Collateral damage

Some things you take for granted ..... like relying on a smart charger to do what it has to do :'(

My CTEK 25 amp charger decided it didn't want to be smart anymore ......

The day before I was heading up north for a bit of R&R I thought I would charge up the boat batteries ....... overnight - which went into the following afternoon . Went to disconnect the charger & noticed that it was still pumping in power & not in float mode ..... checked that battery & noticed it was shit hot & bulging :o - Well it was fried - Charger obviously cactus .... but brought down with it an expensive Optima battery :(:'(>:(

The moral of this story ...... don't just leave your battery in the hands of a smart charger - monitor it always !

Chris

or it could have been the battery taking the charger. You have no forensic evidence to prove either way, Blame them both and you will feel better.

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Originally Posted by Andy56

or it could have been the battery taking the charger. You have no forensic evidence to prove either way, Blame them both and you will feel better.

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That is till you put the charger on a fully charged battery & the charger wants to pump in 14.6 volts instead of going to float

no need for a forensic investigation when it is death by electrocution

Chris

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Originally Posted by NAGG

That is till you put the charger on a fully charged battery & the charger wants to pump in 14.6 volts instead of going to float

no need for a forensic investigation when it is death by electrocution

Chris

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That only proves its dead. Doesnt prove it was the culprit. But what do i know, i only worked in electronics for 40yrs.

Why do so many people have flat batteries when the boat sits for a while? Do people disconnect terminal or turn isolator off?

Standard lead acids will self discharge but it takes a pretty long time. One of the more common culprits is electronics that are wired direct. This can be like a stereo that has a memory wire to keep the station presets or anything that uses a push button power switch that doesn't physically separate the power input - more or less just puts the device into "standby" mode.

did you have the heat sensor connected it should have turned charger off when it detected heated battery.
Cheers
Ray

bugger, I never disconnect my batteries, they stay connected tot he smart chargers 24 / 7 when the boat is in the shed. Might have to reconsider that!

Charging a full battery overnight shouldn't hurt it.
Chargers don't 'pump in' 14.6 Volts they offer the battery 14.6 Volts and how much power goes in is up to the battery.
FWIW I believe Optima run on a higher Voltage than most batteries and Optima used to have a good reputation but I believe they were taken over & since have gone downhill.

From CTEK

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Q. The MULTI US 25000/MULTI XT 14000 does not have the higher voltage recommended for brands like Optima. Is this a problem?
A. We recommend the higher voltage for these batteries. These chargers do not have this setting but can still be used.

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Q. Can you really connect and then forget about the charger?A. Always check that the charger has switched to maintenance charge before leaving your charger unattended and connected for longer periods. If the charger has not switched to maintenance charge within 72 hours, the charger must be disconnected manually. If the charger has switched to maintenance charge, everything is as it should be and the battery is probably healthy and will work for a long time together with your CTEK charger. If the charger has not switched to maintenance charge after 48 hours and the green lamp is lit, this is a sign that something is wrong.
Possible causes:

• A larger battery of an older type, known as an antimony battery behaves differently, see Charger Academy – Battery Types.
• If major consumers are connected to the battery, charging will take a long time and the battery can even be overcharged.
• The battery is sulphated from the start, see Battery Knowledge – Sulphating. In this case, charging will take longer as the higher internal resistance of the battery restricts the amount of current it can receive.
• The battery is spent and needs replacing.

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I wouldn't blame the charger without further testing.

When you replace the charger get the CTEK M300 as it has a 5 yr warranty on it and the.08 unit that comes with it.