Battery bank locations?

[Figment]

Hey gang,

1. Where were the batteries located in the original Triton design?

2. Where do you all have them now?

#78's batteries (a pair of ordiary automotive-style) are currently in a small wooden box-out that forms the bottom step of the companionway ladder. I'm unhappy with this because there isn't sufficient space for proper battery boxes, and if I ever needed to emergency-start the (A4)engine with the hand crank I'd be outta luck because they're dead in the way.

Tim, I like your installation in the forward end of the cockpit locker, but I don't have that option because I've got the earlier design with the silly little rectangular access ports instead of the hinged cockpit seats. Does #100 have the same condition?

[dasein668]

Figment,

My batteries (2 marine deep cycle, standard automotive size... I forget the designation) are located in the same place as yours, however my companionway steps were reconfigured when a previous owner repowered with a Yanmar 2GM20F, so they seem OK there for me.

Have you considered moving them to the space beneath the settees? If you are concerned with balance, you could always put one battery on each side, or find something of similar weight that could be stored on the opposing side, if you want them both together.

[Tim]

The location you describe on #78 is, as far as I know, the "standard" location for Tritons. (Of course, using the word "standard" when it comes to Tritons is asking for trouble--time and again, we find exception after exception to any situation!)

When I got #381, this is where the batteries had been (though there were no batteries on the boat). Same with #100 (which has the side-load cockpit lockers like yours). Unfortunately, what would be a generally good location (i.e. good access, short cable runs, central location, etc) is compromised on the Triton because the space is so small, which precludes using "real" battery boxes, as you indicated, or group 27 batteries, or the taller 6-volt batteries.

Hand-cranking the engine...well, in theory this is a nice backup. In practice, it's pretty much never gonna happen. My stinky old diesel (SB12) had a hand crank, but the very design of the front of the engine basically made this option unviable, since parts of the engine--as designed, mind you--interfered with the full swing of the crank. Lovely. But the space issue for your batteries is more of a problem.

Some boats have the batteries located way forward, but this makes for ridiculous and impractical cable run lengths. What about somewhere under the galley, if you can find or create an access hatch? There's a lot of wasted space there, by virtue of the difficulty of gaining access.

Unfortunately, there's not a deep enough space under the settees on the Triton, as designed. This would be a great place for batteries, if they fit.

You could always install a nice top-loading hatch in your cockpit seats to gain access to the valuable space there, assuming you didn't want to reconfigure the side openings. Of course, this would leave you with a hatch on top of your seat, which might not be the look you want--though the function is hard to beat. If you have cockpit cushions, it would not be a problem--I have considered installing hatches forward of the existing later-model topload hatches on Glissando, just for the convenience of having better access to the batteries on each side. Even with the newer-design hatches in the cockpit, this space is hard to get to because of the deep locker lid drain strutures.

Tim

[Figment]

An alternative that's been nibbling at me is to locate the bank in the compartment on starboard side across from the head. I dunno what to call this, as I doubt I'll ever use it as a "wet locker". "Catch-all compartment" seems more appropriate.

I think this would be ideal in terms of access and weight placement, but that's a LOT of 2/0 cable to run.

Perhaps this is just in my head because I have those bulkheads ripped out right now, and it looks like there's all the space in the world up there.

[dasein668]

I can't really see any problems with that location except for the one that you pointed out: all that 2/0 cable! I think that's a serious consideration. I think I'd really discount all other options before moving them up there.

But you are right, that space doesn't really work well as a wet-locker...

[Tim]

That space across from the head is completely useless as designed, and would house batteries well. It's worth considering, if you want to run the cable. Since you have an Atomic 4, your cranking amps are less than those of us with diesels, so the voltage drop effect should have less practical effect. But 2/0 cable is super-expensive, and a real pain to work with as well. Think twice...and then think again!

Other than the cost and the relative difficulty of working with the cable, though, there's no reason not to place the batteries there. Your convenience should dictate placement, assuming you can overcome any obstacles that might be brought to light as a result. Plus, the stern-heavy Triton could use a little extra weight forward.

Tim

[George (Triton #236)]

Hi Guys,


I sometimes have four batteries on #236 "Ca Ira". I normally keep a pair of dual purpose group 24 batteries at the base of the compainway ladder. However, if I'm on an extended cruise, I will keep an additional pair of group 24 batteries side by side in the forward section of the port cockpit locker right behind the ice box. I keep them in battery boxes and the battery boxes are held in place against three sides of the locker with wound coils of old cordage I have lying around; the cordage and battery boxes are held in place by my four large Taylor fenders. The batteries are connected with #2 Anchor tinned battery cable to the house battery under the companionway stairs. ( all three are the same type and age and get rotated around as well ) This setup gives me a total of three house and one starting batteries. I know it sounds a little weak to hold stuff in place with tied coils of old cordage but they have never once shifted and this setup allows them to breath well when charging.

When the extra two batteries are on board, I keep three 2.5 gallon containers of diesel, extra oil, antifreeze, and my toolbox in the starboard cockpit locker to keep the boat balanced.

I plan to use the floor of the hanging locker for storage of a fourth battery. This will be a large deep cycle battery dedicated to the SSB radio that lives on the other side of the bulkhead on the little shelf that most of the Tritons have. This battery will be in a battery box and will be locked in place with a heavy duty battery bracket in case of a knockdown.


George
#236 "Ca Ira"

[dasein668]

Hi George, and welcome!

A question: are your "extra" batteries wired through a separte battery switch? What do you do with the battery cables when they aren't attached to your spares?

I'm no DC wizard, but it seems like you could potentially get sparking if the extra battery cables shorted against each other.

Or am I dreaming?

[George ( Triton #236 )]

Hi Nathan,


The battery cables are the heavy duty jobs sold by Anchor Marine. The connections are within the battery boxes themselves and are therefore completely shielded. So, no chance of any "sparking". The run is only a few feet from the area behind the icebox to the batteries under the stairs so there is no voltage loss either. Especially since I'm using big #2 cables and all they are running is things like lights or the GPS. I used the big #2 cables so that the setup will also work to start the engine if I need it to.

The "extra" batteries are simply wired in parallel with the existing house battery. They can therefore be switched on and off or combined with the starting battery through the primary battery switch. The battery switch is one of those big heavy duty ( 500 amp ) dudes with the alternator protection circuitry wired in.

All in all, its a system that has worked well. It's cheap, and I can remove it from the boat when I'm racing to save weight. The extra amp hours are nice to have on a week long cruise though...


George
#236 "Ca Ira"