Battery Box Or Tray

[achjimmy]

As mentioned before am tidying up the transom. I want to fit two batteries, problem i have is the one on the control side can only fit in tray i think, there dosent appear enough room under the steering/control cables to fit in a box. I will get some good terminal covers and reliase a box would be perferable but what else do i risk running the battery exposed like that?

[riderzx10r05]

I think if you have really clean terminals, are coated with some Vaseline and you have decent covers over the terminals themselve to prevent an accidental arcing you should be O.K.

A simple pre-boating check of your battery along with your other checks should leep your mind at ease.

Troy.

[pelican]

Not sure what the reason for the 2nd battery is but with mates I see they just get lazy and always think they have a back up battery. Half the time they have the switch in the wrong position , wired wrong and paid heeaps etc!! Through neglect mates have had as many failures with dual systems ( their own dumb or inexperienced fault) and realistically none needed the extra capacity in 99% of cases. They would have been much better off putting the money into a quality battery every XX years and carrying a quality portable battery box pack with anderson plug jumper leads , secure it properly that is good enough to start the motor that would actually get charged properly on the bench at home and could be used camping etc with the fridge. It is then totally independent of existing battery and charging systems.

When you do the math most batteries of a better quality one that will fit in the existing carrier have 10 times more capacity than normally required. If you halve your battery capacity and then use the remainder to calculate if you can do an overnighter with all lights , sounder , radios, bilge for an hour there should still be huge excess. Not like a car where yo run 50 watt headlights etc.

Like above I check battery area every time as a matter of habit ,check and touch up terminal spray grease as required. We have enclosed splash proof vented battery area , batteries are held with stainless tiedowns on trays for easy inspection.

Modern charging systems on some motors are good ( some are still terrible and rarely checked at service) but people do expect a lot when they often have the wrong battery installed for a start and then do not ensure that it is regularly fully charged. Some Mid to larger motors have a dual circuit charging option.

I'm not a fan of VSR ( voltage sensitive relays) as such as they are often not installed as a fully rendundant system ( that's extra $) but do see that in 90% of cases they will probably save the day if the owner knows the correct battery switch position and better than not having one but they are not a cure all.

Cheers

Pel

[Dreamtime]

As mentioned before am tidying up the transom. I want to fit two batteries, problem i have is the one on the control side can only fit in tray i think, there dosent appear enough room under the steering/control cables to fit in a box. I will get some good terminal covers and reliase a box would be perferable but what else do i risk running the battery exposed like that?

If you use a lead jelly battery (deep cycle type) you can install them on their sides. This may give you some more clearance to put it in a box.

Hope this helps

Cheers

Mariner

[pelican]

The Gel batteries are good but just make sure if you get one you check what charging it requires as a lot of systems can't ]charge them properly and shorten their usable life significantly. A lot of alternators don't charge both batteries well if there is a mixture of types as well. They are good if needed to lie on their sides but I notice a heap on the market that are no longer able to do this . Absorbed glass matt are good no spill option with better charging characteristics for outboards. Again you have to pick your brands carefully. Batteries are a bit of a minefield as quality and advertising betwen brands muddies the waters. Historically gels are good at deep storage for long drawdown of power but poor in terms of ability to start motors but newer one again blurr these lines

[achjimmy]

Not sure what the reason for the 2nd battery is but with mates I see they just get lazy and always think they have a back up battery. Half the time they have the switch in the wrong position , wired wrong and paid heeaps etc!! Through neglect mates have had as many failures with dual systems ( their own dumb or inexperienced fault) and realistically none needed the extra capacity in 99% of cases. They would have been much better off putting the money into a quality battery every XX years and carrying a quality portable battery box pack with anderson plug jumper leads , secure it properly that is good enough to start the motor that would actually get charged properly on the bench at home and could be used camping etc with the fridge. It is then totally independent of existing battery and charging systems.

When you do the math most batteries of a better quality one that will fit in the existing carrier have 10 times more capacity than normally required. If you halve your battery capacity and then use the remainder to calculate if you can do an overnighter with all lights , sounder , radios, bilge for an hour there should still be huge excess. Not like a car where yo run 50 watt headlights etc.

Like above I check battery area every time as a matter of habit ,check and touch up terminal spray grease as required. We have enclosed splash proof vented battery area , batteries are held with stainless tiedowns on trays for easy inspection.

Modern charging systems on some motors are good ( some are still terrible and rarely checked at service) but people do expect a lot when they often have the wrong battery installed for a start and then do not ensure that it is regularly fully charged. Some Mid to larger motors have a dual circuit charging option.

I'm not a fan of VSR ( voltage sensitive relays) as such as they are often not installed as a fully rendundant system ( that's extra $) but do see that in 90% of cases they will probably save the day if the owner knows the correct battery switch position and better than not having one but they are not a cure all.

Cheers

Pel

Hi Pel

Interesting reply, that is how i have been running her with the second battery up under the helm and just used for the cooker and peace of mind, and charged at home if the boat, perhaps i will rethink it. I was just trying to tidy things up.