[C320-list] Battery Jump Starter

Jeffrey Brown oceanblues at mac.com
Tue Sep 29 11:37:39 PDT 2015


Danny
Thanks for the detailed information. I really like the expensive way but sure looks like a lot of work. 
> On Sep 28, 2015, at 6:56 PM, danny jensen <danny at jensenshouse.com> wrote:
> 
> Jeff Brown,
> 
> THE EXPENSIVE WAY I DID IT ( I agree with Jeff and did the work myself)
> The optima batteries are very small. Perhaps you could get one of these for
> $170.The cost to parallel the 2 4D batteries and wire the Optima starting
> battery to your charger may be $500 including labor. Then you need an ACR
> $70 to charge and isolate the battery bank and you need to create a battery
> shelf ~$200. So this is a $1,000-1,200 project you you hire it done..
> Here is a link to my project where I followed some of Jeff's guidelines.
> 
> http://www.catalina320.com/mediagallery/download.php?mid=20131126191643492
> 
> 
> THE CHEAPER WAY THAT WOULD WORK
> An alternative would be to buy and optima battery(real battery), Keep it on
> a cheap car charger in your garage and take it to Catalina with you or when
> your risk is higher and you will be in flat water when you need a jump. At
> Catalina Island you will likely be on a mooring or at anchor so you will
> have some time to haul out the optima. You can also use this battery to
> emergency start your cars etc.
> 
> Buy a power post like this:
> 
> https://www.bluesea.com/products/2016/Dual_PowerPost_-_Two_5_16in-18_Studs
> 
> Also by some pre-made large 1/0 awg Jumper cables  with ring
> terminals/power lugs extending from the power post to the optima. 5 foot
> one red / one  black $35 each
> 
> http://www.genuinedealz.com/1-0-awg-custom-battery-cables
> 
> 
> If you are dead in the water.It will take you about 5-10 minutes to rig
> this up depending on seas and location of starting battery
> 
>   1. Haul out the optima and place on the cabin sole next to the 4D
>   battery A (Forward battery?)
>   2. Switch battery select to off.
>   3. Kill off all loads in dc panel
>   4. Remove positive and negative off 4D Battery A and connect to power
>   post
>   5. Connect Jumper cables to power post and optima jumper battery
>   6. Switch battery select to A. (not both)
>   7. Start engine.
>   8. switch to battery B or both to charge B and see if B can start your
>   engine now. You should be reading 14v on volt meter when charging.
> 
> 
> Costs:
> Optima battery or other spill proof AGM $170
> car charger $40
> Blue Sea Power Post $20
> Jumper cables $70
> Total $300.00
> 
> Danny
> 972
> 
> On Mon, Sep 28, 2015 at 3:15 PM, Jeff Hare <Catalina at thehares.com> wrote:
> 
>> In my opinion, whether this solution is a good one, really "depends" on
>> what you do.  If you're a day sailor, it'll get you by if your house bank
>> isn't too dead, but it's not really much of a cost savings (if any) and it
>> takes work and attention to detail to be sure that it's recharged when you
>> need it.
>> 
>> The benefits of having actual AGM starting battery is that it will stay
>> charged at the dock and while under power (just like the battery in your
>> car).
>> 
>> If your house bank is really drawn down you may have a serious problem
>> connecting a battery pack to jump the starter.  The reason is that the dead
>> battery where you connect the jumper will want to draw a most of the
>> current available from the starter pack and not allow enough extra to start
>> the engine.
>> 
>> You have to read the C30 test carefully.  The C30 HAD a starting battery.
>> They replaced the Starting battery with a small one that was mostly dead.
>> This test is designed to test whether a charger pack when connected to a
>> small dead starting battery will be able to start a C30's engine.  This is
>> different from connecting a charger pack to a very large dead battery.
>> 
>> When you connect a charger pack to the terminals in this situation, it is
>> very different from putting them across a dead 4D with 10x the capacity and
>> expecting there to be enough left over to run the starter.  It might work,
>> but chances are it won't when you really need it.
>> 
>> On the other hand, if you had a starting battery in the C320, and it died
>> and your house batteries were also dead, then you can easily isolate the
>> house batteries (with the A-B-Both switch), so in this case, it's very much
>> like jump starting a car and the charger pack will probably work fine.
>> ...but then you had a starting battery already that should only be there
>> for starting the engine...
>> 
>> Also remember that if you play games trying to start your engine using
>> only the charger pack without the main batteries connected, you risk
>> blowing your alternator diodes if you accidentally remove the charger pack
>> for an instant, like when you try to reconnect the house bank so that it'll
>> recharge those while under power.
>> 
>> So... In my mind, it's too complex to say "it'll always work".
>> 
>> Good luck!
>> -Jeff
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: C320-list [mailto:c320-list-bounces at lists.catalina320.com] On
>> Behalf Of sailorlew at aol.com
>> Sent: Monday, September 28, 2015 4:17 PM
>> To: C320-List at Catalina320.com
>> Subject: Re: [C320-list] Battery Jump Starter
>> 
>> Here's results of a test done on the C28 list Lew
>> 
>> 
>> https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/catalina28/conversations/topics/15796
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Jeffrey Brown <oceanblues at mac.com>
>> To: Catalina C320 List List <C320-List at Catalina320.com>
>> Sent: Mon, Sep 28, 2015 4:10 pm
>> Subject: [C320-list] Battery Jump Starter
>> 
>> 
>> After speaking with Dick last week (thanks again Dick) he told me about
>> his backup battery installation for starting the motor should he drain his
>> two 4D batteries.  It sounds like a great setup but a bit beyond my
>> technical capabilities at this time.  However, I was wondering if I could
>> simply use one of those car battery jump starter units, would that work in
>> a pinch as well?  If so, where would I connect it to jump start the
>> engine?  Having a battery backup system for our needs would be for the few
>> trips a year to Catalina.  Our local sailing, when I’ve accidentally
>> drained the battery we’ve been able to just sail back to the slip….of
>> course if there was no wind we would have been in trouble.
>> 
>> 
>> Jeff Brown
>> "Out of the blue" Dana Point, CA
>> Catalina 320, Hull
>> 78
>> (949) 350-5123
>> oceanblues at mac.com
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 



More information about the C320-list mailing list