A tale of woe, abuse, and retribution. I fried two L-16 batteries from simple neglect (OUCH). They fit perfectly in the starboard lazaretteof the H37-C, so perfectly in fact that their 17" height made it impossible to check the electrolyte. Yes, I boiled them dry, and killed them deader-than- dead. The new ones will have home in the bilge now (see photo). They sit atop ½ exterior plywood, atop the keel bolts fore and aft of the bulkhead bolted with 3/16 all-thread. You could possibly fit 4 x T-105's in the same space. The bilge appears to drain OK, and the bilge never approaches the batteries, so long as the float switch works. The wire to the switch is tinned AWG #4. The good news is 1) that I can now check them with relative ease, and 2) the center of gravity is slightly lower. The possible problems are 1) corrosion, and 2) NaCl + H2SO4 = Chlorine gas. If seawater ever gets to the level of the filler caps, stand by to abandon ship. This is a work in progress, so if any problems arise, I will inform the group. I have about 60 ft of AWG#4 left if anyone is interested
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Ed Schenck
How many amp-hours?
Hi Richard, how many amp-hours in those two? I assume that there is a third starter battery someplace. The inaccessability of that starboard lazarette is why I went with maintenance free batteries, an AGM for starting and three house Gels. Never considered the bilge, good idea.
Hi Richard, how many amp-hours in those two? I assume that there is a third starter battery someplace. The inaccessability of that starboard lazarette is why I went with maintenance free batteries, an AGM for starting and three house Gels. Never considered the bilge, good idea.
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richard shelby
L-16
Ed: These L-16's are 350 AH for the pair, the engine battery is an 8-D sitting atop the icebox in the Laz.
Ed: These L-16's are 350 AH for the pair, the engine battery is an 8-D sitting atop the icebox in the Laz.
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Royce
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richard shelby
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Jim Legere
I second the motion!
I moved mine to the bilge too. The only difference is that I use 3 Group 24 for the house bank, sitting in battery boxes on a 3/4" plywood shelf. The shelf is screwed down to two 1" x 1" stringers I glassed to the sides of the bilge. There is over a foot of bilge below the shelf, so the water would basically have to be at the floorboard level to get at my batteries. Plus I added a high water alarm - cheap peace of mind. I left the starting battery in the Stbd. locker.
I moved mine to the bilge too. The only difference is that I use 3 Group 24 for the house bank, sitting in battery boxes on a 3/4" plywood shelf. The shelf is screwed down to two 1" x 1" stringers I glassed to the sides of the bilge. There is over a foot of bilge below the shelf, so the water would basically have to be at the floorboard level to get at my batteries. Plus I added a high water alarm - cheap peace of mind. I left the starting battery in the Stbd. locker.
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chet p
undersized charger?
isn't the trucharger 10 a bit undersized for the 350Ah bank? the spec sheet says up to 200Ah and your 350 doesn't include the starting batt... might it be wiser to use the trucharger 20 and an echo charger to keep the engine starting batt up....i do like your idea of using the bilge though. will have to see if i can get 4 6V golf cart batteries in there. having a hell of a time trying to figure out where and still have short cable runs and not in an unaccessable spot. I reinstalled a hot water heater so the space under the cockpit is out. the cost difference of 4 ea 6V golf cart batts for $180 total (420 Ah) compared to any other way (i checked out the ROLLS at the st pete boat show.... $450 for 220AH BUT they claim they last 10 years)out of my budget thanks for giving me some ideas chet p
isn't the trucharger 10 a bit undersized for the 350Ah bank? the spec sheet says up to 200Ah and your 350 doesn't include the starting batt... might it be wiser to use the trucharger 20 and an echo charger to keep the engine starting batt up....i do like your idea of using the bilge though. will have to see if i can get 4 6V golf cart batteries in there. having a hell of a time trying to figure out where and still have short cable runs and not in an unaccessable spot. I reinstalled a hot water heater so the space under the cockpit is out. the cost difference of 4 ea 6V golf cart batts for $180 total (420 Ah) compared to any other way (i checked out the ROLLS at the st pete boat show.... $450 for 220AH BUT they claim they last 10 years)out of my budget thanks for giving me some ideas chet p
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Tom Hadoulias
I've got L-16's, No problems...
I have added catalytic caps to the batteries from Arizona Wind and Sun (See link)and believe it or not, I've added water only once in 2 years. Probably less that half a pint for both batteries. They are located in the lazarette in the original battery location, yes they are hard to service but not impossible and with the caps are virtually maintenance free. They take up the least amount of room in a spot that is otherwise virtually unusable and give you a lot of amp hours for the money. If your using the bilge you may be inviting some problems in the long run with corrossives, keep an eye on the mast and mast step, they corrode pretty well on thier own without any additional help from acids and caustic fumes from battery outgassing. Tom Hadoulias S/V Lite Chop
I have added catalytic caps to the batteries from Arizona Wind and Sun (See link)and believe it or not, I've added water only once in 2 years. Probably less that half a pint for both batteries. They are located in the lazarette in the original battery location, yes they are hard to service but not impossible and with the caps are virtually maintenance free. They take up the least amount of room in a spot that is otherwise virtually unusable and give you a lot of amp hours for the money. If your using the bilge you may be inviting some problems in the long run with corrossives, keep an eye on the mast and mast step, they corrode pretty well on thier own without any additional help from acids and caustic fumes from battery outgassing. Tom Hadoulias S/V Lite Chop
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R Shelby
thanks to all
Thanks to all for your suggestions. Like I said, this is a work in progress. And Tom, I will invest in hydrocaps also. Perhaps another set of L-16's in the Laz could bump me up to 700 AH. I's almost like J.C. meant for L-16's to fit there, if I could just figure out a way to check the electrolyte. Mirrors? Long Tygon tube? Litmus dipstick? The 10-amp charger just takes a little longer. I don't get to the boat but once every 2 weeks, so there's plenty of time for them to get back to full charge. When we are able to cruise full time, higher amp charging by multiple means is definitely a must. RS
Thanks to all for your suggestions. Like I said, this is a work in progress. And Tom, I will invest in hydrocaps also. Perhaps another set of L-16's in the Laz could bump me up to 700 AH. I's almost like J.C. meant for L-16's to fit there, if I could just figure out a way to check the electrolyte. Mirrors? Long Tygon tube? Litmus dipstick? The 10-amp charger just takes a little longer. I don't get to the boat but once every 2 weeks, so there's plenty of time for them to get back to full charge. When we are able to cruise full time, higher amp charging by multiple means is definitely a must. RS
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