I would like to install a second battery for extended weekends. I have several items that run off of 12 volt(GPS, Radio, vhf, lights, small TV, etc). Not sure how or where to add a second battery. I also have a Honda 8hp outboard with charging capibility. Should I just use this and recharge the battery when necessary. If so do I need to unhook everything from battery while charging or is there another way? Any help would be appreciated.
- Status
- Not open for further replies.
G
greg
battery #2
I have a 1979 catalina 22. I have two batterys and there was PLENTY of room to install the second battery. If you have a load connected to the battery that is drawing "juice" from the battery then if will take longer to charge the battery. How big is the charger on the Honda? I figure 10 amps plus or minus (check owners manual). That means if your battery is connected to a load and your Honda is charging and the load is 11 amps (lights, vhf, stereo, etc. for example) you are still dischaging your battery at 1 amp per hour. (based on a hypothetical 10 amp alternator output). Basicly, you have to know what is your load, in amps, and how long are you running that load. This will give you the amp/hours. If your load of 20 amps is used for 1 hour (20amp/hours), then you must charge your battery 20 amps for 1 hour to make it whole again. If your alternator on the Honda puts out 10 amps (hypothetical), that means you would have to run the Honda for 2 hours to recharge your battery(s). There are many marine electic books available that can explain it better than this. I would point out that while I have 2 batteries I actually only discharge one during a weekend. Two batteries are good because it is always nice to have redundency on a boat. Keep in mind though, that most of the time you will be sailing and (hopefully) you are not listening to the Honday charge your batteries!
I have a 1979 catalina 22. I have two batterys and there was PLENTY of room to install the second battery. If you have a load connected to the battery that is drawing "juice" from the battery then if will take longer to charge the battery. How big is the charger on the Honda? I figure 10 amps plus or minus (check owners manual). That means if your battery is connected to a load and your Honda is charging and the load is 11 amps (lights, vhf, stereo, etc. for example) you are still dischaging your battery at 1 amp per hour. (based on a hypothetical 10 amp alternator output). Basicly, you have to know what is your load, in amps, and how long are you running that load. This will give you the amp/hours. If your load of 20 amps is used for 1 hour (20amp/hours), then you must charge your battery 20 amps for 1 hour to make it whole again. If your alternator on the Honda puts out 10 amps (hypothetical), that means you would have to run the Honda for 2 hours to recharge your battery(s). There are many marine electic books available that can explain it better than this. I would point out that while I have 2 batteries I actually only discharge one during a weekend. Two batteries are good because it is always nice to have redundency on a boat. Keep in mind though, that most of the time you will be sailing and (hopefully) you are not listening to the Honday charge your batteries!
J
Jim
The Power of The Sun
Although I have just sold my Cat 22 and went for a Newport, I do have a few Ideas for you. First, go with two group 27 deep cycle Bat. Your best bet would be to put in switch, running parellel could be bad if you have one weak bat, and one good bat. Finaly you must remember your honda charging unit probaly puts out only 6 to 8 amps, just the amount for running lights and a VHF. In order to get more power, try geting a solar panel or two. This way you can charge while you are cruising, run the motor just before sunset, and have plenty of power for the night when going out for a weekend !! Hope this helps
Although I have just sold my Cat 22 and went for a Newport, I do have a few Ideas for you. First, go with two group 27 deep cycle Bat. Your best bet would be to put in switch, running parellel could be bad if you have one weak bat, and one good bat. Finaly you must remember your honda charging unit probaly puts out only 6 to 8 amps, just the amount for running lights and a VHF. In order to get more power, try geting a solar panel or two. This way you can charge while you are cruising, run the motor just before sunset, and have plenty of power for the night when going out for a weekend !! Hope this helps
A
Aldo
How's your #1 Battery?
Tim: How is your number 1 battery? We have no problem going through a weekend on our battery, in fact, we used to go about a month of weekends on one charge. I have since added a solar panel, which assures me that I start the weekend, or a cruise with a full charge. I also converted to a size 27 battery which is approximately 50% bigger than the regular battery. I think that your current battery may need replacing, especially if it is more than 3 years old. We run a 10 watt anchor light and lights to read, and occasionally a small TV, and as long as we have a good battery we can go several weekends. There are ways to check the charge on a battery, such as with a digital volt meter which is very accurate. I don't have the voltages for different fractions of charge here right now, but if you need them mention that in a response to your original question. I hope this helps. Aldo
Tim: How is your number 1 battery? We have no problem going through a weekend on our battery, in fact, we used to go about a month of weekends on one charge. I have since added a solar panel, which assures me that I start the weekend, or a cruise with a full charge. I also converted to a size 27 battery which is approximately 50% bigger than the regular battery. I think that your current battery may need replacing, especially if it is more than 3 years old. We run a 10 watt anchor light and lights to read, and occasionally a small TV, and as long as we have a good battery we can go several weekends. There are ways to check the charge on a battery, such as with a digital volt meter which is very accurate. I don't have the voltages for different fractions of charge here right now, but if you need them mention that in a response to your original question. I hope this helps. Aldo
T
Ted
May want to move them forward
The C-22 has a tendancy to be heavy in the rear. Particularly with a 5+ hp outboard. Adding a second battery in the 'normal' spot will only compound the problem. As an alternative, you could move both batteries to the forward dinette compartment or even the V-berth compartment. Two batteries is a good idea. Regards, Ted
The C-22 has a tendancy to be heavy in the rear. Particularly with a 5+ hp outboard. Adding a second battery in the 'normal' spot will only compound the problem. As an alternative, you could move both batteries to the forward dinette compartment or even the V-berth compartment. Two batteries is a good idea. Regards, Ted
T
Tim
Thanks!
Thanks for all the info. A couple of questions. Ted - Great web site. I am not sure that I am capapble of moving batteries forward and rewiring for everything to come back to the service panel. If it is simple let me know. Jim - I like the idea of solar power. Where do you install the large batteries. My cat 22 is an 87 with a built in battery box in the starboard lazzerette. What kind, how large solar panel do you use? Greg - right I do not want to run the motor that much. Aldo - battery is about 3 year old deep cycle marine battery. you may me right, I do need to change the battery. I hope I do not sound stupid. I have had the boat 2.5 years. I sail fine, but am starting to want to move on to longer sailing cruises. Any modifications to make it easier is what I am looking for. Thanks, Tim
Thanks for all the info. A couple of questions. Ted - Great web site. I am not sure that I am capapble of moving batteries forward and rewiring for everything to come back to the service panel. If it is simple let me know. Jim - I like the idea of solar power. Where do you install the large batteries. My cat 22 is an 87 with a built in battery box in the starboard lazzerette. What kind, how large solar panel do you use? Greg - right I do not want to run the motor that much. Aldo - battery is about 3 year old deep cycle marine battery. you may me right, I do need to change the battery. I hope I do not sound stupid. I have had the boat 2.5 years. I sail fine, but am starting to want to move on to longer sailing cruises. Any modifications to make it easier is what I am looking for. Thanks, Tim
A
Aldo
We Cruise too.
Tim: We really enjoy cruising our C-22 too, and have for 20 years. I just purchased an autopilot for ours, something that I have wanted for years. We are planning on going on the national cruise on the Patuxent River on the Chesapeake Bay this summer. It's 70 miles from our marina to the start of the cruise, which is far for us. Previously we have only sailed our boat about 35 miles from our home marina. I always wanted to keep the boat simple in the past, but it seems that now is the time to start adding more electronics to it. A solar panel is a good thing. What it does, is lets you start out with a full charge on your battery. If you have a good battery, it will be good for at least 3 day cruises with no problems. We don't use our solar panel when we cruise, but it does charge our batteries during the week all summer. If you do move your batteries to another location, and still keep the same switch panel, the guage of the wire is something that you should give a little consideration to. Aldo
Tim: We really enjoy cruising our C-22 too, and have for 20 years. I just purchased an autopilot for ours, something that I have wanted for years. We are planning on going on the national cruise on the Patuxent River on the Chesapeake Bay this summer. It's 70 miles from our marina to the start of the cruise, which is far for us. Previously we have only sailed our boat about 35 miles from our home marina. I always wanted to keep the boat simple in the past, but it seems that now is the time to start adding more electronics to it. A solar panel is a good thing. What it does, is lets you start out with a full charge on your battery. If you have a good battery, it will be good for at least 3 day cruises with no problems. We don't use our solar panel when we cruise, but it does charge our batteries during the week all summer. If you do move your batteries to another location, and still keep the same switch panel, the guage of the wire is something that you should give a little consideration to. Aldo
- Status
- Not open for further replies.