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Lowmar · 20-02-2018, 08:52

Hi,

I have just bought a old Snowgoose 37 (not Elite) and want to update the battery capacity. At the moment she has two batteries located in the engine locker. One start battery and one house battery. Both at 80 Ah. I need to update the house battery bank to 300-400 Ah. These will not fit in the tight space in the engine locker so I have to place them elsewhere.

My problem is where to place them. I have a couple ideas, but i guess others may have found the perfect solution already.

Where do you have your batteries on your Snowgoose 37?

If you have other recommendations or experiences regarding the batteries, feel free to write.

/Martin

Snowgoose35 · 20-02-2018, 14:44

Many people go with the bottom of the cupboard that opens up to the back of the helm as there is easy under floor access to the original cables from alternator etc

Some go with under the seats in the saloon.

In my 35 which has almost the same layout as the 37 I went with a cockpit locker either side of the engine

Lowmar · 20-02-2018, 23:07

Thank you for your reply.

The cupboard on the back of the helm is one of the possibilities I have in mind. In fact is on he top of my list. I'm glad to hear that others are using this too.

I have considered the space under the seats in the salon, but I think it's too far from the alternator. On the positive side there is very easy access.

On my Snowgoose there is no locker next to the engine. I have been thinking about building one myself, but if others use the locker behind the wheel I think this i the way to do it.

geoffr · 22-02-2018, 06:20

We have our house bank in the closet behind the helm. For us this works well as this is also where the main breaker panel and controllers are. We had 6 T105s and will be replacing with T105s again or slightly larger.

This is not a bad space as it isn't great space for food or other items and is in the center of the boat for heavy batteries. The only issue is it does require some muscle to get the batteries in there and I needed to build a shelf so that all 6 batteries are on the same level (spanning the dip for the center nacelle)

We have a start AGM beside the engine.

Roger L · 22-02-2018, 08:34

Quote:

Originally Posted by marwol

Thank you for your reply.

The cupboard on the back of the helm is one of the possibilities I have in mind. In fact is on he top of my list. I'm glad to hear that others are using this too.

I have considered the space under the seats in the salon, but I think it's too far from the alternator. On the positive side there is very easy access.

On my Snowgoose there is no locker next to the engine. I have been thinking about building one myself, but if others use the locker behind the wheel I think this i the way to do it.

Remember that by sizing the wire diameter propertly, the batteries can be any distance from the alternator. The only restriction is that you want the ohms per foot of the wire to be the same or even less than the original system. Ohms/foot can be gotten from a chart or with a good VOM.

An engine compartment really isn't a very good environment for a battery. The only reason why batteries are typically located close to the starter/alternator is because of the high price of the larger diameters of good wire. But when it comes to finding usable space in a sailboat, the price of wire doesn't seem nearly so important.

I would suggest that for wire you try to use the best grade of flexible multi-stranded pure copper wire with a thick covering of outdoor or marine grade insulation. Sometimes you can find old arc-welding leads that will serve. Your local welding shop sells the best kind of new wire for a decent price, and has various types of inline positive plug-in connectors as well.
Congrats on the new boat,
Roger L.

Excalibur5 · 22-02-2018, 08:50

Our snowgoose 37 also has them in the area right in front of the helm. Using the nacelle and the shallower upper portion to mount a blade type AGM on its side we have a trio of "Energy 1" 185 AH batteries getting us a 555 AH bank total. Our start battery is a small lead acid job in the engine compartment.

Lowmar · 22-02-2018, 12:36

Thank you very much for all your answers.

I think the locker behind the helm is the way to go.

geoffr, you wrote that you have made a shelf to get the batteries on the same level. Is this important or just for convenience?

Lowmar · 22-02-2018, 12:45

One more thing: If some of you have pictures of the setup in the locker to share I will be very pleased. There's no reason for me to reinvent the wheel if some of you have some good ideas.

Excalibur5 · 22-02-2018, 15:34

I think I can get some pics for you later today.

geoffr · 23-02-2018, 11:29

Quote:

Originally Posted by marwol

Thank you very much for all your answers.

I think the locker behind the helm is the way to go.

geoffr, you wrote that you have made a shelf to get the batteries on the same level. Is this important or just for convenience?

Unfortunate, I don't have any good photos to show, so I'll try to describe our set-up:

Looking (aft) into the cabinet you see the following:

backside of the wheel right in front of you
bottom left on the hull are 3 Trojan T105s sitting directly on the hull in battery boxes
to the right of the batteries is a shelf built over the center nacelle
---> on this self are another 3 T105s.

The shelf is needed as the right batteries would be hanging in mid air or at odd angles due to the nacelle and another support bar in there.

If I remember I'll take some photos this weekend (the batteries are out so it may actually be a better view)

Geoff.