[C320-list] totally shot D-4 Batteries

[mseyler at cox.net]

The last time I changed the 4Ds on my 1995 No. 232 I was in the yard for a bottom job, and had to do it by myself on a Sunday in order to avoid paying a core charge on the new batteries I was buying Monday, and having to drive 2 hours each way to get it refunded.  Here's what I did:

I found a piece of 2X6 long enough to bridge from the shelf under the ports on one side of the cabin to the shelf on the other side.  I lashed a 4-part block and tackle to the underside of the 2X6, and set that 2X6 over the opening for the battery I wanted to move.  The Interstate 4Ds have a handle molded into each end, and I ran a line from each handle to the lower block hanging from the 2X6.  Once I lifted a battery out from under the berth, I slid the cover back under it and was able to set the battery down.  I then slid it to the aft end of the berth.  I was able to muscle it down from there to a piece of cardboard on the cabin floor, and slide that to the foot of the companionway steps.

I then moved the block and tackle to the underside of the boom, pulled the battery up through the companionway, then swung it aft into the cockpit. I slid it to the back of the cockpit, and transferred the block and tackle to the crane for my dingy outboard motor.  I used that to lower it the rest of the way to the ground.  Then repeated for the other battery.  None of it was easy, but all of it was doable, even though I am in just average shape.

On prior occasions, when I wasn't in the yard, I have just swung the boom over to lower the battery onto the side deck, instead of into the cockpit, and then used the main halyard to lift the battery up and over the lifelines and onto the dock.  I could have done that in the yard, but the halyard isn't long enough to reach all the way to the ground when the boat is on jackstands, and I didn't want to have to use both the halyard and the block and tackle.

It's much easier if you have 2 people, but with patience and a 4-part block and tackle it can be done alone.

Hope this helps,

Mark Seyler
S/V Reality,
Catalina 320, #232
New Orleans, LA



-----Original Message-----
From: C320-list <c320-list-bounces at lists.catalina320.com> On Behalf Of John Frost via C320-list
Sent: Sunday, July 16, 2023 3:23 PM
To: C320-List at Catalina320.com
Cc: john at frostnet.net
Subject: Re: [C320-list] totally shot D-4 Batteries

I have done it twice. I definitely had to have strong young help. I have a third starting battery, with a charging relay and extra switches so I have a lot of cables. I wrote out instructions about which cables to disconnect in what order AND HOW TO RECONNECT THEM.. Took table out but left steps in to haul them up. Eat your spinach and Wheaties before you start


John
2007 C320MKII
Hull  #1118
Lake Guntersville, AL



-----Original Message-----
From: C320-list <c320-list-bounces at lists.catalina320.com> On Behalf Of KEN GEIGER via C320-list
Sent: Sunday, July 16, 2023 3:03 PM
To: c320-list at catalina320.com; C320-List at Catalina320.com
Cc: KEN GEIGER <kendgb at aol.com>
Subject: Re: [C320-list] totally shot D-4 Batteries

 Hi Chris, Yea I am wondering how one removes and reinstalls the 4D batteries given the weight.  Mine are AGMs.  Table out of the way, stairs out?  what else.  Hoists, strong young hands and backs??
Who has done it.
Thanks 
Ken Geiger#765 2000  Northern Dream
    On Sunday, July 16, 2023 at 03:45:23 p.m. EDT, Chris Burti via C320-list <c320-list at lists.catalina320.com> wrote:  
 
 Just a couple of comments.
I typically got seven years or more out of commercial duty 4D’s by keeping them watered and not running them down below 50%. Hard to find true commercial duty batteries because they don’t publish all the construction details, but weight is a key tell…heavier plates  = more cycles. Price for these is far less than AGM’s. (That said, I am running Lifeline AGM 12 v.  8D’s and 6 v. GPL-6CT’s in three banks in our Grand Banks; engine, house and inverter)

At one time I intended to convert Commitment to 4, 6 v. GPL-6CT’s to increase capacity and make them easier to load aboard. To do this, you need a slightly longer battery tray. I had a couple fabricated out of stainless steel for the project, but I never completed the project. I also made an insert to fit the gap behind the wheel in the cockpit seating with swivel post socket insert for at all captain’s chair so that I wouldn’t have cut  a hole in the original Catalina filler. I still have that also.

Anybody willing to pick either of them up is welcome to them.

Best regards,
Chris Burti
Formerly Commitment #867.
Farmville, NC

From: Louis Spitz via C320-list
Sent: Sunday, July 16, 2023 11:19 AM
To: C320-List at Catalina320.com
Cc: Louis Spitz
Subject: [C320-list] totally shot D-4 Batteries

Looking for thoughts on replacing vs. changing systems on my 1995  #195.
There are so many new battery technologies that I’m ovewhelmed.  I’d like to hear experiences from folks who went down these paths.
Thanks.
Louis Spitz
‘Merry Chase’
1995  #195.