that you closed, to lessen or to stop the present leak?
Much more investigation is required, if you want help with what could be a very significant, or perhaps trivial problem. Assume for the moment at least, that it is significant, until you have evidence that allows you to conclude that it is trivial.

 

[Shrew]

Is thread about a leak or about a charger?

 

[CharlieO.]

Keith, The leak under the muffler block is separate from the sea strainer drip. I will update with a new thread after more investigation. It is definitely something I will address, may require another haul out, unless I can find an epoxy that cures/bonds to wet surfaces. I did temp repair with wax jammed between said block and fiberglass.

Boat has a full keel filled with concrete then a layer of fiberglass over that to form the bilge floor. I repaired a section of the bilge forward of the engine and added a small sump pit maybe 2", with an 800 gph bilge pump as my primary and a 3700 gph with the float switch set 3/4" higher as my high water pump, the large one doesn't come on.

Before my temp fix the small pump would come on about every 30 minutes, after that I got to about an hour and 20 minutes and it still didn't kick on I had to leave the boat.

As for as suspecting the shaft tube it's just a guess based on others experiences.

I do appreciate everyone's questions and concerns. Thank you

 

[CharlieO.]

Shrew,
Isn't that what we call project creep? I will start a new thread on the water intrusion once I investigate it more.....