House Battery Location

[Bill3558]

My new C-Dory 22 has only one battery in the starboard stern compartment.
The service manager where I bought the boat thinks putting another battery in the same compartment may throw the boat out of balance with all that weight on one side.

What do you guys think? I could put the battery under the passenger seat but it would be a hassle running the cable and use up valuable cabin space.

Thanks!!

[Sea Wolf]

Bill 3558-

It depends on how yoy load the rest of the boat.

If you add very little additional weight, the 60 or so extra pounds might make a difference, especially if you use the boat alone, because you'll be sitting on that same side.

On the other hand, if you're going to load the boat up quite a bit and/or will usually have other folks on board (which have to all sit on the port side because that's where the seats are), it wouldn't be that much of an inbalance overall.

Also, if you have trim tabs, they can rebalance the boat at speed while planing.

What are you going to do with the space down in the center under the motor well between the gas tanks? That's where my 2nd battery is. (I also have two under the forward dindette seat, and they DO throw the boat out of balance a bit.

How about the other lazarette locker? Are you going to convert it into a live well?

HTH,

Joe.

[BobArrington]

I also am about to take delivery of a new 22 and it has identical compartments on each stern corner. My dealer is putting the engine battery in one and the house in the other. While this does take that space away from potential storage, it wasn't big enough to hold much and it solved the balance problem.

Be careful if you use a battery that requires venting -with the plug in place in the bottom of that compartment it's sealed pretty tight in there. Keeping the plug out should allow for enough venting and should also keep any water that gets in there from being a problem.

I use Odyssey Batteries and find them to be the best at storage without voltage drop and high tolerance for the vibration incurred in our application.

Good luck with your new boat.

[thataway]

Although the AGM batteries are more rugged and don't produce gas, the lead acid battery is plenty rugged for the C Dory. If you stop and think--how much jarring does your car go thru-- (especially if you go down I 10 thru Lousiania or I 5 up California!

The hatches on the laszarettes of the 22's have enough ventiallation for batteries without opening an other drain.

I would try and balance the weight--on both sides, but batteries are not the only way to do this. You can use ice chests, stowage of gear etc. We had the second battery under the sink--and the start battery in the lazarette on the stb side, plus the kicker on the stb side--no problem with handling.

[C-Hawk]

I have the starter battery in the starboard lazarette and two house batteries in the port lazarette.

[colobear]

22' cruiser. House battery starboard lazarette, two starting batteries port lazarette, Optima. lazarettes dedicated to the batteries and electrical busses except pull lanyards and earmuffs in starboard

[Bill3558]

Thank you all for the input. I think I will run the boat and shift the weight of the battery around and see if its a trim problem. I would prefer to keep the port side box available for a live well. The boat has trim tabs, and from what I am gather all the weight in the back of the boat is apparently not an issue.

I will put all the other heavy stuff on the port side. Also a full water tank would probably help the trim.

Thanks

"Pluto"

[Adeline]

I'm another guy who parked his house battery in the port lazarette. A group 31 @ 66# is a pain to remove/reinstall but it's well worth the trouble.

[rogerbum]

I have a 22 with both batteries in the starboard lazarette and the port lazarette set up as a fish box. I can balance things out a whole bunch of different ways including adjusting how much fresh water is in the tank under the port side rear seat.

[SeaSpray]

A quick battery question. What is the difference between the Optima and the AGM? Are they both gel type batteries? What setting would you use on a charger for the Optima batteries?

Thanks,
Steve

[Spike]

I mounted my second battery down between the fuel tanks. Seems to work fine down there and I keep the port lazarett for beer and or bait. It is in a full box strapped down

[thataway]

I understand that the major difference between an Optima and an AGM is that the AGM has conventional plates with the paste electrolyte held in a fiberglass mesh next to the lead plates. The Optima has sprial wound glass mess around lead plates which hold the electroylte paste. Both are basically similar types of batteries. Generally the capacity of a battery is proportionate to the amount of lead in the plates. The heavier the battery the higher the capacity.

Both conventional AGM and Optima are more resistant to vibration, have low self discharge, and can be charged faster than a flooded lead acid battery. Both are susceptable to over voltage--voltage greater than 15 volts may cause over heating and gassing--which will damage the battery. Optima claims to have purer lead plates. I am sure that there is some real variation in the various batteries. I generatlly go with a higher quality battery and find that they last longer.

In summary, the Optima is a very high quality AGM battery made by Johnson Controls, who is a major builder of both lead acid and AGM batteries. The spiral mat and grids, being tightly packed do make it more resistant to vibration failure... I don't know what the cost difference, and if it is worth the increased cost. In my personal boats and vehicles I have only used AGM's when the battery had to be inside (less risk of explosive hydrogen gas formation) or had to be laid on its side. For other applications I have still stuck with quality lead acid. My RV Golf cart lead acid batteries are going on 6 years and do not appear to have lost any capacity.