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Battery position,


Plonk

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Hi folks.

I would like to reposition my battery bank.

We have 4 110ah leisure on the swim behind the motor on the port  side and one starter battery on the other side.

The batteries are almost impossible to get in or out. Difficult to reach to fit terminal clamps, also very little clearance so maintenance free batteries are fitted. The wiring layout is less than ideal too. There is easily accessible space for them on the starboard side.

I guess this is probably a try it and see, but if I swap sides for ease of wiring and maintenance is it likely to tilt the boat to starboard?

We have lots of stuff down the port side including cooker, pumpout tank beds etc 

I wonder if it would make much difference changing because the pumpout tank doesn't seem to make a deal of difference empty or full and I'm guessing it is fairly heavy when full. The boat sits 2ft6 deep at the back.

Please forgive me if this is a daft question but they are real difficult to get out just to see! 

Kind opinions please?

 

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28 minutes ago, Plonk said:

Hi folks.

I would like to reposition my battery bank.

We have 4 110ah leisure on the swim behind the motor on the port  side and one starter battery on the other side.

The batteries are almost impossible to get in or out. Difficult to reach to fit terminal clamps, also very little clearance so maintenance free batteries are fitted. The wiring layout is less than ideal too. There is easily accessible space for them on the starboard side.

I guess this is probably a try it and see, but if I swap sides for ease of wiring and maintenance is it likely to tilt the boat to starboard?

We have lots of stuff down the port side including cooker, pumpout tank beds etc 

I wonder if it would make much difference changing because the pumpout tank doesn't seem to make a deal of difference empty or full and I'm guessing it is fairly heavy when full. The boat sits 2ft6 deep at the back.

Please forgive me if this is a daft question but they are real difficult to get out just to see! 

Kind opinions please?

 

 

Those batteries probably weigh around 100 kg.  You could get an idea of how much the move would tilt the boat by having about 200kg of people (or coal, or whatever you have) stand on the side of the boat where you wish the batteries to be, and seeing how much that makes the boat list.

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32 minutes ago, Plonk said:

Hi folks.

I would like to reposition my battery bank.

We have 4 110ah leisure on the swim behind the motor on the port  side and one starter battery on the other side.

The batteries are almost impossible to get in or out. Difficult to reach to fit terminal clamps, also very little clearance so maintenance free batteries are fitted. The wiring layout is less than ideal too. There is easily accessible space for them on the starboard side.

I guess this is probably a try it and see, but if I swap sides for ease of wiring and maintenance is it likely to tilt the boat to starboard?

We have lots of stuff down the port side including cooker, pumpout tank beds etc 

I wonder if it would make much difference changing because the pumpout tank doesn't seem to make a deal of difference empty or full and I'm guessing it is fairly heavy when full. The boat sits 2ft6 deep at the back.

Please forgive me if this is a daft question but they are real difficult to get out just to see! 

Kind opinions please?

 

Yes it will affect trim port to starboard significantly. My boat was exactly like yours. House batteries, plus a lot of fit out stuff on the port side, which gave a significant list to that side. Batteries very hard to maintain in that position. As @alias says, four batteries weigh about 100kg. I experimented with placing 200kg worth of coal sacks on the starboard side to see what effect moving 100kg would have before making the change. A friend welded in a new frame on the starboard side to hold the batteries. The end result eliminated the permanent port side down list my boat had and made battery maintenance much easier.

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42 minutes ago, Tracy D'arth said:

Be careful fitting left hand batteries on the starboard side. You should really give them away and buy new right hand batteries.

Be sure to buy right hand chiral top up deionised water to maintain the new batteries too. 😀

Edited by Jen-in-Wellies
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On 05/10/2022 at 15:59, Tracy D'arth said:

Be careful fitting left hand batteries on the starboard side. You should really give them away and buy new right hand batteries.

Can't afford right hand batteries, I've just replaced all our left handed mugs and pens. Do you think a box of sky hooks might counteract the weight?😂

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Bee is not quite like a narrowboat, mid engined and so on, I put the batteries in a wooden, lidded box in the storage space under the sofa, easy to get at, protected against short circuits and also with some effort it has ventilation to the outside. If its possible to do this on a narrowboat it makes life very much easier but on some narrowboats it just would not work - cable runs and lots of other reasons but batteries on the swim are always an uncomfortable fit. all those tapers and curves make big heavy rectangular batteries awkward things.

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All batteries deserve to be installed inside the cabin or mid engine room, not outside in the frost and wind. 

 

Not only do they perform better in the warmer environment but they are far more likely to be looked after properly - electrolyte levels checked, connections maintained etc and of course if you have lithiums, they must not be charged below (approx) zero C anyway.

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