House battery wiring

[wpc691]

I've been puttering in the engine room, replacing belts, hoses, etc. Every time I go down there, I look at my house battery bank, 6 Everready 6V in series/parallel, 3000W Magnum inverter). I love the functionality and ease of use in switching power sources. However, eventhough I don't know a lot about battery banks, it appears to me the installer did a poor job of laying out the cabling. Literally every jumper is a different length, ranging from about 8 inches to 30. The + and - leads to the inverter both come off the first pair of batteries in the bank, rather than off the far corners. Four out of the six batteries require removal of one or more cables to check the fluid level. Since the 6 batteries are arranged in a T wrapped around the outside corner of the stbd engine, and partially under the shelf holding the AC's, ideal cabling is hard to accomplish, but I think I have a better layout designed. Question is, where should this not-so-little project get put on my long list of things to do? Is this a "do before you run the boat again" or "when you get around to it"? Are the batteries now conditioned by unequal charge/discharge and likely to go belly-up if I reconfigure? Thanks for any opinions.

 

[MikeP]

IMO, sloppy looking cabling reflects equally sloppy work practice as far as the choice of cable, method of connection, and general condition of the system. SO... for me it would be one of the top priorities of inspection/repair and I would be checking it out as a first thing to do immediately after making sure the boat won't sink!

 

[bobk]

I would give some thought to having the batteries under a wooden shelf. Out gassing might rot the wood. I've also seen outgassing cause failure of nylon instrument tubing.

Bobk

 

[wpc691]

Both good points. I've put 1000 mi on the boat since Nov, so I'm not worried about immediately sinking, but it seems like I should inspect and plan possible upgrades for the whole house system. I am concerned about corrosion from ougassing - all the relay boxes and one of the AC units are right over the bank; AGM or Gel batteries will solve that along with the difficult maintenance issue.

 

[Walter P]

Mike, Also please be sure to cover the battery posts to prevent a short if something contacts them and causes a short (fire). It's actually required in order to receive a USCGAUX exam and sticker. Hatteras originally supplied fiberglass boxes with covers to take care of that issue.

Walt

 

[racclarkson@gmail.com]

Walt, Just had a USCGAUX inspection last month. You are, of course, correct. But the list of what wasn't inspected on my boat was impressive. This is especially so since the senior guy was training a more junior guy. (Junior in Aux is defined as anyone under 70 and one-half years and not requiring use of a walker and oxygen [can employ walker or O2, but not in simultaneous use {whilst in the performance of official duties}; individual separate use does not adversely impact junior status unless said walker has to be used to locate said O2 and that said walker's use does not exceed 10 linear feet (except in the case of intravenous fluid use in which case the distance does not exceed 7'-3" measured linearly at sea level)]).

They never looked at the batteries; CO2 system; bilge pumps; VHF and some more I don't recall. But they handled and wrote down every single number on all my PFD's as well as making sure my flares and smoke were in-date. After they were on the dock, their review found several items they left out. Took my word on Y valves, etc., etc., etc. What a trip, but I'm proudly displaying my 2017 sticker.

How does this relate to the topic you might inquire? I recently replaced all eight batteries and made up all new jumpers and was ready to show off some.

 

[Avenger]

(Junior in Aux is defined as anyone under 70 and one-half years and not requiring use of a walker and oxygen [can employ walker or O2, but not in simultaneous use {whilst in the performance of official duties}; individual separate use does not adversely impact junior status unless said walker has to be used to locate said O2 and that said walker's use does not exceed 10 linear feet (except in the case of intravenous fluid use in which case the distance does not exceed 7'-3" measured linearly at sea level)]).

Tragically and comically accurate.

 

[wpc691]

Mike, Also please be sure to cover the battery posts to prevent a short if something contacts them and causes a short (fire). It's actually required in order to receive a USCGAUX exam and sticker. Hatteras originally supplied fiberglass boxes with covers to take care of that issue.Walt

As you correctly surmised Walt, the house batteries had no boots on the + posts when I got the boat (the 8D starting batteries are in the original Hatteras boxes). I installed boots, and replaced the zinc plated wing nuts, as soon as I got the boat home. The installation was reportedly done by a qualified electrician, but there's no evidence to support that.

 

[racclarkson@gmail.com]

Wing nuts on 8D's!! I beg to differ.

 

[Walter P]

Robert, for the record in many cases (unfortunately) your experience is all too common. Not too many years ago the CGAUX had more members than the full time active duty CG and the average age was much younger. For many reasons the membership has aged and there doesn't seem to be as many younger people joining. Last I heard the membership is down from about 40+ thousand to less than 30 thousand. I think that one of the reasons is that younger folks are too busy raising familys and tending to their careers. Another reason is that since 9/11 the CG has mandated so much more training of auxiliary that lots of people are not willing to go through with it. The USCGAUX today is far better trained to perform most of the duties of the regular CG except for law enforcement. I personally gave up vessel exams about 15 years ago when it became a chore to crawl around in tight machinery spaces etc to perform a proper examination. Rather than do a bad examination I figured that it would be more prudent to no longer engage in operations other than teaching boating safety classes. Unfortunately some "old salts" still think they are in their prime and IMO can become a hinderance rather than an asset. There seems to be a misconception that if you allow an examiner to check your boat and they find a deficiency that it would be reported.. That is absolutely not the case, matter of fact is that a subsequent visit to assert that the issue was corrected actually counts as a separate examination to the credit of the examiner. More often than not we would find outdated flares or running light bulbs not workings etc and a quick subsequent exam to see that the item was taken care of will get the boater the coveted vessel safety exam sticker. At no time does any authority get a copy of the exam form. BTW a sticker on your boat does not mean that you won't be stopped by the CG or marine police but they usually won't bother you unless you are obviously screwing up and doing something wrong or look suspicious. In closing I would urge all boaters to consider getting a vessel safety examination from either the USCGAUX or the US Power Squadron (which for about 10+ years have been performing that service as well). Anyone can check out all their own safety requirements but most don't. The purpose of the exam is to ensure that the boater has the minimum safety requirements on board but a prudent boater should far surpass minimum requirements.

Walt

 

[racclarkson@gmail.com]

Wouldn't disagree one bit. I asked for the exam to see what I might have missed. This experience was my observation. I have to also laugh when they are around the marina. They are constantly arguing among themselves and just plain dangerous--running into docked boats or forgetting to cast off fully before going in gear. They mean well. One reason their ranks are thinning is bureaucracy. 16 pages of application!! Thank you for the job that you did.

 

[wpc691]

Wing nuts on 8D's!! I beg to differ.

Sorry if I wasn't clear. The wing nuts were on the house batteries (6V GC), not on the 8D's.