Fitting a starter battery

[Jamesl9]

Hello! Is it straight forward to replace / install a new starter battery to a narrowboat? How do I find out which battery to buy and is there a specific procedure to follow when it comes to removing the old one and fitting the new replacement?  Thanks 

[Tony Brooks]

Buy a starting or dual-purpose battery of the same size and with the same terminal layout.

 

Remove ignition key, turn off engine battery master switch, remove the NEGATIVE terminal first, then the positive. Refit in the reverse order.

 

Clean up the battery clamp surfaces and dress with Vaseline before fitting the terminals to the new battery.

[wakey_wake]

1 hour ago, Jamesl9 said:

Hello! Is it straight forward to replace / install a new starter battery to a narrowboat? How do I find out which battery to buy and is there a specific procedure to follow when it comes to removing the old one and fitting the new replacement?  Thanks 

Yes, but you'll want some tools and to consider what can go wrong.

It's good to ask before starting (hi & welcome!), but also the fact that you're asking suggests you're new to this. It's easy for others to forget how much you might not know...?

 

I would start with safety.

Applying a metal spanner to the positive terminal requires great presence of mind lest it short to something grounded nearby. I would recommend going to youtube and asking "starter batter short circuit" to see what can happen, but that's partly because I'm a pyro.

[... huge delay in posting. Youtube sucked me in and I lost many hours. Do these "shorts" grab everyone like that, or is it just me?...]

That's a reason to disconnect first / reconnect last the negative. Also you can put something insulating over the spanner - I used a handy glove.

 

Then it's deciding what battery to replace with. I got a 12V 60Ah 550A for my 1.8 BMC and it's much happier than the 50Ah deep cycle battery which someone else left as starter (?!). However now I've measured the cranking current I'm wondering if the next size up (80Ah) would allow for more battery ageing & accidental abuse, before replacing.

Check with a tape measure too, you need a physical fits as well as an electrical one.

[Machpoint005]

4 hours ago, Tony Brooks said:

Buy a starting or dual-purpose battery of the same size and with the same terminal layout.

 

Remove ignition key, turn off engine battery master switch, remove the NEGATIVE terminal first, then the positive. Refit in the reverse order.

 

Clean up the battery clamp surfaces and dress with Vaseline before fitting the terminals to the new battery.

 

This is exactly what I've done twice (two different boats) and it's perfectly possible for an amateur. Take care and proceed slowly. It's a good idea to cover all the other batterys' terminals with something non-conducting, like an old dry towel.

 

 

Sorry Tony, I'm not telling you what to do, just agreeing!

 

 

 

[Tony Brooks]

1 hour ago, Machpoint005 said:

 

This is exactly what I've done twice (two different boats) and it's perfectly possible for an amateur. Take care and proceed slowly. It's a good idea to cover all the other batterys' terminals with something non-conducting, like an old dry towel.

 

 

Sorry Tony, I'm not telling you what to do, just agreeing!

 

 

 

 

The more who agree the better, there are some, in the past, who claim it is better to remove the positive terminal first. This is with because under certain specific conditions taking the negative off first could, in theory, burn things out. However, as long as the master switch is off the dangers of taking the negative off first are vastly outweighed by the dangers of a spanner causing a massive short circuit on a metal boat.

[wakey_wake]

16 minutes ago, Tony Brooks said:

However, as long as the master switch is off

Agreed, but on a new to you boat - do check by physically tracing the wires, that the master switch actually isolates things. It may be more complicated than that, sometimes for good reasons and other times not so much.

To put it another way, you don't want to end up saying anything like "well I switched off the master switch, so that should have prevented this happening".

Edited November 27, 2023 by wakey_wake
new boat -> new to you boat

[cuthound]

In addition to the advice given by @Tony Brooks, wrap your spanners in insulating tape and tape cardboard to the hull in the vicinity of the battery so that the spanner and hull are insulated if you accidentally create a short circuit, remove or tape up any finger rings and remove and jewelry hanging around your neck.

 

Whilst short circuiting a 12 volt battery won't kill you it can cause significant burns.

Edited November 27, 2023 by cuthound
phat phingers

[Tracy D'arth]

And if you have solar panels, it is not a bad idea to isolate them from the controller or cover them in the day before operating any battery isolators.

Some say that the controllers will survive if you don't but it is not worth risking it. IMO.

[Ronaldo47]

It's also a good idea to remove your watch if it has a metal bracelet.

 

A guy I used to know in the 1970's, accidentally badly burnt his wrist while feeling under his car's dashboard by managing to make a short circuit between 12V and chassis with his watch bracelet. The high current made the bracelet get very hot very quickly, causing serious  burns around his wrist . When we met up some 10 years ago, I reminded him.of it, and he showed me the scars thaf he still had from the incident.

Edited November 27, 2023 by Ronaldo47
typos

[bizzard]

Included with all the above precautions a special protective suit is worth while.

[Fender151]

22 hours ago, bizzard said:

Included with all the above precautions a special protective suit is worth while.

Wouldn't be with out my safety suit, toasty warm on these cold nights, bit of a fav with old gits nightly bladder stuff, but brain freeze keeps feet warm, for a while, always look on the brighter side of life!

[Clanky]

I have a 13mm open ender that I use soley for my batteries that is completely wrapped in insulation tape (apart from end I’m using)🤪 so if I do  accidentally touch anything the risk of a short is minimal.

[Jen-in-Wellies]

23 hours ago, bizzard said:

Included with all the above precautions a special protective suit is worth while.

Bibendum works for NASA now.

[blackrose]

On 28/11/2023 at 00:37, Tracy D'arth said:

And if you have solar panels, it is not a bad idea to isolate them from the controller or cover them in the day before operating any battery isolators.

Some say that the controllers will survive if you don't but it is not worth risking it. IMO.

 

Shouldn't solar controllers (like all other charger sources) be connected direct to batteries rather than through a battery isolator, or have I misunderstood why one would need to isolate solar panels before operating the battery isolators?

 

On 27/11/2023 at 19:51, wakey_wake said:

Then it's deciding what battery to replace with. I got a 12V 60Ah 550A for my 1.8 BMC and it's much happier than the 50Ah deep cycle battery which someone else left as starter (?!). However now I've measured the cranking current I'm wondering if the next size up (80Ah) would allow for more battery ageing & accidental abuse, before replacing.

Check with a tape measure too, you need a physical fits as well as an electrical one.

 

Wherever this question comes up the bit that's always missed is whether one needs to match the battery chemistry type to another bank that's being charged by the same alternator, battery charger or solar panels?

 

Different battery chemistries have different maximum voltage limits and while charge sources may have multiple outputs for separate battery banks, most only have a single "battery type" setting. That means for example, if you fit a sealed lead acid starter battery (max voltage 14.4v) and your domestic bank happens to be open wet lead acid (max voltage 14.8v), and your charger is set to open wet lead acid battery type, then your new starter battery will soon be overcharged. Conversely, if if you fit an open wet lead acid starter battery and your domestic bank is sealed then your new starter battery will be undercharging.

 

So it's also worth checking and understanding your battery bank chemistry types, charging setup and whether charge sources are correctly set or auto sense battery type before choosing new batteries.

Edited November 28, 2023 by blackrose

[ditchcrawler]

What hasn't been mentioned is the risk of acid burns to clothing when lifting batteries.

[magnetman]

Good point.

 

It is best to take ones clothes orf before carrying the batteries.

 

 

[bizzard]

1 hour ago, Jen-in-Wellies said:

Bibendum works for NASA now.

Before I went self employed I did my apprenticeship at a garage that had an old ex Canadian army Chevrolet breakdown wagon, bullet proof, open top doors, brake pedal in the middle of clutch and throttle pedals, Harvey Frost crane, This had a Michelin man on the roof, sitting, about 1' high.