Will these starter batteries cope?

[cygnusv]

Details about Renault Clio Car Battery 063 Type 12 Volt 4 Year Warranty 45ah 390cca

Found these on ebay for £22.50 each, though can no doubt buy the same thing locally and avoid postage.

Our engine is an excellent starter, but I believe one of its 2 starter batteries is terminally ill - I accidentally drowned it (please don't ask.....)

The engine is an old 1950 Coventry CDB industrial engine. 4 cylinder diesel, 30 BHP, about 2.25 litres. It weighs around 850lbs. It has a 24 volt CAV starter motor

The current starter batteries are both 12 volt 110AH wired in series and I was advised (here actually about 4 years ago in a previous incarnation) that the batteries were bigger than necessary - that a smaller AH pair would do the job.

Apart from the battericide episode (I'm sure that is not a word) the starter batteries on this boat have a life of luxury. They are not worked too hard too often and get their share of battery love. If, as now, they fail, I can switch the leisure bank over for starting in an emergency. This all begs the question:

Without being silly - what is the panels advice about a pair of starter batteries to sort out this present problem. Would the Clio pair do the job?

 

[pvb]

The current starter batteries are both 12 volt 110AH wired in series and I was advised (here actually about 4 years ago in a previous incarnation) that the batteries were bigger than necessary - that a smaller AH pair would do the job.

The Ah rating has very little relevance to the suitability of a battery for starting an engine. The important aspect is the ability to deliver current, and so the CCA rating is the thing to look for.

Without more information, it's difficult to be precise, but on a 12v system I'd like to see 700-800CCA for a 2 litre diesel. However, this should translate to 350-400CCA at 24v, so the batteries you're considering might well do the job.

 

[JumbleDuck]

Details about Renault Clio Car Battery 063 Type 12 Volt 4 Year Warranty 45ah 390cca

The 063 is about as bog-standard a battery as you can get, and it's found in lots of different applications - typically petrol cars in the 1.0 - 1.5 litre range. I'm about to fit one as my 1GM10 starter battery - overkill, but a hell of a lot cheaper than a red Flash and anyone I can borrow the one from my Triumph Herald for now.

I'd have thought that two in series would be more than up to starting a 2.25 litre diesel.

 

[Rigger Mortice]

They should be OK, but only just.
At that price though, it seems worth a try. The last time I bought a battery it was a lot more than that. It was bigger but.....

 

[VicS]

The Ah rating has very little relevance to the suitability of a battery for starting an engine. The important aspect is the ability to deliver current, and so the CCA rating is the thing to look for.

Without more information, it's difficult to be precise, but on a 12v system I'd like to see 700-800CCA for a 2 litre diesel. However, this should translate to 350-400CCA at 24v, so the batteries you're considering might well do the job.

They should be OK, but only just.

I agree with the above but it will depend upon how easily it starts, you say excellent....... and what kind of cold starting system there is.

If it has very heavy flywheel a pair that size might struggle a bit to get it spinning.

 

[JumbleDuck]

They should be OK, but only just.
At that price though, it seems worth a try. The last time I bought a battery it was a lot more than that. It was bigger but.....

Batteries in general are silly cheap at the moment and 063s are silly, silly cheap. You can get a Bosch or Varta one for under twenty five quid, delivered.

 

[cygnusv]

I agree with the above but it will depend upon how easily it starts, you say excellent....... and what kind of cold starting system there is.

If it has very heavy flywheel a pair that size might struggle a bit to get it spinning.

Hi VicS

When I first converted the boat to 24 volts, in 2002 or 3, I used a couple of old car batteries as starters. The engine seemed to almost jump out of its mountings compared to its previous 12 volt lifetime. The cold starting is a position on the injector pump. Pull the 'stop' cable all the way out for cold start, halfway back in for run and all the way in for stop. In extreme cold conditions there are oil pots on the head to raise compression, which I dare not use on 24 volts (wouldn't want to anyway because of the smoke it causes).

The flywheel is a moot point. Our engine has a starting handle but I defy any normal person to use it to start the engine. This makes me believe that we have a relatively light flywheel, otherwise its own weight (inertia?) would carry our feeble efforts over TDC! Point is - The engine itself is very heavy, everything about it appears to be just that - the flywheel itself is I believe, relatively light.

I've disconnected the starter pair from everything and I'm going to check the individual voltages tomorrow. If there is any doubt I think I'm going to spend the measly £50 and report back later.

Backup question

Given that I possibly murdered the offended battery, and replace the pair, I will be left with one decent battery that was supplied at the same time as the 4 leisure ones (they (all 6) are all the same) Would it be helpful, in capacity terms, to parallel the orphan battery to the leisure bank?

 

[cygnusv]

Batteries in general are silly cheap at the moment and 063s are silly, silly cheap. You can get a Bosch or Varta one for under twenty five quid, delivered.

Hi Jumbleduck

Don't tease.. Bosch or Varta - where from? the batteries I found were being advertised by a bloke living in a swamp in outa condoms?

 

[JumbleDuck]

Don't tease.. Bosch or Varta - where from? the batteries I found were being advertised by a bloke living in a swamp in outa condoms?

Sorry - I can only find them at £40 or so now, on eBay or through Tayna. Perhaps I was dreaming before. I am sure I saw good ones really cheaply. Mind you, I was paying forty quid for 063s twenty years ago ...

 

[cygnusv]

Sorry - I can only find them at £40 or so now, on eBay or through Tayna. Perhaps I was dreaming before. I am sure I saw good ones really cheaply. Mind you, I was paying forty quid for 063s twenty years ago ...

Hi JD, not to worry, these offers do come and then disappear again. I'm really tempted to give the ones I saw a go though. If they're 'not quite up to it' I'll buy 2 more and double up. The cost will still be competitive against larger capacity ones I've seen.

I'm still wondering about my decent orphaned battery. My leisure bank is 4 X 110AH wired in series and parallel to provide 220AH. Would it make any sense to parallel the orphan up to one of the leisure bank batteries or will it upset things? The orphan was bought with the leisure ones - same make, type and age etc.

 

[Rigger Mortice]

I'm still wondering about my decent orphaned battery. My leisure bank is 4 X 110AH wired in series and parallel to provide 220AH. Would it make any sense to parallel the orphan up to one of the leisure bank batteries or will it upset things? The orphan was bought with the leisure ones - same make, type and age etc.

No. The bank will still be limited to the capacity of the two batteries that remain as a pair.