Where to store a battery bank?

[patrickkidd]

Hi there!

I am going to put a battery bank in on my Catalina 30, mostly to keep my 2.5A norcold fridge (icebox conversion kit) running when away from the slip. probably 4x of these only because that's what my neighbor got:

http://www.trojanbattery.com/pdf/datasheets/T105RE_TrojanRE_Data_Sheets.pdf

Where have others fit a bank of this size? Under the starboard quarterberth? Under the nav table?

Any thoughts on better cells? I'll be adding solar.

 

[jeepbluetj]

GC2s (like the T105) are excellent batteries for boats (and RVs). The Trojan is a high quality battery.

Assuming your current batteries are under the chart table (earlier C-30s) The GC2s will likely be too tall for under the starboard QB. I could only fit a G24 in there (in a box, as the box adds some height).

I do have 2 GC2s under the nav table. May need to modify the shelf in there for the height. You cannot fit 4 under there. (Assuming you have the enclosed nav table)

Other places you may look:
Aft of the galley (where the drawers are) - It's plenty deep. May loose the bottom drawer. Could only fit 2 imho.
Port side settee in front of the table - right aft of the head. IIRC, some C-30s had them in there from the factory.
The lazerrete - somebody on one of the forums has 4 GC2s in the laz. Obviously that's a lot of weight up high and way back. I wouldn't do it, but somebody has.
Sail locker. Build a few boxes in and vent them.
Somewere around where the muffler sits. There's enough height, but it'd be a total pain to get them in there and the engine heat would do no good for the batteries.

I get by with 2 GC2s that I run everything off of. Starter, fridge, etc... I have one little G24 'reserve' battery in the starboard settee. With about 120W of solar I'm pretty good off the grid for 3-4 days. However, I turn the fridge off at night and I sail here in SoCal where it's usually pretty sunny. My fridge sucks 5A+ when it's running and it runs a lot.

Even if you found space for 4 GC2s you'll need quite a bit of solar to keep up if you want to stay away from shorepower for more than a weekend. As an example, my motorhome only has 2 GC2s. I have a 10cu household fridge powered by an inverter. With 400+ watts of solar, I never need to plug it in in SoCal. So not enough battery but more than enough solar is one way to solve the problem. (Till you get 3 cloudy days in a row).

 

[Benny17441]

You cannot put enough batteries in a boat to adequately run refrigeration for more than a couple of days at a time. The answer lies in power conservation and recharging ability. 1) make sure the box is well insulated and the lid well sealed, 2) precool with shorepower a couple of days before departure 3) a full refrigerator is more efficient than a partially full one, 4) keep the cabin well ventilated to reduce heat buildup, 5) use frozen water bottles and precooked frozen meals, 6) limit the number of times the fridge is opened, place drinks and beer in an ice cooler, 7) plug the drain hole at the bottom of the box to prevent cold air from spilling into the bilge, 8) keep the coils and airflow clean and in good condition. Regarding recharging you might want to run the engine a couple of hours a day, run a portable or inboard generator, solar panels or wind powered generator depending on your needs. Taking a slip at a marina for one night is a way of getting a good restaurant meal, taking a hot shower, avoiding anchor watch and recharging batteries. The Achilles heel of those conversions is usually the poor insulation of those ice boxes so attack that first. Your neighbor may have different needs than yours so do not fixate on a particular solution without first understanding your specific needs and the alternatives available. We run refrigeration on multiday trips and we only have a two group 27 battery bank. Our secret is that we like transient slips at marinas and carry a portable gas powered generator. Equip your boat for 80-90% of your sailing needs and then improvise for the rest.

 

[patrickkidd]

You know, I wonder if it would make sense to put the starter battery somewhere in the engine cavity and then the house batteries under the nav table cabinet. It makes logical sense, but I wonder if that is technically practical given the different environment of the engine cavity and and additional cable lengths required to get to the A-B-Both-Off switch above the nav table.

 

[Team118]

I put 4 T-105's under the nav table. I built a wooden box to hold them. The picture enclosed was for the original 12volt batteries I used. I had to modify it to fit the 4 Trojans. I then built a louvered door that is Velcro'd over the opening...I had to build that from scratch, there was a kit to make louvered doors but it went out of stock.

The system supplies about 450amps on paper.

All of the other talk about insufficient power for your needs...well, that's out of my league.

Good luck
Chris

 

[patrickkidd]

For what it's worth, I stuck three VMax125slr 12V batteries (375ah total) under the quarter berth in simple ABS battery boxes with wooden slats built to accommodate the hull angle underneath. Easy to change later if necessary. I could have fit four of them total by cramming one more aft of the fuel tank but they are expensive and it would have been a total pain to get them in and out if necessary.

The cockpit lazarette would be ideal now that I removed the water heater but that is such valuable storage space.