I have two marine batteries on my boat. I checked the voltage with a voltmeter and one read 12.95 and one read 12.80. Just curious, is this acceptable or are they starting to get near the end of their ability to start a motor?
You need to check the specific gravity of the acid in the cells to get better idea of what is going on. You can get a cheap hydrometer at Walmart for a couple of dollars. That will tell you if a cell is going bad or not.
Long Enuff
you need to have them load tested, but those voltages sound okay
They are sealed batteries, I don’t think I can check them…can I? For the mentally impaired (me) what exactly is “load tested” and where/how would I get that done?
Thanks
Autozone or pretty much any car place can load test a battery. A load test is when there is an apparatus drawing current and you then test the voltage and available amps in the battery.
Are you having problems with the batteries? A stored battery on charger should stay above 12V, but typically not over 13, so they appear to be good. You can typically start most anything with just over 11.2V if the battery is putting out the cranking amps necessary.