3rd Battery?

I have 2 Interstate SRM-24 wet / deep cycle batteries on my E32. My battery charger is a ProMariner ProSport that can handle 3 batteries.

I am having trouble keeping the refrigerator running (AB ColdMachine unit). I noticed that if I turn the engine on it always works but if just using the charger it does not always run especially if using lights and other electronics on the DC system.

So ... I am wondering if I need to add a 3rd battery and if so what the best way to do that is. Any experience on this would be appreciated. Thanks!

Pete

Keeping it all cold.

Jim, I assume that you are talking about problems when away from your slip and on anchor or on a mooring elsewhere. I too fought that battle for years, adding batteries to no avail. For us when on a mooring, there is no choice but to have our own power with us and that's what we finally did. Depending upon your other power needs or if you plan double use of a generator away from the boat, you might want to consider either a 1KW or 2 KW Honda generator, the quietest on the market. A friend uses the smaller one for his wife's respirator while on their boat and we use ours to keep our general house battery use as well and most importantly, the two dedicated group 27 batteries topped off, ones that power our Adler Barbour refrigeration system. We keep the generator (important to do to avoid lethal exhaust gasses) on the bow and run a 25 foot shore power cord to the existing inlet plug in the cockpit, photo attached. After one season of constantly filling the tiny tank in the generator case, I bought an adaptor cap and 3 1/2 gallon auxiliary fuel tank that allows us to run the generator for a week or more, using it 2-3 hours a day to keep the batteries up. Here's a link to the 1,000 model http://www.northerntool.com/shop/to...ntent=165018&gclid=CKDh-eaY2M4CFciGfgodsiMKmA

Best of luck,

Glyn Judson, E31 hull #55, Marina del Rey CA

What Glyn sez........

Also, it would be good to add some insulation to your ice box compartment. We have added another inch of closed cell foam around the sides and also some closed cell foam under the lid on ours. I added some thin "foam weather strip tape" where the lid seats, all the way around. This greatly reduces any air infiltration and the resulting ice formation.
Less than a month ago we spent two days/nights at anchor and still had enough battery reserve to start the diesel when we go ready get under way.
Our house bank is nowadays a pair of golf cart batteries, but the original was a group 24 battery (two of those, designated bank 1 or 2).
We also have an extra 12 volt emergency battery that is about the size of a group 27.

If you have trouble powering the fridge or any other 12 volt load when on the shore power charger, there is something wrong with that device. When on shore power you should have *oodles of power available - does your charger put out 20 amps at least? Have you checked its output when it's on?

* an Oodle equals about 30 amps at our marina.

Regards,
Loren

Peter K said:

I have 2 Interstate SRM-24 wet / deep cycle batteries on my E32. My battery charger is a ProMariner ProSport that can handle 3 batteries.

I am having trouble keeping the refrigerator running (AB ColdMachine unit). I noticed that if I turn the engine on it always works but if just using the charger it does not always run especially if using lights and other electronics on the DC system.

So ... I am wondering if I need to add a 3rd battery and if so what the best way to do that is. Any experience on this would be appreciated. Thanks!

Pete

Click to expand...

That sounds like you a pulling lots of juice! Do you have an ammeter monitoring how many amps you are drawing? I have a pair of group 27 100Ah AMG batteries from 98' that routinely last the weekend on a single charge. I usually get about a day on each one running the stereo, fridge, water pump, sailing instruments, lights, and various chargers for phones and such (I also forget to turn off the propane solenoid regularly).

All that aside, I changed all of my running and interior lights to LED and they used about 1/10 of the power of the incandescents. If your issue is simply capacity, I'd start there before buying new batteries.

To really answer your question though, does your fridge run at all on DC power? If so, how many amps does it pull? Is that normal for that model?

-P

I also run a Honda EU2000 generator with a 6 gallon extended run fuel can but not for the fridge. I use it to run our 16,000 BTU AC unit, it's H O T down here in the sunshine state.

As as far as our fridge is concerned, we run it at the dock on shore power. We often do two to four day trips and find that filling up the bottom 1/3 with ice then putting an insulated ice bag on top of that keeps things cool enough for several days. I do not run it away from the dock. I'm afraid I might forget to turn it off and kill the house battery.

Glyn, a friend of mine showed me how to hang my generator from the boom elevated an inch or two above the spray hood. It eliminates any vibration.

"Glyn, a friend of mine showed me how to hang my generator from the boom elevated an inch or two above the spray hood. It eliminates any vibration."

You are going to show us, right?

GrandpaSteve said:

"Glyn, a friend of mine showed me how to hang my generator from the boom elevated an inch or two above the spray hood. It eliminates any vibration."

You are going to show us, right?

Click to expand...

I will look for a photo of the setup. I use a small block and some line. I fix the block close to the boom then run the line under the handle of the generator to hoist it off the deck. Then under the handle again to spread the load and help it stay balanced. I then use bungie cords (4) going to the shrouds and the traveler to keep it from swaying when we get hit by a boat wake. The fuel tank sits on non-slip rubber shelf liner so it stays in place. Works great!

Rick R. said:

I will look for a photo of the setup. I use a small block and some line. I fix the block close to the boom then run the line under the handle of the generator to hoist it off the deck. Then under the handle again to spread the load and help it stay balanced. I then use bungie cords (4) going to the shrouds and the traveler to keep it from swaying when we get hit by a boat wake. The fuel tank sits on non-slip rubber shelf liner so it stays in place. Works great!

Click to expand...

Thanks Rick!