2000 carver 356 aft cabin batteries

[feeez]

I put 4, 6 volt Trojan T105's in my boat last summer..... they have done me well and they did not break the bank.

F

[Viper]

Source of the post.......There are like only 3 battery manufacturers any more and they just change labels for branding....

There are very few manufacturers, and each supplies for different brands however not every brand gets the same build. The manufacturers have several different builds for a given price point. The same manufacturer will produce a $200 start battery for one brand and a $50 start battery of the same spec for another brand. While they're both the same spec, the $50 build is nowhere near the quality of the $200 build. Branding and buying power accounts for something in the list price but the materials used is what you're really paying for.

[cpoint]

Getting back to this issue, now we got everything resolved with engines, I purchased 3 new CO detectors (new ones with 5 year life span). Installed the back one first. Still same problem happens. But my mechanic said the batteries were not in great shape. The boat was out of water for a week for engine work. I had the batteries shut off. week later mechanic said he had to charge them up, they were drained nearly empty with no load. So I am going to replace the batteries. Not sure what original batteries on 2000 carver 356. What is on there now was NAPA multi-purpose (crank and deep cycle). Any suggestions what I should get (reasonably priced)

[g36]

I also have trojan golf car batteries as my house bank they are 7 years old this year. I have a victron battery monitor and do not go below 50% of my house capacity I have a golf car at home as we live at t h e lake and have gone cheaper there with a nock off battery they do not last li k e the trojan do. When these are gone trojan again for me.

[mjk1040]

Cpoint; If your battery array is the same as ours in our 355AC/MY, the battery boxes will only accommodate up to a certain group size if you are going to stay with the original battery concept. I replaced ours with 3-group 31's from Wal-Mart with the highest reserve amps that they offer. I think now a group 31 may not be available any more and they have a group 29, which I believe is the biggest group they offer now. They have always served us well so far! Mike

[Viper]

So I have a couple of questions; did they actually test the batteries? Did they charge the batteries and then determine if they were holding a charge while disconnected from the boat? Did they check for a parasitic load with all systems/main shut off? If they haven't done the first two, "not in great shape" is speculation only and pretty vague. If they haven't checked for a parasitic load with the power off, new batteries won't correct that particular problem if it indeed exists. I can't stress enough the need to do thorough diagnostics otherwise you're throwing parts at the problem ($$) and while in some cases such as replacing batteries may cover up some symptoms, an underlying problem may still exist. But you already know this from dealing with engine issues

My strategy when buying batteries is to buy the best you can afford. When I say that, consider that if you are the type of boater that spends a lot of time on the hook, your battery budget should be one of the things at the top of your boating budget given that so much depends on power consumption and available power when you do any real boating away from a dock. Having said that, I would not spend large cash on batteries unless you have a good smart battery charger or you're just throwing money out the window, unless you exercize charging management with an old charger; such as not leaving it on during the week, and checking fluids often. Not leaving the charger on during the week is not a good idea for safety reasons though, hence replacment is recommended as smart chargers can be left on.

I don't like multi-purpose batteries. They are a compromize at best between a good start battery and a good deep cycle battery. You can't have the best of both in one as the builds/hardware required are different. If you have no choice but to use these, it's an indication that the DC electrical design is sub par otherwise the system would allow for proper battery design to be used given the intended load such as start batteries for engine banks and deep cycle batteries for house banks/loads. Do you have a battery selector switch; "1, 2, ALL"?

[cpoint]

Thanks all for the reply. Viper, I had them tested before, I don't think result was fantastic, but was told they would serve the purpose. I keep it on shore power 95% of time. So they are always on charge. Its just that after 20 minutes on the water with generator off the CO detectors starts to go off. And I checked the lights flashing per instructions, they indicated low power. So I believe it is draining rather quickly. The mechanic that was working on engines, and basically replacing every part, did not do any battery checks. I had not requested it. I was asking him about it later and he mentioned that after a week out of water with power complete shut off, he said there was no juice in the batteries. With 0 load, I would think it should have been full or nearly full. So putting all these things together, I am thinking I should have a good set of batteries. NAPA model that's on there now is available (same model). It's 100.99, so not bad. I believe I need 3 of same. Unless I go through with deep cycle for 2 and startup for the other. I agree paying premium, but I went wayyyy over budget on engine issues past few months, so NAPA that's on their as a direct replacement is what I will do probably. The other thing is is there any tricks to replacing the batteries other than shutting the power off from batteries? do a direct swap, and turn it back on, and let the battery charger do it's thing?

[cpoint]

I decided to get same napa model they had on there. next question is, specifically for 2000 356 aftcabin. should i leave battery selector in off position during the week while on shore power? this way if power fails at dock the batteries will only run bilge pumps, and refig for example will go off line if it was on? and before starting put in on both as opposed to bank 1 or 2? also is it true bilge pumps and co detectors are the only things that will run while battery selector is off? whats best way to test? i am thinking cut dock power, turn battery switch off, dump some water in bilge see if it pumps?

[Viper]

Your call on leaving the battery switch off during the week but if there is a long enough power failure, perishables in the fridge may go bad. Leaving the switch on will extend the length of time your fridge can operate within limits of course. The key here because of the health risks is knowing when there's been a power outage long enough to spoil frozen goods that should not be refrozen again once the power comes back. How do you know this has happened though? What I do is keep a cup in the freezer with ice cubes in it. If I ever open up the freezer compartment and the cubes are now one solid block of ice, I know it's gotten warm enough to melt them and chances are the frozen food has melted also.

The bilge pumps should remain operational with the battery switch in the off position. To test, turn the battery switch off and operate the pumps manually from the helm, you should have pump switches there or simply go to one of the floats in the bilge and lift it with your finger, it should activate the pump next to it. To check if the CO detectors are wired the same, turn the battery switch off and the detectors should have a test button on them that you can push and hold for a few seconds. If they work, an alarm will sound. Try this first before you shut the batteries off though to ensure are actually working.

With your setup, I would always use the same bank for starting the engines and always the other bank to run house loads. Typically 1 is the start bank and 2 is the house bank but no guaranties this is still the case. With all the same batteries in your case, it may not matter much but use the same position every time for the different loads. If there are more batteries in one bank than other, use that bank for your house loads. When at shore, leave the switch switched to the house bank, not on both. Label the switch once you find out what 1 and 2 are, it makes it easier than trying to remember.

[cpoint]

Viper, Thanks. In regards to refrigerator, there is no food in there. We only keep water bottles and some drinks only. So spoilage is not an issue should shore power goes out. It happened once in last 6 months, and that's because water got in the line and flipped the dock power off. I want to maximize the battery should power go out for bilge pumps. So I don't care if everything is off on the boat, including CO detectors, but not the bilge pumps.

I will test the bilge pumps with power off as you suggest.

In regards to leaving it on 2 while at shore, will that still charge all batteries? or only ones under 2? As far as battery capacity, can I tell by looking at the gauges at the helm. Also while at shore, will it still charge if I have switch positioned to OFF? What I was planning on doing was to leave the battery switch OFF at dock, hoping that would charge the batteries still, and if power goes of only bilge pumps would be available.

Or I can leave it on and turn off refrigerator (during winter), because I wont be using it at that time anyway. If that's the case, if I shut off the DC panel completely, leave batteries on BOTH while at dock, would that be best? that way there will be no load on batteries, it will be on shore power, should power fail, BOTH batteries will take over, and only load will be bilge pumps should they be needed, is this correct thinking?