Battery and alternator upgrade

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Mar 20, 2007
500
Catalina 355 Kilmarnock, VA
John Kittka asked for some pictures of the electrical upgrades I recently completed, including addition of a second 4D AGM battery, replacement of the original Group 27 reserve battery with a Group 31 and relocation to the forward compartment, and replacement of the stock 60 amp Yanmar/Hitachi alternator with a 110 amp Balmar with external regulator.

First 3 photos show the general arrangement. The stock fiberglass box exactly fits two 4D's. To move the reserve battery, I built a flat floor out of 1/2" StarBoard and screwed it to two cleats that were attached to the fore-and-aft bulkheads at the bottom of the compartment. The battery box for the reserve battery is both strapped and screwed to the StarBoard floor. The cables to the reserve battery were extended using a positive and negative BlueSea PowerPost, screwed to the bottom of the settee seat, and routed through a hole drilled in the bulkhead. All new/extension cables are 2/0 marine battery cables with appropriate lugs, made up by GenuineDealz.com (check them out if you need custom cables at a great price). All cables are enclosed in anti-chafe corrugated split loom, and are secured to the underside of the settee with several stainless cable supports. Fourth picture (charger in background) shows the connections on one of the 4D's to the charger, engine, and series jumper to the other 4D (the inverter supply connects to the positive on the second battery). The negative cables all connect through a shunt (barely visible attached to the underside of the settee in front of the charger) and supply the BEP battery monitor on the panel.

Last photo shows the engine with the new alternator, the external regulator attached to the bulkhead to the left of the coolant tank, and the associated wiring between the alternator and regulator (includes both battery and alternator temperature sensors in addition to the other wiring).

I'm quite pleased with the system overall. Only criticism is that it adds 135 more pounds to the starboard side of the boat, which does give it a slight list at rest but doesn't seem to affect trim under sail.
 

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Apr 22, 2009
18
2 309 Ocean Springs
Nice setup. I'm planning on a similar upgrade and find your details very helpful. My boat has a port list because I installed my a/c unit more aft and to port then the dealer install. This upgrade may put it back level again.

I noticed you mentioned an inverter in you post. I'm planning on a installling an inverter at the same time. Where did you place it?
 
Mar 20, 2007
500
Catalina 355 Kilmarnock, VA
Nice setup. I'm planning on a similar upgrade and find your details very helpful. My boat has a port list because I installed my a/c unit more aft and to port then the dealer install. This upgrade may put it back level again.

I noticed you mentioned an inverter in you post. I'm planning on a installling an inverter at the same time. Where did you place it?

The inverter is an 1800 watt Xantrex Pro, which is a modified sine wave unit (I don't run any sensitive electronics or other devices that need pure sine, so didn't want to spend the extra money on it - and so far, all of the usual electronic toys seem to work fine).

I mounted the inverter in the "wasted" space behind the center section (the pull down table) of the starboard settee backrest. This required a little surgery with a saber saw, since that space is enclosed and inaccessible. I cut a section out of the backrest in the area covered by the teak veneer, then attached some wood cleats around the inner edge of the new opening to screw the removed section back on. The space inside fit my inverter perfectly. I had to epoxy some plywood blocks to the inside surface of the hull to provide bases to attach the inverter's feet. Because the space is directly above (and communicates with) the battery compartment, it minimizes the length of the cable runs - important, since I had to use really heavy 2/0 cable for the 1800 watt Xantrex Pro inverter, connected directly to the batteries. The DC cables connect to an on/off switch that is operated from inside the right-side storage cubby in the settee backrest (it is mounted in a hole I drilled in the bulkhead between the right and center compartments). The high-amp 12V fuse is inside the center compartment with the inverter, wired to the back of the on/off switch that protrudes into that space. I hard-wired the inverter's AC output into the boat's cabin circuit (not the galley circuit - it would then always run the fridge off the inverter!), since it has an automatic transfer switch so will always preferentially use shorepower when it's available. The small control panel for the inverter, which can be remotely connected using a common modular-plug telephone cable, is mounted in the main electrical panel at the nav station. The system works well, powering 4 outlets in the main and forward cabins and the head (the outlet in the aft cabin is factory wired to the galley circuit). I'm thinking of adding a new, dedicated outlet on the cabin/inverter circuit in the galley so that I can use the coffeemaker in the galley rather than the nav station.

I realize this is probably hard to follow. I'll take some pictures in the next few weeks and post them here.
 
Apr 22, 2009
18
2 309 Ocean Springs
Thanks for the information. Catalina has a reputation for maximizing the available space of their boats. However, the creative owners always seem to be able to squeeze a little more out of them.
 
Mar 20, 2007
500
Catalina 355 Kilmarnock, VA
The inverter is an 1800 watt Xantrex Pro, which is a modified sine wave unit (I don't run any sensitive electronics or other devices that need pure sine, so didn't want to spend the extra money on it - and so far, all of the usual electronic toys seem to work fine).

I mounted the inverter in the "wasted" space behind the center section (the pull down table) of the starboard settee backrest. This required a little surgery with a saber saw, since that space is enclosed and inaccessible. I cut a section out of the backrest in the area covered by the teak veneer, then attached some wood cleats around the inner edge of the new opening to screw the removed section back on. The space inside fit my inverter perfectly. I had to epoxy some plywood blocks to the inside surface of the hull to provide bases to attach the inverter's feet. Because the space is directly above (and communicates with) the battery compartment, it minimizes the length of the cable runs - important, since I had to use really heavy 2/0 cable for the 1800 watt Xantrex Pro inverter, connected directly to the batteries. The DC cables connect to an on/off switch that is operated from inside the right-side storage cubby in the settee backrest (it is mounted in a hole I drilled in the bulkhead between the right and center compartments). The high-amp 12V fuse is inside the center compartment with the inverter, wired to the back of the on/off switch that protrudes into that space. I hard-wired the inverter's AC output into the boat's cabin circuit (not the galley circuit - it would then always run the fridge off the inverter!), since it has an automatic transfer switch so will always preferentially use shorepower when it's available. The small control panel for the inverter, which can be remotely connected using a common modular-plug telephone cable, is mounted in the main electrical panel at the nav station. The system works well, powering 4 outlets in the main and forward cabins and the head (the outlet in the aft cabin is factory wired to the galley circuit). I'm thinking of adding a new, dedicated outlet on the cabin/inverter circuit in the galley so that I can use the coffeemaker in the galley rather than the nav station.

I realize this is probably hard to follow. I'll take some pictures in the next few weeks and post them here.

OK - finished my electrical upgrades today with installation of a Blue Sea magnetic-latch ACR, and remembered to take the camera for the inverter pictures. First pictures show the space I opened behind the center section of the settee, with several views of the installed inverter, high-amp DC fuse, and the back of the disconnect switch. Next is a picture (taken from under the nav desk!) of the disconnect switch and its access inside the storage cubby on the right side of the settee. Next shows the settee with the center panel replaced and the small table opened - you can't tell it's removable unless you take off all the backrest cushions. I still plan to improve the means of fastening the access panel in place, but haven't gotten to it yet. Last picture shows the systems panel in the nav station with the inverter control panel remotely mounted (above the left side of the stereo). The instrument to its right is a dual battery/amp hour monitor with a built-in bilge pump cycle counter/timer - very useful for watching the number of amp-hours remaining, or the percentage of battery capacity consumed. The control switch for the ACR is at the top right of the panel.

I think that does it for this set of projects, other than adding one more AC outlet in the galley as mentioned above. Time to sail!!
 

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