6 volt battery set-up

jhagg

.
Sep 2, 2012
30
Hunter 44DS Frenchmans Bay
28CCC610-7ABE-45A4-99F5-A20E6129BDB0.jpeg
Hi - posting a pic (sorry very basic!) of my 6 volt battery set up. Converted the 12 volt set-up to a 6 volt golf cart battery system. Everything seems to be working fine....but it did get a little confusing as I have 2 batteries forward and 2 about 6’ aft of those. My question is......just wondering if this is the optimal set-up?
 

BarryL

.
May 21, 2004
1,000
Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 409 Mt. Sinai, NY
Hello,
You have created one large 12V battery bank. Nothing wrong with that but make sure you have a way of starting your engine if you run the battery(s) down too much.
Barry
 

jhagg

.
Sep 2, 2012
30
Hunter 44DS Frenchmans Bay
Hi Barry - yes, should have mentioned separate start battery. Thanks for the reply.
 
Jan 11, 2014
11,321
Sabre 362 113 Fair Haven, NY
So long as the cables between the batteries are large enough to have very little voltage drop (way less than the usual 3%), you should be fine.
 
May 24, 2004
7,129
CC 30 South Florida
You have the equivalent of 2- 12V batteries hooked up in parallel . You have around 450Ah in total. Are you running them to a Battery switch with 1.2.Both,OFF isolated to positions 1 and 2 or are you combining them to one position. Updating a bank of batteries may require upgrading the battery charger. A good 40A smart charger will do for that setup. When designing a 12V electrical system you have to balance the size of the battery banks to the charger and to the needs and usage. A battery bank that is too large for the needs and usage will not draw down the batteries enough to engage the bulk charging rate which could lead to stratification which causes sulfating. (batteries need periodic strong charging currents to keep the chemicals properly mixed) If usage is not enough to bring the whole bank down to 60-70% of capacity you could split the bank into 2-225Ahr banks and alternate the banks per outing. It would be easier to bring down a 225Ahr bank and the other half would be kept in reserve. Charge batteries to 100% after every use, do not discharge below 50% of capacity, add distilled water to the cells as needed once a month and keep the terminals clean and tight and those batteries should last you 5-7 years. Keep your warranty papers as even the best batteries could shortly fail inexplicably.
 

NYSail

.
Jan 6, 2006
3,048
Beneteau 423 Mt. Sinai, NY
View attachment 165108 Hi - posting a pic (sorry very basic!) of my 6 volt battery set up. Converted the 12 volt set-up to a 6 volt golf cart battery system. Everything seems to be working fine....but it did get a little confusing as I have 2 batteries forward and 2 about 6’ aft of those. My question is......just wondering if this is the optimal set-up?
Are all you battery cables same size or is there a different size spanning the 6’ distance between the two groups?? What size cables are used overall?
Greg
 

jhagg

.
Sep 2, 2012
30
Hunter 44DS Frenchmans Bay
Hi Benny - thanks for the reply. They run to an on/ off battery switch for the house side. The charger is the original xantrex 2500 charger/inverter. It seems to be working for now, but I’ll keep my eye on it. We’re running a 2004 Hunter 44DS, I haven’t done the math on our draw.....but I’m sure it’ll be fairly high with just the fridge and freezer running!
 
Oct 22, 2014
20,992
CAL 35 Cruiser #21 moored EVERETT WA
I’m sure it’ll be fairly high with just the fridge and freezer running!
Ah.... the beauty of boat project creep. Now that you have the power you'll be wanting to stretch its use. So you will be looking at these two power hogs. Insulation and air movement seem to be the ticket.

Good plan on the batteries. That 6 foot distance means correct wire sizing to minimize voltage drop between the batteries. Here is one of several wire sizing calculators.
https://www.wirebarn.com/Wire-Calculator-_ep_41.html
 
May 24, 2004
7,129
CC 30 South Florida
Oh yes. if you are intending on running refrigeration your need and usage for that Bank is there. Concentrate on your recharging options, see how long it takes to recharge them from a 40% draw down. Anything below 7 hours is good. I don't think that 6 ft. of separation poses any significant hurdles. Enjoy. I love them GC2s.