Replacing batteries

[Ken Heyman]

I bought 4 of the Trojan T105's today from a local distributor. My plan is to install them for the 2006 season and limp along for the rest of this year with my 200 amp hour (at best) capacity. I received no paper work or manufacturer guarantee. The distributor said that they guaranty for 6 months on a "pro rated basis". I am going to call Trojan but would be curious as to other's experience.

Just for kicks, I weighed the batteries and found 3 of them to be 58 1/2 pounds and 1 weighed in at 57 1/2 pounds. Need I be concerned? The electrolyte level looks about the same in all batteries. I haven't charged them yet or performed a load test.

I haven't measured my existing battery compartment yet. Some of the comments on this and other threads suggest no modification required and some talk about modest reconfigurement. My boat is 1988 - hull # 535. Might I get lucky with just a tight fit? I know there is detail in previous tech notes but just curious if anyone with the same vintage c34 had has had experience with this conversion.

Thanks much,

Ken

[Roger Blake]

I installed 4 T105's this year in my 1998 (#1414). I had to enlarge the stock battery boxes by about 1" each...just cut them in half and fiberglassed in a spacer. So far so good...they crank the engine with no problem and power my electronics with no problems. I also installed a new TruCharge system...the old charger cooked my batteries then cooked itself. Overall, I'm very happy with the new systems.

[Mike Vaccaro]

Ken,

We have four T-105's in the battery compartment in Hull 563--you shouldn't have any problem.  We cut a 5/8" plywood floor and used high density foam in addition to hold downs in our installation.  You might also consider cutting a ventilation hole for the compartment.  We used one of the small metal vent covers available through most marine chandleries.  

The T105's don't have a built in handle, but you can make a removable one out of old heavy gauge wiring.  They are light enough to handle by yourself.  I believe there are some pictures on the project page.  Take a look at the "electrical system" stuff.  

With the four batteries, there is still sufficient room for a fuse holder, shunt for the Link battery monitor and a negative bus.  To access these accessories, however, it's necessary to remove one or two of the batteries.  A set of quality custom made cables will neaten the installation.  If you don't have access to equipment to make cables, most West Marine stores have a crimping tool and heavy duty cutters for customer use in the rigging section.  Battery cables should be crimped, soldered and properly shrink wrapped and if you use tinned wire and marine grade terminals, they'll last for an awfully long time!  These are some fairly capable batteries (i.e., high capacity).  It's also worthwhile to invest in terminal covers to prevent a tool from falling and arcing.  At least cover all of the positive terminals.  If you use the treated felt pads available for batteries at any automotive store and regularly spray or grease the terminals (e.g., Boeing T-9), you can prevent corrosion.  

If you've got a good charging system and keep the discharge rate below 50%, the T105s will give you years of service.  Be sure to check the water level occasionally.  We find with a steady trickle charge, that it's only necessary to top up the batteries every six months or so.  Trojan recommends filling to 1/8" below the top of the inside filler neck.

Catalina installed a grounding wire that runs from the battery compartment to the engine.  Be sure to maintain this in your new installation.  This wire should be properly sized to take the entire load of the house bank.  In our boat, nearly identical to yours I would assume by hull number, there are several PVC tubes fiberglassed into the liner for wiring conduits.  You can access them by lifting the aft portion of the port settee (just aft of your macerator pump/holding tank).  You'll have to feel underneath to find them by following your wiring.  Remember the stock wiring was sized for the original house bank and may require some upgrading to handle a 440 amp system.  Our main system DC distribution system is sized/fused to handle 100 amps.  If you increase the size of the wire, it may or may not fit in the PVC wiring conduits.

Good luck!

Mike

[Stu Jackson]

Ken

John Gardner's Electrical System article is here:  http://www.c34.org/projects/projects-electrical-system-upgrade.html

It has pictures of 4 Trojans installed.  I installed 4 of them in a friend's C34 a few years ago and we did not have to make any modifications other than a piece of plywood in the bottom so the batteries would sit flat.

[Ken Heyman]

Thanks all,

Very helpful comments and suggestions. Since my original post, I have measured my battery compartment and all seems well. I will proceed according to the suggestions here and in the "Project" section of the forum.

thanks again,

Ken