FSH 210 Sport
Jetboaters Fleet Admiral
- Messages
- 7,968
- Reaction score
- 9,894
- Points
- 532
- Location
- Tranquility Base
- Boat Make
- Yamaha
- Year
- 2020
- Boat Model
- FSH Sport
- Boat Length
- 21
So today I charged up my batteries from yesterday’s outing.. a couple hours into recharging the 64Ah out of my trolling motor bank I open the Victron Energy app and check the chargers and the smart shut for the trolling motor battery bank. What I found didn’t make sense, the bulk charge only went to 49Ah’s, usually on a charge like that it would go all the way to 63Ah’s at least, and the now the absorption charge was happening with a voltage of 13.9 and 25A’s, hmmmm. Jump in the boat and look at the chargers their status lights look normal, then I feel the extension cord where it plugs in to the NOCO power port and its pretty warm, maybe even hot. I check the male end and its warm but not like the other end.
I grab another extension cord and plug it in.. the voltage on the chargers starts coming right up to their eventual 14.4 and shortly there after the amperage starts dropping off as it should. This different extension cord female plug gets a tiny bit warm but nothing like the other one. In the end, the absorption phase puts almost 14Ah’s into each battery, the usual amount is like .7 or point 7.
A close visual inspection of the female plug did not reveal anything obvious. So I did what I was taught and cut the ends off and prepped the cord for new plugs.
I would not have known anything was amiss unless I had the victron chargers and looked at the charge profile, something I regularly check when I check the smart shunt to make sure everything got charged up they way I was expecting. I use a #12 AWG extension cord which is rated for 20A’s and the draw was 11A’s.
One thing that I noticed that I don’t like about his extension cord is that there no AWG markings on the jacket of the cord, and when I stripped the outer casing back none of the internal wires are marked either. I used my strippers on the #12 setting and it stripped the wires correctly but I find that irregular that there was no wire size markings anywhere. Whereas the replacement cord I grabbed out of the shop was clearly marked on the jacket with the wire size and the temp rating which is important in determining the amperage rating of the wire. The ampacity of 12 AWG copper wire is typically rated between 20 to 30 amps, depending on the insulation type: 20 amps for 60°C insulation, 25 amps for 75°C insulation, and 30 amps for 90°C insulation.
Its a new season and we talk about what maintenance needs to be done so be sure and give your electrical cords a good visual inspection looking for discoloration in the jacket of the cord, and after your battery charger has been plugged in for a hour or so have a feel to see if there are any hot spots. If you find any irregularities in the plugs don’t just stop using them, cut the ends off so it will not get used again in that condition, any hot spots in the length of the cord, cut the ends off and throw the cord away. Just like a hammer with cracked handle, break it off so it cannot be used the risk isn’t worth it.
I grab another extension cord and plug it in.. the voltage on the chargers starts coming right up to their eventual 14.4 and shortly there after the amperage starts dropping off as it should. This different extension cord female plug gets a tiny bit warm but nothing like the other one. In the end, the absorption phase puts almost 14Ah’s into each battery, the usual amount is like .7 or point 7.
A close visual inspection of the female plug did not reveal anything obvious. So I did what I was taught and cut the ends off and prepped the cord for new plugs.
I would not have known anything was amiss unless I had the victron chargers and looked at the charge profile, something I regularly check when I check the smart shunt to make sure everything got charged up they way I was expecting. I use a #12 AWG extension cord which is rated for 20A’s and the draw was 11A’s.
One thing that I noticed that I don’t like about his extension cord is that there no AWG markings on the jacket of the cord, and when I stripped the outer casing back none of the internal wires are marked either. I used my strippers on the #12 setting and it stripped the wires correctly but I find that irregular that there was no wire size markings anywhere. Whereas the replacement cord I grabbed out of the shop was clearly marked on the jacket with the wire size and the temp rating which is important in determining the amperage rating of the wire. The ampacity of 12 AWG copper wire is typically rated between 20 to 30 amps, depending on the insulation type: 20 amps for 60°C insulation, 25 amps for 75°C insulation, and 30 amps for 90°C insulation.
Its a new season and we talk about what maintenance needs to be done so be sure and give your electrical cords a good visual inspection looking for discoloration in the jacket of the cord, and after your battery charger has been plugged in for a hour or so have a feel to see if there are any hot spots. If you find any irregularities in the plugs don’t just stop using them, cut the ends off so it will not get used again in that condition, any hot spots in the length of the cord, cut the ends off and throw the cord away. Just like a hammer with cracked handle, break it off so it cannot be used the risk isn’t worth it.
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