48DA Additional Battery

[ph321]

Has anyone with a 48 Sundancer or similar added additional batteries to boost capacity? At present I've got a 210AH 8D battery per engine with the port side feeding most of the house including refrigeration and lighting. Last weekend I was out and after 5 hours on battery I needed to use the emergency start for the port engine which obviously means the battery has had it. Now is the opportune time to add an additional port battery but I'm not sure how to mount it or if it's necessary. All I know is our last boat had 480AH capacity for house batteries so 210AH sounds low?

Has anyone done this upgrade or do the standard size batteries suffice for running refrigeration etc. overnight without worry? I've got the Norcold turned up to near its coldest setting which probably isn't helping!

Paul

 

[CAMELLA]

I start my generator before leaving the dock and it doesn't turn off until I get back to the dock. Your galley fridge is not DC, it needs your generator to work.

 

[ph321]

I start my generator before leaving the dock and it doesn't turn off until I get back to the dock. Your galley fridge is not DC, it needs your generator to work.

I guess that's what Sea Ray intended when specifying fairly small batteries for the job. I'm not too keen on running the gen overnight or any more than I have to with the noise it makes. Going to install a gas/water separator next time it's out of the water which should quieten it down a lot but would still prefer to run it just 4-5hrs a day. The fridge I've got is an AC / DC fridge so it will run off battery power just not quite as well it seems. I think if I have the two 8Ds that might solve the problem with a bit of management.

Thanks.

 

[fwebster]

I think somebody changed your batteries sometime in the past. Sea Ray uses very expensive deep cycle 8D's. Rather than trying to add capacity, I would see what the replacement options for 8D's are. You might also get in the habit of running the generator a few hours every day to top off the charge.

 

[Rich122]

Like John I never leave the dock without the Genset running. With a boat the size of the 48DA why wouldn't you want all the creature comforts?
But I'm a liitle confused. I had an '07 48DA and you could sit in the corner of the cockpit settee and not feel or here the genset when it was running. Do you have the sound shield that covers the generator? If not, it will be a better fix.

Also don't worry about running the genset. I never had an issue running them overnight, even in a raft up. I had no issues with CO in the cabin, never once did an alramn go off.

Rich

 

[JV II]

It's not that the batteries are small, its that the boat is an energy pig. The 8D batteries are big and have good reserve, but are also very expensive. I would never run the house off them for more than 2 hours and even then it would only be the fridges. Running all the DC circuits for 5 hours during your cruises is way beyond what they are designed to do. There really is not any room to add batteries to the bank in the engine room.

 

[ph321]

The generator has a sound shield and I'm going to install the gas water separator which will stop the bubbling out the exhaust. I'm just used to boats where the generator only runs a couple of hours in the morning and again at night. I really have no need for AC power at any other time so it would either be running with no load or I'd have to run the air con and waste fuel for the sake of it. I'll have a look over the weekend to see what's involved in mounting an additional battery.

Thank you for the help!

Paul