2009 280ec 85 hours HELP ME (:

davidbrooks

ok so i will bite.  WHY would someone want to rewire the boat for 6v batteries?  Seems to me like they added extra complexity for what benefit?  

Cableguy Greg

davidbrooks said:

ok so i will bite.  WHY would someone want to rewire the boat for 6v batteries?  Seems to me like they added extra complexity for what benefit?  

Longer run time on the house side. 

Aqua_Aura

Never knew that. I'll have to research to satisfy my knowledge needs. 

Well that was a very easy search. I guess 6V has higher AH and when in series to get 12V they retain that AH rating. Two 6V deep cycle batteries is $270 each and have 230AH which is significantly higher than my 1 12V at I think 120AH

Handymans342

Aqua_Aura said:

Never knew that. I'll have to research to satisfy my knowledge needs. 

Well that was a very easy search. I guess 6V has higher AH and when in series to get 12V they retain that AH rating. Two 6V deep cycle batteries is $270 each and have 230AH which is significantly higher than my 1 12V at I think 120AH

We use golf cart batteries a lot in the RV world. 

Cableguy Greg

That is a lot of weight in batteries for a 280EC. 

Grahamu

I installed 4 6 volt golf cart batteries for my house bank

Dream_Inn

It is really not that uncommon for boats to use golf cart batteries for inverter banks of storage.  Tie them together, put an inverter on it, and then you have plenty of AC power without having to run the generator.  Some of these boats actually have separate outlets marked as off of the inverter. It actually works quite well. 

YYZRC

Dream_Inn said:

It is really not that uncommon for boats to use golf cart batteries for inverter banks of storage.  Tie them together, put an inverter on it, and then you have plenty of AC power without having to run the generator.  Some of these boats actually have separate outlets marked as off of the inverter. It actually works quite well. 

Rinker is the perfect boat for that. You could repurpose one of the “it’s shore choice” on the panel for the inverter/house battery bank. Very little reworking and fully integrated. 

davidbrooks

I had to do some reading to understand the pros and cons.  IMHO the cons outweigh the pros.  From what i read equivalent 6V vs 12 V setups will have the 6V setups weighing more and costing more.  The kicker for me was that if one battery goes out you are dead in the water.  if one of my 12v batteries goes out i can still work off of the other one.  Costs more, weighs more for minimal increase in AH.

Grahamu

@davidbrooks not true if you lose one battery you are dead in the water. You move either the positive or negative cable to the 2 batteries that are connected in series and still working

YYZRC

Grahamu said:

@davidbrooks not true if you lose one battery you are dead in the water. You move either the positive or negative cable to the 2 batteries that are connected in series and still working

How do you figure out which battery is dead? Wouldn’t you need to load test to know for sure?

Grahamu

@YYZRC, test each battery with a voltmeter, the bad one will show lower or no voltage

rasbury

Can't you do the terminals by the battery switch with 12v and open the hatch? The motor works right, just no power to it? Guess I'm missing something...

Aqua_Aura

They tried and it didn't work 

rasbury

Then through the table mounting, cut the blanket and pull the pin. Only way on a 270..can't pull the hinges..

Aqua_Aura

Come on now get caught up. It's thru the vent in the back storage area @rasbury we already went over that. 

rasbury

How did I miss all this? Guess it's not laid out like a 270...or maybe I can get to it thru the vent. Never had to so will keep it in mind...

Aqua_Aura

I feel like the 270 should be close. The table was my first attempt and there was no way then I found the vent. 

davidbrooks

@Grahamu yes that works when you have 4. But if you only have 2 6 v batteries and not 4 for two fully redundant banks then you only have 6 volts. I think you have a very workable solution. It is just more expensive and heavier. However from what i read is more durable. This has just been an interesting post to follow for me because it was a new spin on a old topic.

Cableguy Greg

Susan had four 6v batteries on the house side and two 6v batteries on the starting side of her boat. She ended up having 4 dead 6v batteries on the house side. If I had a bigger boat, like a 342 up to a 420, I would go the 6v battery route. With a 280EC, I will stick with my two 12V deep cycle batteries on the house and one starting battery.