32-3 owners, where's your battery charger?

[Geoff W.]

Hi there,

My current (old) charger sits on a stainless bracket slightly behind the engine, and slightly in front of the water heater. I'm looking to install a new one (as well as a 3rd AGM isolated starting battery). A possibly simple location for the battery is where the current charger is, but then I'm not sure where to put the new charger.

I was considering mounting it on the starboard area, a little ways aft from the galley sink door. This would make for a long-ish run to the AC panel and battery box, however. I just don't see where it could go on the port side, with the quarterberth's panel where it is.

Is there a simple place to put it that I'm not thinking of?

Here are some very rough sketches as to what I'm thinking

current state


future state

 

[frick]

Battery Charger on my e 29

Hi there,

My current (old) charger sits on a stainless bracket slightly behind the engine, and slightly in front of the water heater. I'm looking to install a new one (as well as a 3rd AGM isolated starting battery). A possibly simple location for the battery is where the current charger is, but then I'm not sure where to put the new charger.

I was considering mounting it on the starboard area, a little ways aft from the galley sink door. This would make for a long-ish run to the AC panel and battery box, however. I just don't see where it could go on the port side, with the quarterberth's panel where it is.

Is there a simple place to put it that I'm not thinking of?

Here are some very rough sketches as to what I'm thinking

current state
View attachment 28184

future state
View attachment 28185

I don't have a 32, but
I mounted my Battery Charger forward in my Lazaret, which placed it close to my two type 27 batteries.

Rick

 

[nquigley]

Mine is mounted on the aft side of the little box that contains the coolant header tank - at the forward end of the cockpit lazarette locker.
My dockmate's E32-3 has his mounted near his left knee when sitting at the nav station - I can't recall if it's attached under the desk, or against the hull liner.
His boat is an '86 and mine's an '85. Seems like the factory was experimenting with where to put this thing.
Mine has a thin-ish sheet of aluminum bolted to the box, and coming out over the top of the charger - about 1" above it and ~1/2" past it - for some sort of protection I guess.

 

[Pnelson]

Charger location

Geoff,
My charger is mounted in the location you are proposing, low and forward in the starboard lazarette. It was there when I bought Valkyrie and I haven’t had any reason to relocate it. I do not have a water heater, so there is no conflict with space there.

 

[Christian Williams]

My 32-3 charger was located inside the starboard cockpit seat locker, vertically on the transverse bulkhead. (photo shows new water heater being maneuvered for centerline install)

 

[bgary]

Mine is in the starboard locker, on the aft face of the structure that holds the trash bin.

Easy to get to (if I need to see the displays for some reason), and has never been in the way when I stick stuff in that locker.

I'd be hesitant to put it under the sink. No particular experience, but my instinct is that 120V connections and assorted water lines in the same space might not be a great combination.

Bruce

(looks VERY much like the photo Christian just posted....lol)

 

[Pnelson]

Ooooops, I meant starboard locker, not lazarette. Same location as Bruce’s.

 

[Geoff W.]

I think the location everyone's is in (except mine, apparently ) is where I was considering moving it. I'm guessing the run of cables to the battery box is not a huge issue. This is good news, thanks y'all

 

[Tin Kicker]

Mine is under the nav desk, just in front of my knees. Need to get on my knees to see the indicator lights on it but it's very easy to do. The cables enter the cabinet just under the chart tubes, go outboard and then with the battery cables into the battery box so everything is connected without extensions.

 

[Filkee]

32-3 Charger

Mine is under the desk as well. It’s actually kind of in the desk, behind the pull out cabinet.

 

[windblown]

32-3 Charger

Mine is in the starboard cockpit seat locker, but on the hull side, so if you’re in the cockpit facing to starboard when you open the locker, look down and it’s right in front of you.

 

[nquigley]

Mine is under the desk as well. It’s actually kind of in the desk, behind the pull out cabinet.

What? you have a pull-out cabinet in your nav desk? ;-)
Maybe you mean the tip-out storage under the rolled-charts storage cylinders?
If so - how much room is back there behind that cabinet?
... I'm looks for every inch of extra storage space - someone else replaced the tip-out cabinet on the stbd side with shelving (and a regular hinged door) - I'm considering that sort of mod too. Thanks.

 

[Tin Kicker]

That tip-out beneath the chart tubes has a lot of wasted space behind it and below is the view after the tip-out door is removed. The holes for the cable appear to be how the factory did it and you can see the 110v electric outlet I added for the nav station that is on a dedicated battery charger circuit. This is probably where I'm going to put a battery box with the lithium house batteries.

 

[nquigley]

That tip-out beneath the chart tubes has a lot of wasted space behind it and below is the view after the tip-out door is removed. The holes for the cable appear to be how the factory did it and you can see the 110v electric outlet I added for the nav station that is on a dedicated battery charger circuit. This is probably where I'm going to put a battery box with the lithium house batteries.

Wow! that's a lot of space.
I'm considering putting a 3rd battery as inboard as possible in the storage bin under the port side settee that backs against that space - your photo suggests an easy path for heavy cables from the main battery box to the location I'm thinking about for the extra battery, if I give up the tip-out cabinet. Thanks!

 

[Loren Beach]

Notes on "taking charge"

Our factory charger (aka "the closet warmer") was installed under the front part of the cockpit seat hatch. Heavy, a killer of batteries, and in need of replacement.
I stepped back and decided to look around the boat for a better place for a new multi-stage charger, and found that it could move to the back side of a bulkhead where the aft cabin is at. This shortened the leads to the battery bank, and lengthened the AC cable. The AC side loses less 'flow' for each added foot than does the DC side, so it seemed like a win all around.

OTOH, this puts the charger in view, when we are inside the aft cabin. Not particularly 'yachty' looking, but very functional.

Then, wanting a more sensible fire fighting scheme, I mounted a large extinguisher above it. This makes it very reach-able from the galley range area and fulfills the aim of having an extinguisher inside every part of the boat that you might have to conceivably "fight your way out of". (We have a 5# bottle in the forepeak, and a small one in the head compartment, as well.)

Anyhooooooo...... other than having the little cooling fan in the charger kick on occasionally at the dock when we are aboard on a hot day, it has worked out very well.

Note B: no matter where you put one, be sure that you can get your eyes right down by the bottom of the case, to make up the fiddly little AC and DC wiring connections.

So, while I have no "eureka" observations fro impart for your E-32-3, you might want to take a wide angle view of the whole area and see if there might a new location for modern charger. The new ones are solid state and more compact than the older ones, as well.

A view of ours, from my blog, from inside the aft cabin:
https://www.ericsonyachts.org/infoexchange/blog.php?28-quot-Fresh-Air-quot/page5