Battery Replacement

Battery Replacement

• Action: To Do List item A0174 – Delete GYS CT180 battery charger. Completed: 5 April 2017
• Action: To Do List item A0179 – Redesign and rewire DC cables so that only one connection to the batteries exists.
• Action: To Do List item A0180 – Add inline fuse protection within 12 inches of battery terminals.
• Action: To Do List item A0182 - Add proper protective fuses to 12 VDC positive battery output circuit.
• Action: To Do List item A0183 - Obtain replacement DC shunt and negative terminal bus bar.
• Action: To Do List item A0184 - Redesign and rewire negative return cables to the batteries.
• Action: To Do List item A0203 - Order and install four 6-volt AGM house bank batteries and one 12-volt AGM engine start battery.
• Completed: 17 August 2017
• Cost: $2,406.31

As indicated on Battery Health and Capacitance page, all four 6-volt GEL house batteries and the 12-volt lead acid engine start battery needed to be replaced.

The initial suspected reason for the batteries to go bad was age.  The four Toyama model NPG225-6, 6-volt, 225 amp hour, GEL batteries were labeled, "INSTALLED 14.03.09" on a piece of gray duct tape.  The date, 14.03.09, was interpreted as battery installation date of 14 March 2009, and this was likely as Indra was in Japan in 2009 and the Toyama battery brand is Japanese based - this means these Toyama batteries were 8-plus years old.

The engine start battery was a Motolite Solar Master Deep Cycle 70 amp hour, lead-acid battery which is Philippine made and was suspected to be at least 4-plus years old.  This battery was not secured down and was just sitting on top of a wooden support base.  As for regular battery maintenance and charging, this was suspected to have been neglected while Indra was on the hard being worked on at Holiday Oceanview Marina and later when she sat idle at a dock slip - a period of at least 3-plus years.

Lastly, a contributing factor to the batteries demise, was the shore based charging system was from a GYS CT180 battery charger designed to recharge only liquid lead acid batteries, NOT GEL type batteries.  Very important for battery life is adequate charging to full capacity and when this is neglected, performing regular battery equalization to reduce sulfation and premature failure.  Indra did not have adequate battery charging equipment aboard to perform manufacture recommended battery maintenance, charging, and equalization.

Along with the removal of the five defective batteries, the GYS CT180 battery charger was also removed from Indra.

The wooden battery box was discovered to be not secured to any of the wood supports underneath and could use of a fresh coat of epoxy and paint.  Also, it lack portals to ensure adequate ventilation of the batteries.  The internal dimensions of the battery box were: length -22", width - 16", and depth - 10.5", made of 3/8 inch plywood.  The Toyama NPG225-6 battery dimensions were: length -10", width - 6.75", and height - 9.75".  The dimensions of the box and battery would be a factor in determining the size of the replacement batteries.

After internet research, the Absorbent Glass Mat (AGM) type of battery was chosen over a lead acid or GEL battery field of selection.  Based on reviews and past experience, selected Concorde Battery Corporation, four (4) Lifeline model GPL-4CT 6-volt, deep cycle, 220 amp hour, AGM batteries to make a house battery bank of 12-volt 440 amp hour size.  The dimensions of the Lifeline model GPL-4CT battery were length -10.22" / 259.6mm, width - 6.95" / 176.5mm, height - 9.63" / 244.5mm, and weight 66lbs / 30KG - they would all fit in the existing battery box.  The battery connection terminals were a copper threaded bolt of size M8 or 5/16-inch - important to know for proper selection of wire terminal lug hole size.  The Lifeline website had detailed design prints and technical manuals explaining almost all aspects of installation and routine battery maintenance requirements.  These maintenance requirements and method to track charge cycles, voltage levels, and any capacity loss were added to a separate periodic maintenance tracking list.

The engine start battery selected was a single Lifeline model GPL-27T 12-volt, deep cycle, 100 amp hour, AGM battery. The dimensions of the Lifeline model GPL-27T battery were length -12.01" / 305.1mm, width - 6.36" / 161.5mm, height - 8.93" / 226.9mm, and weight 62lbs / 28.1KG.  The battery connection terminals were: positive terminal - copper threaded bolt of size M10 or 3/8-inch, and negative terminal - copper threaded bolt of size M8 or 5/16-inch.

Ordered the batteries from Powerstride Battery and the Lifeline GPL-4CT batteries cost $299.92 each ($1,199.68 total), the Lifeline GPL-27T battery cost $279.92, California tax cost $137.86, and shipment of 374 pounds was free to our balikbayan box consolidator and forwarder in Los Angles, California, Manila Forwarder, and received there on 4 May 2017 - total cost was $1,617.46.

A pictorial diagram of the battery bank with interconnect wiring was made.  External connection points to the battery bank are depicted with red/black circles and are at equal and opposite ends of the pair of series connected batteries.

As the four 6-volt Lifeline GPL-4CT batteries were to be wired in series-parallel, the proper size of the battery interconnect cables needed to be determined - very little internet advice could be found on the exact size this cable should be except use cabling sized for the maximum load of the system.  Other advice stated that the battery interconnect cable lengths should all be of equal lengths to minimize electrical imbalances between the batteries - specific advice was all series battery interconnect cables should all be the same length and all parallel battery interconnect cables should all be the same length.  Internet advice also recommended to use a large cable size to minimize any cable resistance.  A common sense answer derived after research was simply use the largest practical size cable available for the interconnects since the lengths are relatively short (and disregard the cost for larger cable size).  Based on this we selected 4/0 AWG cable in colors red/black with 8 each 5/16" hole size 4/0 AWG terminal lugs.  Listed below are the items purchased to support this installation.

Indra had multiple DC cables connected to the batteries and no overcurrent fuse protection was installed on any of them - reference the 7"/40"/72" ABYC E-11 rules.  Research on the electrical installation rules, regulations, and recommendations (ABYC E-11/USCG/CFR) detailed specific requirements and then stated exceptions to their rules - bureaucracy again at its best.  The book “Boatowner’s Mechanical and Electrical Manual” by Nigel Calder, was also reviewed and had solid advice and examples.  The electrical cable connections to the house bank needed to be protected by a fuse as close to the battery connection as possible and the number of cable connections to the battery bank kept to a minimum, ideally one positive and one negative connection.   Decided to use the Blue Sea Systems Dual MRBF Terminal Fuse Block with 300 amp block fuses to provide overcurrent protection on the positive output of the battery bank.

This fuse block mounts/bolts to the battery positive output terminal mount bolt - really can't get any closer to the battery output than this provides.  One minor issue with the fuse block is its mount hole is designed for a M10 or 3/8-inch bolt while the selected Lifeline batteries use a M8 or 5/16-inch bolt - the battery mount hole surface area and use of a flat washer will ensure adequate surface contact to not degrade the connection point.  A pictorial diagram of the connections to the house bank of batteries to the positive and negative bus bars was made. The Blue Sea Systems Dual MRBF Terminal Fuse Block with 300 amp block fuse only provides overcurrent protection for the 4/0 AWG cable run to the DC positive bus bar (always hot bus bar).  Additional DC output cables connected to the DC positive bus bar will need to have their own overcurrent fuse protection installed.

Listed below are the items purchased to support this installation.

With parts ordered, it would be at least 3 months before they arrived by ocean shipment.  Regardless, there were plenty of other items on the list of issues to fix and solve.

Added to the To Do List:

• A0214 - Clean, sand, and apply paint to starboard quarter birth area before battery installation.
• A0215 - Apply coat of epoxy and paint to wooden battery box.
• A0216 - Determine method to secure wooden battery box to boat structure.
• A0217 - Determine method to secure engine start battery to boat structure.

On 17 August 2017, our ocean shipment arrived and was received with no damage.  These batteries were ordered 3 May 2017, which means 104 days passed before they were received - not an ideal logistical situation for completing tasks on a boat.

The four Lifeline GPL-4CT batteries had a label (manufacturer's code) with a number and corresponding bar code - 01720137, 01720138, 01720139, and 01720167; while the Lifeline GPL-27T battery label displayed 01721348.  All the batteries had a round label (production date code) on the aft side displaying the letters "DQ".  A search on the internet yielded different methods that manufactures use to label the battery date of manufacture, but could not find specific information on the Lifeline method - even the Lifeline website yielded no answer.  The label with "DQ" was interpreted as shown in picture below.

Sent email query to Lifeline stating that I suspected "DQ" meant date of manufacture of April 2017 and the bar code number (0172XXXX) last four digits were most likely the battery serial number - but what did the number "0172" mean?  There response was not informative and very disappointing: "The entire serial number indicates month, year and part number (in what order, I’m not sure – hence my calls to the manufacturing facility). You got the date code correct."  The date of manufacture and how old a battery is should be easily determined by a prospective customer - this information should be prominently displayed on the battery unencrypted and the use of a magic decoder should not be needed.  If a unique code is used, then the manufacture should freely disclose its interpretation in the manual and on their website.  It is telling that the battery is labeled with pictures and plain English text about warnings and hazards, yet the date of manufacture is encrypted - the integrity of this practice is definitely questionable. The suspected motivation of battery manufactures to encrypt the date of manufacture can be reasonably assumed to ensure the sale and purchase of their product to naïve customers without regard to the age of the battery - buyer beware!!

 Next, a trip back to Samal Island to start installation.