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2005 Newsletter
Marine Batteries

2005 Newsletter
As a customer of Hydro-Eye, I thought it appropriate to bring you up to date on various developments.

Our standard probes, the HE-2VB-2.1 are selling well, as is the EEP-2 used on single-point watering systems, but with recent miniaturization technology we have managed to expand their capability. Whereas the standard probe exhibits a green LED to indicate acceptable acid level in a flooded lead-acid battery and goes out when water addition is required, we have developed new probes that provide flashing blue alerts or flashing red alarms when the battery needs water. We even have a probe we call the "Combo" which has the green LED monitor as well as a flashing LED.

All are available in our standard vented bayonet housing for use on industrial batteries as well as the T-105 and L-16 deep cycle types. The probe we now have for single-point watering systems is a little bigger than the older EEP-2 (7/8" dia. vs 5/8" dia) but it not only has all the new LED features, but only requires a 1/8" hole drilled in the battery cover!

We also added a push-in probe to be used on 8D and 4D batteries and designed a special one for Group24 and 27 batteries, also with all the LED features. The latter types can be easily mounted on your own Marine batteries (a 1/8" hole through a cell cover) or we can provide them complete with cell cover.

All of the new probes will be shown when we get our revised web page up and running, but I thought a "heads-up" might be in order. Incidentally the added features will only result in a modest price increase. Remote displays for dashboard or battery tray mount will also be available for every probe.

Happy probing.

Marine Batteries
It happens every day at thousands of launch ramps. People try to start their boats only to discover that their batteries have dropped dead. While this is all too common when boats are first pulled out of winter storage, summer heat also takes a toll on batteries—especially if the cells weren’t in great shape when the season began.
What happened? In a word, sulfation. It’s the main cause of battery death. In fact statistics show that approximately 80% of all batteries are killed by sulfation long before they actually wear out due to recycling or recharging. Fortunately there are steps you can take to prevent sulfation from ruining your next boating trip.
Batteries self-discharge during storage, in fact a flooded lead-acid battery loses 13% of its rated capacity each month due to self-discharge. When a battery loses its charge sulfation begins and sulfur begins to accumulate on the battery lead plates to form lead sulfate, which is a hard crystal and acts as an insulation, preventing current flow to and from the plates.
To prevent sulfation it is important to keep the electrolyte acid full. This can be easily achieved by adding distilled water when one of the Hydro-Eye battery monitors sends out a visual alert. Prior to adding water it is sensible to charge the battery first since the electrolyte will expand during charging.
When selecting a charger, avoid a “trickle” charger which will actually soften the plates and cause excessive out-gassing and hence water loss. Use a charger with a “float” mode which will prevent sulfation by keeping the batteries fully charged.
A properly maintained battery will give years of service. All it takes is a little TLC. Adding a Hydro-Eye Type 6B probe to your Group 24 or Group 27 battery is a wise investment. We also have probes for 4D, 8D, T-105 and L-16 batteries.