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Old 17-07-2016, 12:04   #16
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Re: Best House battery combinations ?

Damn, how did I ever go cruising on only two 6V GC batteries in series storing 220 amps, and a small 12v start battery?? Yes if you have refrigeration, autopilot, and other electron hogs, 400 amps of storage is recommended. Still chugging along on my minimalist system though haven't gone anywhere significant since sailing to Hawaii.

Have always gone with GC batteries for the house bank. Really rugged batteries that are available anywhere there is a golf course which seems to be almost everywhere these days.

One thing I don't recommend is the large capacity 12v 4d, 8d, etc. batteries. You are really putting your electrical needs in one basket and will be SOL if one cell dies. The reason, for me, not ever going that route is the weight of the damn things. Unless you are a gorilla or cruise with one, you won't be able to get them into or off the boat by yourself especially if you are at a rolly anchorage.
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Old 17-07-2016, 12:35   #17
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Re: Best House battery combinations ?

#2 batteries only? 12V
#4 batteries? They say 6V GC

I would move to 24V when possible... :-)
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Old 17-07-2016, 16:45   #18
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Re: Best House battery combinations ?

Have used 4 x 6v in series/parallel for 20 years. Have replaced the batteries only twice in 20 years (Trojan T-105's).

I vote for Option#1 modified-->two sets of 2 x 6v in series connected in parallel. Gives 12 volts at 2 x amp hrs of one of the 6v batteries (in my case about 450 amp hrs at the 20 hour rate).

I charge them 3 diff ways - engine alternator(under way);solar panels (sailing or day anchor); Wind Turbine at night (When you travel where there is nobody else (like Labrador) you must be independent !
If you need help on how connections are done-let me know.
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Old 17-07-2016, 18:23   #19
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Re: Best House battery combinations ?

I would like to hear how to hook up a 4 x 6v in series/parallel setup.
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Old 17-07-2016, 18:39   #20
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Re: Best House battery combinations ?

Like this:
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Old 17-07-2016, 19:35   #21
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Re: Best House battery combinations ?

I have had nothing but trouble with my battery set up since the "mechanic and battery expert" talked me into going with 2 12v mogel 27 starting batteries and 1 8D as a house.

I get maybe 48 hours out of the 8D and if I include the 27's I am worried about starting my engines.

But I have decided to change everything about.

I have 4 12v model 27's that are only 2 years old and I plan to run them in parallel as my house batteries and use the 8D as a starting battery for both engines.

I am hoping this will work and that my battery charger (3 bank, 20 amp) along with both engine alternators will do the trick.

If not, then I will go with solar sooner than I have planned.
I will go with solar once I need to replace some 27 batteries.

This has been both frustrating and costly, but I want to at the least get some value for purchasing the 27's and 8D.
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Old 17-07-2016, 19:45   #22
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Re: Best House battery combinations ?

Quote:
Originally Posted by 1000 islands View Post
I have had nothing but trouble with my battery set up since the "mechanic and battery expert" talked me into going with 2 12v mogel 27 starting batteries and 1 8D as a house.

I get maybe 48 hours out of the 8D and if I include the 27's I am worried about starting my engines.

But I have decided to change everything about.

I have 4 12v model 27's that are only 2 years old and I plan to run them in parallel as my house batteries and use the 8D as a starting battery for both engines.

I am hoping this will work and that my battery charger (3 bank, 20 amp) along with both engine alternators will do the trick.

If not, then I will go with solar sooner than I have planned.
I will go with solar once I need to replace some 27 batteries.

This has been both frustrating and costly, but I want to at the least get some value for purchasing the 27's and 8D.
Maybe elaborate a little on this. What kind of loads are you running on the 8D and to what depth are you discharging the battery? AND, is the 8D fully charged when you start your 48 hours clock?

If you're running refrigeration, AP, lights, stereo and an inverter then 48 hours is pretty good. If you're running nothing but 2-3 small LED lights then you definitely have a problem.
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Old 18-07-2016, 15:42   #23
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Re: Best House battery combinations ?

True, but for years Maine Sail has been saying that 8D and 4D batteries are not true deep cycle.

If you check out his website, you can read What is a True Deep cycle Battery, or search here on this forum for it or Google it.
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Old 18-07-2016, 22:03   #24
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Re: Best House battery combinations ?

Quote:
Originally Posted by mitiempo View Post
Like this:
Forgive my incompetence here. I'm about to close on a 36' Pearson and am sold on the 6v in series, then parallel like above. From there, the positive and negative go where...? To a switch? If so, then what? To the panel?

Thanks in advance.
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Old 18-07-2016, 22:11   #25
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Re: Best House battery combinations ?

Quote:
Originally Posted by molo0928 View Post
Forgive my incompetence here. I'm about to close on a 36' Pearson and am sold on the 6v in series, then parallel like above. From there, the positive and negative go where...? To a switch? If so, then what? To the panel?

Thanks in advance.
Negative goes to boat ground, one way or the other. Instead of bolting to the block directly I rigged a ground bus bar and used that to ground everything to one spot, of course grounding the bus bar to the block.

Did the same with the positive. A very large cable from the battery to a switch, then to the bus bar. From the bus bar a large cable to a large circuit breaker and then to the windlass. A smaller wire to the DC panel and one bilge pump wired directly to the battery bypassing the battery switch so it isn't accidentally turned off.
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Old 18-07-2016, 22:17   #26
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Re: Best House battery combinations ?

That mostly makes sense. Not that I'm doubting what you're saying, I'm just very green to all of this and trying to get it right in my head. I'll have to see it for ideal location of the bus bar(s)...?
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Old 18-07-2016, 23:39   #27
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Re: Best House battery combinations ?

Quote:
Originally Posted by skipmac View Post
Negative goes to boat ground, one way or the other. Instead of bolting to the block directly I rigged a ground bus bar and used that to ground everything to one spot, of course grounding the bus bar to the block.

Did the same with the positive. A very large cable from the battery to a switch, then to the bus bar. From the bus bar a large cable to a large circuit breaker and then to the windlass. A smaller wire to the DC panel and one bilge pump wired directly to the battery bypassing the battery switch so it isn't accidentally turned off.
Skipmac is 100% correct on his layout and suggestion to use bus bars. Also, make sure you have an ACR or Echo Charge unit in the charging circuit to prevent the starter battery from being overcharged during the house battery recharge cycle.
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