[C320-list] Battery Charger Issues

[james sweet]

Good Afternoon All,

I'm have some battery issues and since Physics was over 50 years ago I need some help.  When we splashed TGIF this summer after a year on the hard, due to high water on Lake Ontario, I checked the batteries (8 year old Interstates) and they were fine.  I noticed a few days later and subsequently that the battery meter showed the batteries overcharging.  We finally got some sailing in and one battery would't crank the engine so I had to switch to the other one.  I checked the battery that wasn't working and found a dead cell.  Questions:

1.  I realize that the batteries are old but I got 10 years out of the last set and one appears to be fine.  Therefore, could the charger be the culprit in killing the one battery?  The charger is a replacement Pro Mariner Protech 4 30 amp.

2.  If the charger is the problem what are the recommendations for replacements?  We do one cruise a year but typically are hooked to power at night.  We do leave the refrigerator running at all times when hooked up.  We use the instruments when sailing and sometimes the stereo is on for a couple of hours.  Light usage is limited to a couple of the aft berth's lights for 2 hours a night.

Thanks for the help.

Jim Sweet
TGIF (Thank God It Floats) 901


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