Battery Woes

Batteries, Generators, Solar, Wind and Electronics
TonyB
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Re: Battery Woes

Post by TonyB »

Another option (what I did on my Newport) is my start and house batteries were in the same compartment. So I combined them all into one house bank and mounted a battery box and start battery in a different location. But it was a pain to do all the wiring.
Good luck!
Tony
SV Circe 1997 Freedom 40/40 - Hull #20 - Richmond Yacht Club, Richmond, CA

TonyB
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Re: Battery Woes

Post by TonyB »

Also make sure to measure your battery compartments against dimensions of batteries you are considering. Let’s just say battery sizing is a suggestion. I found out the hard way. They can be different in all dimensions.
Tony
SV Circe 1997 Freedom 40/40 - Hull #20 - Richmond Yacht Club, Richmond, CA

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GeoffSchultz
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Re: Battery Woes

Post by GeoffSchultz »

I'm going to disagree with the suggestion for AGMs, in particular when you're discharging to the level that you're doing. You won't get many cycles out of them.

What you really want is Ni-MH batteries which can be heavily deep-cycled, many, many times and they accept huge amounts of charging current. But you really have to look at your charger to see if your setup is compatible with them.
BlueJacket
1997 Freedom 40/40
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TonyB
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Re: Battery Woes

Post by TonyB »

NiMH is great but does anyone make them in Group 31? Or other large sizes? Seems like the industry is moving towards LiFePo4. Which I think is great. But expensive for now.
Tony
SV Circe 1997 Freedom 40/40 - Hull #20 - Richmond Yacht Club, Richmond, CA

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bobr
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Re: Battery Woes

Post by bobr »

Thank you Geoff and Tony for your continued suggestions.
I have found a flooded battery only slightly larger than group 31 (Rolls) which is rated at 155 amp hours and 2 should fit in my compartment (I’ll be sure to measure first!). I’m thinking combining this with a modest solar set up would be sufficient for my needs. Thanks again.
Bob R.
1995 Freedom 35 (Pedrick)
"Liberty"
Old Saybrook, CT

TonyB
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Re: Battery Woes

Post by TonyB »

Great! Good luck. Check the water levels in the cells when you install it. I made the mistake of not checking once and ruined a good set of new batteries.
Who knew batteries would take up so much of our sailing consciousness?!
Tony
SV Circe 1997 Freedom 40/40 - Hull #20 - Richmond Yacht Club, Richmond, CA

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