Adding/Relocating Batteries on E32
Date: February 27, 2002 To ever can assist: Has anyone out there relocated and added an additional battery. If so, WHERE?
Date: March 6, 2002 Lee; Date: March 7, 2002 I don't know if this will help. we have an 1981 32'. it has a port quarter berth. our battery bank is under the forward end of the quater berth, and in the aft part of the berth is a small door that gives very limited access to the engine compartment. The previous owner put in a third battery which sits directly below this opening inside the engine room. it's a pretty convinient place, as it's out of the way, and close to the electricle panel. hope this is of some use. Date: March 7, 2002 We have an Endeavour 32. We recently added a 2000 watt inverter and 4 more batteries. We placed the new bank of batteries in the main cabin floor where you lift the floor up to check your bilge. We used 4 -golf cart batteries - as these where recommended to us due to their long life and abuse... Hope this helps. Date: March 7, 2002 I have an E-32. The batteries have been relocated so I have some ideas for you. I have two batteries that are stowed under the 1/4 berth in the forward locker. They are accessed by removing the 1/4 berth cusion. The existing cover to that locker is still there but it was not big enough to allow proper access to the batteries so the locker opening has been made bigger by cutting through the structure around the existing access. This piece, which would normally fall through into the locker is held in location by aluminum strip that is cut to fit around the perimeter of the lid. It overlaps onto the parent structure and sits there quite happily. Of course, with the cusion in place, you see nothing. The batteries are located in plastic battery boxes and secured to the boat using webs through screwed stainless fittings. This all works well and I have had no problems at all. As you say, it is a mess getting to where they were originally located. Hope this helps. Date: March 11, 2002 I have a 79 E 32. In Danny's Fault there was enough room under the cabin sole to place batteries. I have 2 T27's in there in addition to the original 2 in the quarter berth. And yes it is a bitch to add water to those batteries, and especially because our quarter berth is always full of something or another. I do put water in a bottled water bottle with one of those resealable caps that allows me to squirt water into the battery. Date: March 21, 2002 Hi Paul, Date: April 27, 2003 Paul: I shopped around allot, and most important I asked allot of questions. I also thought about putting my new batteries under the quarter berth, but on my E-32 there was not enough room. My compressor shares some of that space. Well to make my year long story a short one, I decided to go to gel-cells. With the gel-cells there is no leakage, the batteries can be submerged and have been tested after being submerged for over 6 months. With the gel-cells, the option for two 6 volts gave the same amp hours as 1 12 volt. So I installed four 12 volts. One 12 volt is the engine battery, and three are tied together for my house bank. They are hooked to the new Heart Charging System.Link 2000 computer monitoring system. I couldn't be happier. Works Great!, By the way, The battery banks are secured in the bilge on top of the keel. If you have any other questions, please holler, It is always nice to hear from another Endeavour Lover! Date: December 8, 2003 Hi paul,
From: Thomas Irontriangle68@aol.com
I have an Endeavour 32 (pre-1980). I am considering adding a third battery, however at the moment, I am not very pleased where the batteries are located now. I am assuming that the location now is where the factory installed them (directly alongside the quarter birth next to the fuel tank) The one big problem with their current location is that you require a flashlight and a mirror to check the electrolite levels with your eyes and face just inches away.
From: Charles R. MaR Mackey mackeyc@juno.com
I too got tired of trying to service and remove for winter storage the batteries from that inaccessible compartment. I built a plywood box that would just fit through the aft keel compartment access hole. As luck would have it this accommodates two large batteries. The box has a cover that can be screwed down and is lined in fiberglass in case there is any spillage. I bolted it down by drilling and tapping holes into the fiberglass covered lead keel. I had to make up a new set of cables. The holes where these cables exit the box are about 1/8' oversize so that there is a place for any hydrogen generated during charging can escape. The batteries are now easy to service, and are mounted lower and further forward than the original, both places which I needed more weight. Good luck
From: Tracy SHOPEROEPCKE@aol.com
From: Mike Ray MNRay@aol.com
From: Bob Hanraads RHanraads@absconsulting.com
From: Rob & Jude Johnson robjude@shianet.org
From: Bradd marina@portcolborne.com
Our batteries are located under the floorboards in the bilge. We have an 8D and a starter battery but have room for at least 1 more 8D if required. Because they are located "low" they actually help stability and we've addressed the possibility of submersion by installing AGM sealed batteries which won't admit salt water should we ever have a water problem. This location has worked well for us on Enchante. We just returned from 3 weeks in the Abacos.
From: Thomas Long Irontriangle68@bellsouth.net
Thought that I would drop you a line since I have just gone through what you are about to jump into! Paul, I stewed over this battery problem for over a year until I finally made up my mind. I do not know where you live, but my wife and I live on the Gold Coast in SE Florida, which means that when we put up our sails up, we are in blue water headed for the Keys or the Bahamas. That is why my batteries are a very important.
From: John Krevis jpkrevis@hotmail.com
Here is my battery installation, I have 1 start battery and 2 trojen T-105 batteries, My rear bildge area is around 12" deep, the batterys are 11 1/8".
