What happens when a battery get submerged? Does the surrounding water become electrified? Blow up? Just curious, in case my boat should take on too much water. Will the bildge pump continue working if the battery is under water?
if you are speaking of salt water, the battery will be shorted, and loose charge, if totally submerged. if water gets that deep, you better be calling the Coast Guard. thats why i use a bilge pump with an automatic float switch, it also has an indicator light on the console, so i know when it kick on.
Your battery should never get close to going under water. Put it in a battery box and cover with the lid. Use a strap to keep the lid tight and in place. If the hull is leaking fix the leak, In raining season cover the boat to shead water.
Water in the boat is a bad thing. Saltwater damages everything, metal rust or corrodes, wood rots, plus the mold an mildue.
Hey. I am just asking the question. Once in awhile I read an article about a boat sinking and being recovered, and I was just wondering if the divers get shocked.
Also, If you are in a boat taking on water and are beyond bildge pump help, should you switch the batteries off?
I keep my batteries as high as practical, covered, and strapped down.
Thanks for this thread! I learnd some things from it. No I don't have a battery disconnect switch on my boat. I have two wing nuts on the top of my battery. Thanks to you guys I now know to get a battery box and to strap my battery down. I was wondering when I bought my boat recently about the battery just sitting in the bilge area on a piece of wood. Also I'm not going to try this but, I'm pretty sure if you put your battery in water it would ground out on the water and there would be no way to get shocked. Unless you were just hell bent on it. You might if you touched a piece of metal between the posts. If anyone is that curious please let us know what happens. Thanks
While we are on this subject......any liquid in the boat (when submerged) that is lighter than water will skim on the surface and create a problem for anyone in the area (battery acid, fuel, oil, etc) yes, you may get serious chemical burns from this.
If your boat sinks in salt water(or any water high in mineral content) the several hundreds of available amps from the batteries will cause imediate galvonic corrosion to metal objects in the water. For instance the outdrive, trim tabs, etc that are conected to the boats ground may be damaged and even cause heat damage to the surrounding fiberglass of the hull.
