[C320-list] Battery switch

[Jeff Hare]

I'd suggest that it matters how you use your boat whether AGMs are right for
you.  

AGMs can recharge significantly faster if the charge current is available.
They also hold their charge extremely well when unused over a long period of
time and cannot freeze.  This is really helpful if you store your boat for
extended periods of time like over the winter. Charge in the fall, the
batteries will still be fully charged in the spring.  They also are 100%
zero maintenance, no water, no mess.

We replaced our flooded batteries with AGMs back in spring 2008.  We expect
to do fine with them this season still.  We have our pair of 4D AGMs
directly connected in parallel to act as a single large battery. This gives
you more usable power and longer battery life because the current draw from
each is 1/2 what it would be if you used each one individually.  

Our original flooded batteries lasted 5 years before they were significantly
weak and didn't last long.  They also took a lot longer to recharge.

Something to keep in mind is that if you have 300-400 amp hours total
capacity between a pair of 4D batteries, that leaves you with 50% of that as
usable power at most.  If you have a 20ah charger you're looking at a
minimum of 10hours to put that charge back. The stock alternator is
typically a 55a internally regulated and will quickly drop down to under 10a
charge current as the alternator heats up. That means that you'll motor for
a day to recharge them.

In our case, we have a 60a shore power charger and a 125a externally
regulated alternator.  Because the pair of batteries will accept over 100a
of charge current, we can have our batteries recharged in just a couple
hours on engine or a little over twice that time on shore power.

But how and where you use your boat and budget could be a factor in this
decision also.

Cheers!
-Jeff Hare 

PS: I'm openly biased towards AGMs because we haul out for the winter and I
don't like having to drag a generator or hook up solar panels to keep
batteries charged and not frozen over the winter.

-----Original Message-----
From: C320-list [mailto:c320-list-bounces at lists.catalina320.com] On Behalf
Of Ted Harrison
Sent: Thursday, June 8, 2017 9:13 PM
To: C320-List at Catalina320.com
Subject: Re: [C320-list] Battery switch

Thanks John that helps. 

Ted Harrison

> On Jun 8, 2017, at 5:22 PM, John Morrison <sail-ability at sympatico.ca>
wrote:
> 
> Unless Ur spending a lot of time on the hook the AGMs are not worth 
> the expense. Also they will accept a high rate of charge so U would 
> need at least a 60amp shore charger & 90 or better amp 
> alternator....stock alternator is only 50amp. They will work with the 
> lower chargers but why spend the $$$$ JohnM
> 1999#574
> 
> Sent from my iPhone
> 
>> On Jun 8, 2017, at 5:08 PM, Ted Harrison <tharrison at innovations-plus.com>
wrote:
>> 
>> Yes it can
>> 
>> Ted Harrison
>> 
>>> On Jun 8, 2017, at 4:32 PM, jbrown5093 at yahoo.com wrote:
>>> 
>>> Depends whether or not your shore charger can be used with AGM's or only
with flooded batteries. 
>>> 
>>> Jim Brown
>>> Desafinado 973
>>> 
>>> Sent from my iPad
>>> 
>>>> On Jun 8, 2017, at 12:21 PM, Ted Harrison
<tharrison at innovations-plus.com> wrote:
>>>> 
>>>> I am going to buy batteries tonight. I want to say with the 4D's.
>>>> 
>>>> Do I just order AGMs or ? 
>>>> 
>>>> Ted Harrison
>>>> 
>>>>> On Jun 8, 2017, at 8:04 AM, Jeff Hare <Catalina at thehares.com> wrote:
>>>>> 
>>>>> In a factory setup I would suspect that the engine's positive 
>>>>> cable goes to the common lug of that 1-2-both switch so that you 
>>>>> can use b1, b2 or both batteries when starting the engine.  The 
>>>>> engine ground/negative cable goes to the first battery which then 
>>>>> jumpers to the second so that all the battery ground terminals are
always connected together.
>>>>> 
>>>>> The common lug of the 1-2-both also goes to the electrical panel 
>>>>> and the anchor windlass.
>>>>> 
>>>>> If you do not have a dedicated starting battery, I would consider 
>>>>> that near the top of the priority list depending on your sailing
situation of course.
>>>>> 
>>>>> Searching for 'starting battery' on the C320.org website and also 
>>>>> in the discussion list archives through the "C320 Discussion 
>>>>> List"->"Search/Browse Discussions" menu also on c320.org website.
>>>>> 
>>>>> Doing that can remove nearly all the issues/worry about drawing 
>>>>> the house batteries down and not being able to start the engine.
>>>>> 
>>>>> Cheers!
>>>>> -Jeff Hare
>>>>> #809
>>>>> 
>>>>> -----Original Message-----
>>>>> From: C320-list [mailto:c320-list-bounces at lists.catalina320.com] 
>>>>> On Behalf Of Ted Harrison
>>>>> Sent: Wednesday, June 7, 2017 7:52 PM
>>>>> To: C320-List at Catalina320.com
>>>>> Subject: [C320-list] Battery switch
>>>>> 
>>>>> The battery switch has 1, 2, both. 
>>>>> 
>>>>> My Manuel says 1 is for battery one. 2 is for battery two. Engine 
>>>>> cable goes to both.
>>>>> 
>>>>> Is that correct? 
>>>>> 
>>>>> Why doesn't the engine cable go directly to position 1
>>>>> 
>>>>> Ted Harrison=
>>>