Do I Need To Charge My Batteries On My Yamaha 222S

[mmcneese01]

Hello owning a Yamaha boat is really new to me. We’ve had many boats but they’ve all been outboard, we absolutely love boat so far. Should I or should I not charge my boat in between uses to the lake? We have gone out four times this season and the engines have turned over no issues. I appreacite any unsought to this.
Thank you
Michael

 

[Julian]

Depends on how much power draw you have and how long.

What does your connext screen say the voltage is BEFORE you start an engine ?

 

[Julian]

This is a table for 12v state of charge

 

[mmcneese01]

Hey Julian, really helpful! Thank you for your quick response and for the table for 12v state of charge! Have a great rest of your Sunday.
- Michael

 

[Gap22]

I have had mine for 2.5 years and have never charged my battery in between uses. Always turn it off after a day on the lake. I use bose portable for sound, so it doesn't drain my battery. Most of the time, there's too many people blasting their music around us to even make it worthwhile to turn ours on anyway. I've never had a problem, but I have jumped others off with my Microstart a few times.

 

[mmcneese01]

Awesome TY

 

[TommyMcK]

Agree with the above that you don't need to charge between outings relative to the start battery. If you spend any appreciable time playing music off of the house battery while the engine is off, you will most definitely need to charge the battery when you get back unless it takes you hours of engine run time to get back. A 30 minute ride from the sand bar to the dock isn't enough to do it. I use a separate blue tooth speaker to play music when I'm anchored with the engine off so that I don't have to hassle with it, but I get that some folks like to crank the tunes using the boat audio while at the sandbar.

Regarding Julian's table, that's definitely correct for a 12V battery so long as the battery isn't under ANY load. You won't show those voltages on your Connext though since you'll be running the Connext at a minimum. Depending on the boat, and if you have the blower on and a bunch of other variables, a fully charged battery can easily show in the 11's on the display, so don't be worried if you are showing less than what is in the table. If you really want to check it against that table, use a volt meter directly on the battery terminals with the main breakers off.

 

[Dave burke]

I wet slip my boat between June and October and never charge the batteries. But I always turn the battery switches off when not using the boat.

Batteries are still original and work fine but since they're in the 8th season, I'm thinking I'll change them pretty soon.

 

[FSH 210 Sport]

Install a on board battery charger like a NOCO 2x10 NOCO - 2-Bank 20A On-Board Battery Charger - GENPRO10X2 or a Minnkota PC MK220 https://minnkota.johnsonoutdoors.com/us/shop/battery-chargers/on-board-precision-chargers?v=102056
and plug it in when you get back from the lake and leave it plugged in until you head out again.

Installing one of these makes plugging in the chargers very easy when you get home, they come in different lengths.

NOCO - AC Port Plug - GCP2

A remote AC Port Plug with an integrated extension cord that requires zero cord modifications. Perfect for engine block heaters, chargers, and more.

no.co

The charging systems on our boats are small, 14 amps per engine, and lead acid batteries need a long absorption cycle usually 6-8 hrs to charge properly so that they have their best performance and have the longest life.

 

[FSH 210 Sport]

This is a table for 12v state of charge

View attachment 222803

That’s a great chart! That is for batteries that have sat with no load for 24 hours.

 

[FSH 210 Sport]

I wet slip my boat between June and October and never charge the batteries. But I always turn the battery switches off when not using the boat.

Batteries are still original and work fine but since they're in the 8th season, I'm thinking I'll change them pretty soon.

Glad to see you’ve had such a long service life with your batteries, I’d definitely replace with the same batteries!

 

[lazergeek]

Another thing to remember is if your lead acid batteries are below 50% charge state then your battery is being damaged at that voltage.

 

[Jerlane]

Regarding Julian's table, that's definitely correct for a 12V battery so long as the battery isn't under ANY load. You won't show those voltages on your Connext though since you'll be running the Connext at a minimum. Depending on the boat, and if you have the blower on and a bunch of other variables, a fully charged battery can easily show in the 11's on the display, so don't be worried if you are showing less than what is in the table. If you really want to check it against that table, use a volt meter directly on the battery terminals with the main breakers off.

Thanks for making this point. Ours usually reads 11.7 or so when parked and listening to music. (We generally aren’t cranking tunes.) is there a number at which I should be worried that the battery is getting low?

 

[JASmith]

Thanks for making this point. Ours usually reads 11.7 or so when parked and listening to music. (We generally aren’t cranking tunes.) is there a number at which I should be worried that the battery is getting low?

Below 12v (with a multimeter, no running loads) would be considered 'low'.

 

[kgower]

If you're not going to use a charger, I would get a jump pack as back up.

Amazon.com: NOCO Boost Plus GB40 1000A UltraSafe Car Battery Jump Starter, 12V Battery Pack, Battery Booster, Jump Box, Portable Charger and Jumper Cables for 6.0L Gasoline and 3.0L Diesel Engines, Gray : Automotive

 

[Jerlane]

Below 12v (with a multimeter, no running loads) would be considered 'low'.

Right, but what about while in use, like parked and listening to music and connect screen is on?

 

[TommyMcK]

A few points..... (and some just in my opinion)

1. Most folks aren't going to run around with a voltmeter checking their battery. The general rule of thumb is that if you operate off of the house battery for any extended length of time (half-hour or more) and you don't have a long (hours) run back home, put the system on a charger when you get back. @FSH 210 Sport is right that the optimal charging system is a dual-bank, but that requires re-configuring the DVSR and in practice, I've never had an issue with just hooking up a charger directly (it doesn't matter which one since the DVSR connects the two when it detects the charging source).

2. Based just on my observations (on 222XD and 255XD...so I can't say how universal it is across all models), the batteries are fully charged when the Connext indicates a voltage of 14.2 volts while the engine is running. Typically, it starts out reading anywhere from high 10s to low 12s depending on state of charge and how much draw there is prior to engine start. Then at startup, it fairly quickly (over the course of a few minutes) goes up to around 14.2 if the batteries were already fully charged. If their charge is lower (and it's usually the house battery that's lower), it'll take longer to run through the 13s off of engine charging.

3. A jump pack never hurts in an emergency @kgower but having a run-down house battery doesn't impact the start battery. The jump pack is only useful if both batteries are drained to the point that you can't start even with the DVSR configured to hook the batteries in parallel. And that brings up another point that may be obvious to some, but maybe not others. If you are going to run off of the house battery, make sure that you don't have the DVSR set to hook the batteries in parallel.

 

[mmcneese01]

Agree with the above that you don't need to charge between outings relative to the start battery. If you spend any appreciable time playing music off of the house battery while the engine is off, you will most definitely need to charge the battery when you get back unless it takes you hours of engine run time to get back. A 30 minute ride from the sand bar to the dock isn't enough to do it. I use a separate blue tooth speaker to play music when I'm anchored with the engine off so that I don't have to hassle with it, but I get that some folks like to crank the tunes using the boat audio while at the sandbar.

Regarding Julian's table, that's definitely correct for a 12V battery so long as the battery isn't under ANY load. You won't show those voltages on your Connext though since you'll be running the Connext at a minimum. Depending on the boat, and if you have the blower on and a bunch of other variables, a fully charged battery can easily show in the 11's on the display, so don't be worried if you are showing less than what is in the table. If you really want to check it against that table, use a volt meter directly on the battery terminals with the main breakers off.

 

[mmcneese01]

Hey Tommy, thank you so much for the information. This is absolutely helpful!
Michael

 

[Dave burke]

Glad to see you’ve had such a long service life with your batteries, I’d definitely replace with the same batteries!

lol, thx. I really can't explain why they've lasted so long. Start battery is an Interstate and house is some deep cycle brand I've never heard of. I do leave them on a ProMariner dual bank charger when it's not in the water but still...

And I do keep a booster in the boat just in case!