Changing to 6 volt golf cart batteries

Feb 26, 2004
22,759
Catalina 34 224 Maple Bay, BC, Canada
back to the beginining i believe the guy asked if anyone had done what he asked to a catalina 30, and i believe nobody has yet answered he did. so much bull - some it mine - and so much showing-off knowledge about electrical systems of all kinds of watercraft - but i believe not one answer from someone who had made said change to a catalina 30. please note the name of the website we are on.
morty, you may have missed the interim discussion on this thread when a respondent asked this:

I am interested in the philosophy of changing from 12V deep cycle batteries to the golf cart batteries? Thanks!
That's why we got into that entirely different discussion than the OP's question. Just because someone with a Catalina 30 hasn't (yet) chimed in here doesn't mean it doesn't exist. Maybe those guys who do have 6V on their C30s are all out sailing.:doh:
 

mortyd

.
Dec 11, 2004
952
Catalina 30 easy living
or maybe nobody's done it.

stu, when i was looking at catalina 30's i found one that seemed like a nice one that had davits and a dinghy on the stern rail. i couild get no answer why this boat had davits when it seemed like no othe catalina 30 did, so i guessed - i was a real rookie then - that it wasn't a good idea. i have yet to see another catalina 30 with stern davits, so i guess i was correct. just maybe also with an electrical system that so many seem to live with.
 
Mar 20, 2012
3,983
Cal 34-III, MacGregor 25 Salem, Oregon
back to the beginining i believe the guy asked if anyone had done what he asked to a catalina 30, and i believe nobody has yet answered he did. so much bull - some it mine - and so much showing-off knowledge about electrical systems of all kinds of watercraft - but i believe not one answer from someone who had made said change to a catalina 30. please note the name of the website we are on.
you obviously havent followed the tread too closely, as it was answered by Jimm in the first post. im sure gregorybross has his answer.

and it doesnt matter if its in a catalina 30... or a 36,40,27. or any other brand of boat or size, if it has an electrical system that uses a slight power draw over a long period of time, the system can benefit from batteries that are designed to deliver it that way...

and it isnt showing off... if you would have followed the thread, you would have read the part where another guy asked about the advantages/philosophy of changing to the better batteries.... the question was asked and information was shared.

this is a large world of people who all have different skill sets, and the smart ones ask for help from each other so that they may advance their knowledge on any given subject.
if we all refused to share the information that we have learned and gathered over the years when someone asked for it, what would be the point of this forum?

there are also the "not so smart ones" who are narrow minded and will argue about anything they choose not to understand.... so by choice they remain ignorant on many things that are relatively simple to comprehend.

by keeping an open mind, listening to theories while not arguing with the facts that science and nature has proven, and paying attention to mistakes made by others, it can be a great and wonderful way educate ourselves with out the pain of trial and error.
....and sometimes friendships can be made.
 
Feb 6, 1998
11,665
Canadian Sailcraft 36T Casco Bay, ME
back to the beginining i believe the guy asked if anyone had done what he asked to a catalina 30, and i believe nobody has yet answered he did. so much bull - some it mine - and so much showing-off knowledge about electrical systems of all kinds of watercraft - but i believe not one answer from someone who had made said change to a catalina 30. please note the name of the website we are on.
Morty we had GC batteries on our C-30... We sold it in 1999...

BTW you are on Sailboatowners.com, the C-30 forum is a sub form within SBO. All posts on all SBO forums populate to All Posts All Sites which is where most members enter from...
 
Feb 26, 2004
22,759
Catalina 34 224 Maple Bay, BC, Canada
stu, when i was looking at catalina 30's i found one that seemed like a nice one that had davits and a dinghy on the stern rail. .
Gee, that's funny, since Garhauer's advertisement for their dinghy davits uses a - GASP! - Catalina 30! :eek:
 

mortyd

.
Dec 11, 2004
952
Catalina 30 easy living
and, stu, as much as you and i admire garhauer, they make lots of stuff i've never seen used. have you aver seen davits on a catalina 30 or garhauer's ez fairlead system? sorry, but imho this cabin fever discussion has gone far away from what anybody will ever do.

now, if we could talks about how often people with assymetric spiinakers use them and how much they think spending the money is worth it...........
 
Jan 31, 2012
56
Catalina 30 mkIII Santa Barbara
Centerline, Mainesail and Stu=

Thanks again for your informed input. I have decided to go with two battery banks. Each consisting of 2- 6 volt 'golf cart type' batteries. I just need to find a good spot for the second bank. It will probably be the quarter berth area. Someone was going to post pictures of this arrangement. If I don't get any pics I will post my own when the job is done. I cruise the Channel Islands off Santa Barbara and my battery capacity has always been a problem. I will let you know how it goes.

Oh and by the way I have Garhauer dingy davits on my 1998 Catalina 30 mkiii and they work great.

Greg
 
Feb 6, 1998
11,665
Canadian Sailcraft 36T Casco Bay, ME
Centerline, Mainesail and Stu=

Thanks again for your informed input. I have decided to go with two battery banks. Each consisting of 2- 6 volt 'golf cart type' batteries. I just need to find a good spot for the second bank. It will probably be the quarter berth area. Someone was going to post pictures of this arrangement. If I don't get any pics I will post my own when the job is done. I cruise the Channel Islands off Santa Barbara and my battery capacity has always been a problem. I will let you know how it goes.

Oh and by the way I have Garhauer dingy davits on my 1998 Catalina 30 mkiii and they work great.

Greg
Greg,

Have you calculated your loads and determined if you actually need 450 Ah's? Be sure to measure for height. My 6V batteries were under the chart table but on later models batts were under the settee. I know a bunch of C-30 guys run 6V so there is plenty of info out there..
 
Jan 31, 2012
56
Catalina 30 mkIII Santa Barbara
Thanks Main Sail-

I don't even use my refrigeration because of the lack of battery capacity. I also carry a jump start pack just in case and I have used it. Do you think just 2-6volt batteries is enough? Would excessive amperage be a potential problem or just more than needed?

I plan to take my time to get a good fit. I know it is going to be tight.

Greg
 
Feb 6, 1998
11,665
Canadian Sailcraft 36T Casco Bay, ME
Thanks Main Sail-

I don't even use my refrigeration because of the lack of battery capacity. I also carry a jump start pack just in case and I have used it. Do you think just 2-6volt batteries is enough? Would excessive amperage be a potential problem or just more than needed?

I plan to take my time to get a good fit. I know it is going to be tight.

Greg
First I would focus on how you can conserve energy such as LED lighting and not using an inverter to charge items such as iPads, cell phones etc. that can easily be powered from 12V DC.

Second I would run an energy budget and compare that to how many days you want to be able to be engine or charge source "free".

Third would be to consider some solar so your overall bank capacity does not require tons of space. I would also look at your alternator's capabilities. Hint, a 55A stock alternator is really more like 25-30A, after it heats up.....

Fourth is how many days per year, in a row, will you be using the boat. 5 day stints? 2 day stints etc..? If just a typical one week vacation then a smaller bank can often suffice. Are you at a dock during the week with charging or on a mooring with no charging?

Fifth is when you go find the Ah capacity to deliver what you want or need to do based on your design criteria.

Sixth is that I would not waste all your space on a house bank and much prefer to see an AUX or starting bank for reserve or emergency use. If your alternator or charge source should go tits up, a jump pack won't get you but a mile or so...... :doh:A reserve or start bank is not just about starting the engine in an emergency it can be about becoming the reserve or emergency BANK especially when you've lost all charge sources and depleted the house bank already. Treat it like an emergency bank not just a jump start....

Batteries, there are many options - As it is 2 T105 6V GC batteries are already 225 Ah's or approx 30-65 Ah's larger than two G-27 batteries. You could also move up to the T125 which is 240Ah's in the same case size.

Two Trojan T1275's, which are Trojan's 12V Golf Car batteries, would yield 300Ah's (150Ah's each) and they are very slightly shorter than the 6V T105/T125's..

Look at specs measure them out and figure our what you actually need. Remember you are only discharging to 50% SOC so your bank needs to be double your use to 50% SOC... In other words if you use 100Ah between recharging you will want a bank of at least 200Ah's.

The main point here is don't negate having a good reserve bank and to do the math....
 
Jan 10, 2015
130
. . Pensacola, FL
If your alternator or charge source should go tits up, a jump pack won't get you but a mile or so......
At the risk of once again exposing my ignorance, I thought that once a diesel engine was cranked and running, it did not need any electrical power source to continue running...unlike a gas engine, which if the alternator craps out, the battery is now providing ignition spark, hence the need to reduce other electrical loads if possible.
 
Feb 6, 1998
11,665
Canadian Sailcraft 36T Casco Bay, ME
At the risk of once again exposing my ignorance, I thought that once a diesel engine was cranked and running, it did not need any electrical power source to continue running...unlike a gas engine, which if the alternator craps out, the battery is now providing ignition spark, hence the need to reduce other electrical loads if possible.
Many sailboat aux diesels use electric lift pumps and some have glow plugs needed for starting.... You may also want such things as depth, VHF, A bilge pump or even spot checks of the radar if you are in a fog prone area....
 
Jan 10, 2015
130
. . Pensacola, FL
Yep, good points. I was just thinking of getting the engine running enough to motor in to the harbor and into the slip.
 
Feb 6, 1998
11,665
Canadian Sailcraft 36T Casco Bay, ME
Yep, good points. I was just thinking of getting the engine running enough to motor in to the harbor and into the slip.
But what if You are 80nm from home when the alt dies? You may need to not only start the motor multiple times, in between the wind events, but also possibly use Nav lights, the VHF, the stuffing box drips etc. etc.. Those little jump packs have short duration burst energy but not long duration Ah capacity.... A good group 27 or G-31 deep cycle makes for a much better "reserve" bank...
 
Jan 31, 2012
56
Catalina 30 mkIII Santa Barbara
Main Sail-

Thanks for all the valuable input. Much to think about and calculations to be done.

Greg
 
Jan 31, 2012
56
Catalina 30 mkIII Santa Barbara
Main Sail-

Just a quick follow up. It looks like 2- T-1275's will fit in the factory battery box replacing the 2 group 27's and greatly increasing my amp hours. I think I will do this and avoid having to find an extra space for more batteries and the associated wiring. I do have led lights everywhere except running lights. I do use an inverter to charge my ipad which i use as a chart plotter using navix. I also charge two iphones with the same inverter. Do you recommend a separate 12 volt battery source for these devices? If so what is available?

Thanks,
Greg
 
Feb 6, 1998
11,665
Canadian Sailcraft 36T Casco Bay, ME
I do use an inverter to charge my ipad which i use as a chart plotter using navix. I also charge two iphones with the same inverter. Do you recommend a separate 12 volt battery source for these devices? If so what is available?

Thanks,
Greg
Many of the USB 12V outlet chargers you'll find are pure unadulterated junk! I have seen far too many of these that fried or burned themselves out to shake a stick at. I used to have a box full of dead ones and always have one or two dead ones on my work bench or in my tool bag.

The best & most reliable 12V USB charger I have found is the Scosche reVolt USBC242M 12W + 12W.


Most of these USB car chargers are extremely poor quality or offer 1.0A + 1.0A or 2.1A on one port and 1.0A on the other port. Most of them simply can't handle charging two devices at once and fry/cook themselves.

The Scosche reVolt USBC242M is capable of 2.4A on both ports simultaneously and is the same output as the 120V Apple wall wort. I own about 4 of them and keep them in both cars and a couple on the boat and we have yet to kill any of them. We are often charging two iPads at once too!!

http://www.amazon.com/SCOSCHE-USBC2...45&sr=1-1-fkmr0&keywords=Scosche+2.4A+USB+12V