Battery switch position

[Dave G.]

Mine has 2 x 6v Batteries for the "house" bank and 1 x 12v for the start/spare bank. The 6 volts are wet cell Deka Pro Master golf cart/forklift batteries and the 12 volt is group 24 RV/Marine type. I have not had any issues with the 2x6v as a house bank and the capacity is excellent. I have a Balmar alternator, 100A I think, and I do notice that when it kicks into charge mode my little 16hp engine looses some rpm when charging the house bank which I use 90% of the time. I do use the start bank 12v on occasion but I never use both banks simultaneously so I have an isolated back up. Oh and the Deka's are stupid heavy(66lbs ea.) which is the always a pain come winter and spring.

 

[Frank Langer]

Mine has 2 x 6v Batteries for the "house" bank and 1 x 12v for the start/spare bank. The 6 volts are wet cell Deka Pro Master golf cart/forklift batteries and the 12 volt is group 24 RV/Marine type. I have not had any issues with the 2x6v as a house bank and the capacity is excellent. I have a Balmar alternator, 100A I think, and I do notice that when it kicks into charge mode my little 16hp engine looses some rpm when charging the house bank which I use 90% of the time. I do use the start bank 12v on occasion but I never use both banks simultaneously so I have an isolated back up. Oh and the Deka's are stupid heavy(66lbs ea.) which is the always a pain come winter and spring.

Dave,
Do you have the golf cart batteries in the compartment under the front section of the quarterberth, and do they fit there without modification on your E30+?
I understand that wet cell batteries need venting to meet ABYC standards, and I don't think there is any external vent in that battery compartment, so have you had any issues with surveyors about that?
I currently have group 27 AGM batteries there that don't require venting, but am considering changing to golf cart batteries next time.
Thanks,
Frank

 

[Dave G.]

Do you have the golf cart batteries in the compartment under the front section of the quarterberth, and do they fit there without modification on your E30+?

Hey Frank, I do have them under the quarterberth. On my boat that area under the quarterberth is open to the hull and pretty sure the aft end has a vent hose plus few openings for freshwater. electric, etc. There is a fiberglass box glassed to the hull for the batteries. It's a tight fit for sue and a pain getting them in and out.

 

[bigd14]

Do you have the golf cart batteries in the compartment under the front section of the quarterberth, and do they fit there without modification on your E30+?

Hey Frank I think we have the same battery compartment setup and I have the 2 6V batteries that fit great. I should note that I had to put the fuses on some bulkhead connectors to limit the vertical clearance. There are a number of holes that a PO cut into the battery compartment for various wires that serve to ventilate the batteries into the space beneath the quarterberth. This in turn has spaces that open into the engine compartment and I believe stern area. I have never noticed any battery gas smell except when I open the battery compartment immediately after running the engine but even then it’s pretty faint. You could probably cut a vent hole in one of the sides as needed.

This photo is a little old as I replaced those batteries with new Trojan golf cart batteries a year and a half ago.

 

[Loren Beach]

One caveat- be sure to check the actual dimensions of the proposed new batteries before buying/& carrying them down the to boat. The basic "golf cart" format may have some variation in height depending on amount of plates and AH capacity, and terminal type.
I will append the spec sheet for our recent new ones, for comparison. The "ELPT" terminal demands a little less total height, for instance.