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The nightmare of every boater, who doesn't use his or her boat
regularly. There are a couple of tips for you to help get these things to last a little
longer.
- Keep a trickle charger on them even during the summer months. The
last thing you want is to be leaving for a weekend outing and having a dead battery.
- Have two batteries installed on your boat if you venture far from
shore.
- Do install a battery switch, and mark the cables and posts clearly
positive (red) and negative (green.)
- Do not install a brand new battery and connect it in parallel with an
old battery. There is a risk of fire, explosion, or at the least the old battery will
drain the new one, and cut down it's useful life by about 3/4.
- If your batteries are acting up and have trouble sometimes holding a
charge, check the connections, charging system and electrical systems. If those check out,
toss the batteries (two years old or more) and get new ones. You don't want to be stuck in
an emergency situation with battery problems.
- Install your batteries above the water line. If you take on water
during a storm or other situation, you may loose battery power for your radios, if they
are submerged.
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