Unregulated Power Supply and Maint. Free Battery

[tedious]

My 1989 70 (and the attached boat) came with a maintenance-free battery. This is clearly not recommended by the manual. However, the battery does seem to be working and holding a charge, and there is no spitting of electrolyte visible on the battery or in the case. My voltmeter does show a clean 18V when running, but on the other hand, it's only 6A maximum.

My question is whether I ought to change out the battery for a non-sealed one, or wait for this one to fail somehow - clearly I should change it, but the current battery is paid for. Will the maintenance-free unit fail in some spectacular fashion, and take something else with it? Or just start failing to hold a charge? Will it give me some warning, or just leave me stranded some day?

Thanks.

Tim

 

[Chris1956]

Re: Unregulated Power Supply and Maint. Free Battery

Tim, Maintenance free batteries use less water then conventional batteries. They are really low-maintenance batteries, and most can be refilled with distilled water

Look closely at the battery. Most have caps that you can open. They may be under a decal or something. If you can figure out how to open them, refill them periodically. Since the motor only charges 6A at WOT, that battery should be perfectly fine, even if you cannot refill it.

 

[tedious]

Re: Unregulated Power Supply and Maint. Free Battery

Thanks Chris - sure looked sealed up tight, but I'll check it out again. I agree, 6A is not much more than a trickly charge.

Tim