Starter Battery ?

May 2, 2012
276
Catalina 310 Toronto, Ontario
So I'm setting up 4 Trojan 105s Golf 6V Batteries (Deep Cycle wet). I'm adding an additional 12V starter battery. As Trojans go what 12V MODEL of battery would be appropriate to use or can I use another make of 12V battery.

Cheers
2 Old Pirates
 
Last edited:
Nov 16, 2012
1,037
Catalina 310, 2000, #31 31 Santa Cruz
I’ve got 4 Costco GC 6V batteries for the house in the standard battery box/compartment. I added a Group 24 12V under the port settee and drilled a hole between the two areas for the cables. Here’s a picture of the 4, with the cables going to the G24 at the lower right.

RC says the starter battery doesn’t need to be very substantial, although if you have it wired so it’s the backup for the house bank (if it goes belly up), you might want something reasonably sized, depending on your needs. For us the G24 starts the engine without any issues. We’re mostly day sailors, so no need for a large backup bank.


Final Battery.jpeg
 

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Tom J

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Sep 30, 2008
2,301
Catalina 310 Quincy, MA
I’ve got 4 Costco GC 6V batteries for the house in the standard battery box/compartment. I added a Group 24 12V under the port settee and drilled a hole between the two areas for the cables. Here’s a picture of the 4, with the cables going to the G24 at the lower right.

RC says the starter battery doesn’t need to be very substantial, although if you have it wired so it’s the backup for the house bank (if it goes belly up), you might want something reasonably sized, depending on your needs. For us the G24 starts the engine without any issues. We’re mostly day sailors, so no need for a large backup bank.


View attachment 162386
How is the height of the Costco GC batteries? It looks like they fit pretty well where the 4D's used to live.
 
Nov 16, 2012
1,037
Catalina 310, 2000, #31 31 Santa Cruz
How is the height of the Costco GC batteries? It looks like they fit pretty well where the 4D's used to live.
Pretty similar. I removed the pan the 4Ds sat in (it had holes in it, so wasn’t really functional) and used battery boxes that are tied down with NRS straps. The brackets for the straps are screwed into the wood shelf-no way to get under the shelf to thru bolt, unfortunately.
 
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Dec 19, 2006
5,809
Hunter 36 Punta Gorda
I have 4-6 volt T-105’s and a Walmart 12 volt for starting and ACR for keeping it charged.
Nick
 

JRT

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Feb 14, 2017
2,037
Catalina 310 211 Lake Guntersville, AL
So my soon to be 310 has 4 GC batteries and a standalone 12V deep cycle battery for starting. The current owner set up that Battery 1 on the switch is the single 12V starter battery and Battery 2 is the 4 GC backs for house. I should have asked, but when motoring I assume the battery selection has nothing to do with the charging of the batteries from the selector switch. I'll probably dig into this area a bit more with him to fully understand what he did as he said he copied what had already been posted on the C310 website and was not creative.
 

Ward H

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Nov 7, 2011
3,645
Catalina 30 Mk II Barnegat, NJ
So my soon to be 310 has 4 GC batteries and a standalone 12V deep cycle battery for starting.
John, I know you already know this but as a refresh, with the house bank probably around 440 Ahr, you should be fine using the house for both start and house and using the start battery as a reserve.
Maybe you'll be lucky there is an ACR for charging the start battery.
 
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May 2, 2012
276
Catalina 310 Toronto, Ontario
HI All:
Getting anxious to get those sails up. Bloody weather up and down. Freeze - Thaw - Freeze ???
I have just finished this diagram and would like your feed back. I have a few question if you would give me some feed back on.

#1. What is "Service Connect" and is it necessary.

#2. The Blue Sea is connected to an 80 amp fuse connected to the 12V battery and is connected to a 50 amp fuse connected to Primary Bank. Is this RIGHT.

#3. Is #1 or is #1/0 the appropriate gauge to use? Red & Black (1/0 is almost impossible to find here in Toronto,Canada)
#4 The Main switch below is Identical the one on my boat.
Any other input would be appreciated.

PS. This was taken from the Original diagram of JK's setup.
Cheers :beer:
2 OLD PIRATES
Sorry, having a GREY hair day. Pictures attached
 

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Feb 26, 2004
22,759
Catalina 34 224 Maple Bay, BC, Canada
but when motoring I assume the battery selection has nothing to do with the charging of the batteries from the selector switch.
John, here's how the OEM worked and what changes should be made to route the AO (alternator output) to the house bank:

OEM 1-2-B Switch Wiring History http://c34.org/bbs/index.php/topic,4949.msg30101.html#msg30101

Basic Battery Wiring Diagrams This is a very good basic primer for boat system wiring: http://c34.org/bbs/index.php/topic,6604.0.html

This is another very good basic primer for boat system wiring: The 1-2-B Switch by Maine Sail (brings together a lot of what this subject is all about)
http://forums.catalina.sailboatowners.com/showthread.php?t=137615

This is a newer primer for boat system wiring design with a thorough digram: Building a Good Foundation (October 2016)
http://forums.sailboatowners.com/in...dc-electrical-foundation.181929/#post-1332240

The Short Version of the 1-2-B Switch Stuff: http://c34.org/bbs/index.php/topic,5977.msg38552.html#msg38552 This is a link to the Electrical Systems 101 Topic, reply #2

What are ACRs, Combiners & Echo Chargers? (by Maine Sail) [scroll to the top]
http://forums.catalina.sailboatowners.com/showthread.php?p=742417 and http://c34.org/bbs/index.php/topic,9404.msg70131.html#msg70131

Making Sense of Automatic Charging Relays (2019)
https://marinehowto.com/automatic-charging-relays/

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I may have sent you those links some time earlier, from the Electrical Systems 101 topic.
 
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Feb 26, 2004
22,759
Catalina 34 224 Maple Bay, BC, Canada
#1. What is "Service Connect" and is it necessary.

#2. The Blue Sea is connected to an 80 amp fuse connected to the 12V battery and is connected to a 50 amp fuse connected to Primary Bank. Is this RIGHT.

#3. Is #1 or is #1/0 the appropriate gauge to use? Red & Black (1/0 is almost impossible to find here in Toronto,Canada)
1. The SD is to disconnect the alternator when working on it or the engine. With the AO to the house bank the alternator is always hot. Since it is fused, some of us, like me!:), just remove the fuse when doing so.

2. No comment, I havn't reviewed it.

3. Wire sizing is up to YOU. Really. You NEED to determine the load to size the supply wiring. The main DC electrical panel on boats of our size rarely can draw more than 10-15A continuous (fridge running, all running lights on, with AP and chartplotter). Of course, you could size the wire for that few seconds of load from the 150-200A starter, but your boat, your choice. I've had this discussion with Maine Sail over the course of many years, where I said my OEM #4 still works. His point is NOT that bigger is better, but that proper sizing for the load would indicate a larger wire. I wish I'd saved that discussion that was right here on sbo! :) FWIW, my AO is #2.

Smitty's original writeup is here:
https://svsmitty.wordpress.com/2013/03/04/electrical-charging-system-upgrade-mostly-complete/
 
Feb 26, 2004
22,759
Catalina 34 224 Maple Bay, BC, Canada
#2. The Blue Sea is connected to an 80 amp fuse connected to the 12V battery and is connected to a 50 amp fuse connected to Primary Bank. Is this RIGHT.
Yes, looks odd, same size wires, different size fuses. Just look up the fuse size for a #4 wire. Unless there's something in the ACR manual...
 
May 2, 2012
276
Catalina 310 Toronto, Ontario
Thanks Stu ........... what an education !!! Really what a handle on how all this works. Great input and lots of reading.
Cheers
2 Old Pirates
 
Nov 16, 2012
1,037
Catalina 310, 2000, #31 31 Santa Cruz
So my soon to be 310 has 4 GC batteries and a standalone 12V deep cycle battery for starting. The current owner set up that Battery 1 on the switch is the single 12V starter battery and Battery 2 is the 4 GC backs for house. I should have asked, but when motoring I assume the battery selection has nothing to do with the charging of the batteries from the selector switch. I'll probably dig into this area a bit more with him to fully understand what he did as he said he copied what had already been posted on the C310 website and was not creative.
John, here’s the setup I put together for our C310. It’s more complicated, but gives a lot of flexibility. The single 12V is normally used for starting-that way there’s no drop out of the house electronics when cranking. The ACR deals with charging both banks. The alternator disconnect makes it easier/safe to work on the alternator. The switch between the starter and 12V battery lets me isolate that battery, and switch the 1-2-Both to connect the house bank to the starter.

I did this based a lot on information from Stu, Jessie, and Maine Sail. Very knowledgeable and helpful folks!!
 

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May 2, 2012
276
Catalina 310 Toronto, Ontario
Good Day:
Just dropped in the new batteries and checked out the wiring from the shore plug in the stern to the ProMariner 1240P. What gauge of wire do you use. The one that is there is 10 AWG which I don't recognize and can not get here in Toronto Can. It looks very similar to house hold wiring.


Blue Sea Systems MaxiBus 250A BusBar with Four Terminal 18 Studs of 5/16-Inch
Boy this is some learning curve, but I'll get it eventually. What does 18 studs mean ?
 
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Ward H

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Nov 7, 2011
3,645
Catalina 30 Mk II Barnegat, NJ
What does 18 studs mean ?
That's a bad description. Even the item numbers below it are bad. #2127 is a Blue Sea MaxiBus 250A with Four 5/16"-18 Studs.
That is a nice bus bar for a positive bus when bought with a cover and a negative bus which doesn't need a cover. I used two of them in my system.

I used #6 for the run from the charger but it was less than 6'.
 
Nov 16, 2012
1,037
Catalina 310, 2000, #31 31 Santa Cruz
Good Day:
Just dropped in the new batteries and checked out the wiring from the shore plug in the stern to the ProMariner 1240P. What gauge of wire do you use. The one that is there is 10 AWG which I don't recognize and can not get here in Toronto Can. It looks very similar to house hold wiring.


Blue Sea Systems MaxiBus 250A BusBar with Four Terminal 18 Studs of 5/16-Inch
Boy this is some learning curve, but I'll get it eventually. What does 18 studs mean ?
If you’re talking about the AC wiring, #10 is fine. The recommended breaker is 15A. 20 feet one way is only a 0.5 V drop, nothing to worry about. The wire looks like Romex, but it’s probably marine grade, black (hot), white (neutral), and green (ground).

Hopefully that AC wiring is coming from the breaker panel at the nav station and not direct from the shore power entrance!