[C320-list] Flooded acid battery and refrigeration questions

[Jack Brennan]

H Scott:

With solar, or when the boat is plugged in all the time, it‘s a good idea to check the water levels every month. Some water will boil off naturally with constant charging.

You can buy a cheap tester at an auto store that will tell you whether you have bad cells in the batteries. If there are any, it’s probably smart to replace the entire bank. Batteries of different ages and types don’t charge together well.

I really wish Trojan golf cart batteries fit under the starboard settee. I had cheap Korean golf carts that only lasted a couple of years. So now I’m back to four group 24 deep cycle Interstates, which work well for what they are. I was told by a dealer that the large 4D Interstates our boat was designed for aren’t that reliable for some reason.

I installed the new Cold Machine nearly three years ago. It’s an easy upgrade with the newer no-leak connectors Dometic has. I believe it is much more efficient than the old units. Mine uses 35-40 amps a day in western Florida.

The only thing I would do differently is buy the largest possible evaporator so that we would have a larger freezer compartment. I chose the medium one.

Jack Brennan
Sonas, 1998 Catalina 320
Tierra Verde, Fl.




Sent from Mail for Windows

From: Scott Thompson
Sent: Monday, November 15, 2021 3:44 PM
To: C320-List at Catalina320.com
Subject: [C320-list] Flooded acid battery and refrigeration questions

Early during our final cruise of the fall I noticed LED cabin lights 
flickering one evening, and when I checked battery voltages on the house 
bank they were very low. (We spent every night anchored out so were not 
on shore power.) We determined that our fridge was running too often. I 
started the engine to charge the batteries and shut the fridge off and 
we were fine overnight. The next morning I realized that I hadn't 
checked the level in the flooded batteries in the house bank (two 
connected in parallel since we have a separate starting battery) for 
months. When I checked it they were quite low. I didn't have distilled 
water with me at the time, and so didn't get around to watering the 
batteries until this weekend. (We hardly used the boat in between, but I 
did have a solar charger connected.) When I watered the batteries the 
levels were still above the plates, but they were lower than I've ever 
seen them. I added probably about 3/4 of a gallon total of distilled 
water to the bank. Interestingly, the low levels were not even. The 
cells towards the starboard side often (but not always) seemed 
considerably lower than their neighbors immediately to the port side.

I'm not sure what it means when batteries have low levels unevenly 
across cells. There is no evidence of fluid leakage and all of the caps 
were tight.  Do any battery experts have a thought on what this means? 
I've gotten seven years out of these batteries so probably time to 
change them next Spring.

As for the refrigerator, we have an Adler Barbour Cold Machine. It 
probably needs recharging, but I'm guessing that we could probably find 
a replacement that is more efficient given that the unit is more than 20 
years old. Suggestions for a replacement model welcome.

-- 
Scott Thompson
Surprise, #653