Engine starting battery/bank for LF-135
Sanderling's engine starting bank consisted of two T-105s joined
together for 12 volts and 220 amps to start the Lehman-Ford 135. They
could barely do the job, for some reason or other, and I frequently had
to combine them with the house bank to get the engine to turn over. I
figured the batteries were shot, even though I had placed a
BatteryMinder on them for about 14 days for desulfation.
Yesterday I replaced the two T-105s with a marine grade battery with 850
CCA (don't remember the other specs but think it was a group 27 battery)
from Wally Mart. The new battery caused the starter to move, but
wouldn't even turn over the engine. (The voltage on the new battery
prior to cranking was 12.58.)
I don't see the need to buy a huge over-sized battery, unnecessarily.
Question: what is the minimum battery size/strength needed for a LF-135?
What is working for you?
--
<><><><><><><><><><><><>Mozilla Thunderbird<><><><><><><><><><>
Bob McLeran and Judy Young Manatee Cove Marina
MV Sanderling Patrick Air Force Base
Defever 41 Trawler Melbourne, Florida
Bob
I don't have the specific answer to your question but can relate my personal
experience after following the recommendation of a local marine mechanic six
to eight years ago. For a starting bank for a pair of Lehman 135's I use a
pair of Group 24 1000 MCA (875 CCA) batteries in parallel. The batteries
are fairly light, with a small footprint, easy to site and carry. Battery
life has been about 4 years. Your mileage may vary, but it's been a good
solution for me.
Dan Stone
M/V Slow Dance
Albin 43
St. Petersburg, FL
-----Original Message-----
From:
trawlers-and-trawlering-bounces+stonejd=tampabay.rr.com@lists.samurai.com
[mailto:trawlers-and-trawlering-bounces+stonejd=tampabay.rr.com@lists.samura
i.com] On Behalf Of Bob McLeran
Sent: Saturday, November 10, 2007 8:53 AM
To: T-T&T List
Subject: T&T: Engine starting battery/bank for LF-135
Sanderling's engine starting bank consisted of two T-105s joined
together for 12 volts and 220 amps to start the Lehman-Ford 135. They
could barely do the job, for some reason or other, and I frequently had
to combine them with the house bank to get the engine to turn over. I
figured the batteries were shot, even though I had placed a
BatteryMinder on them for about 14 days for desulfation.
Yesterday I replaced the two T-105s with a marine grade battery with 850
CCA (don't remember the other specs but think it was a group 27 battery)
from Wally Mart. The new battery caused the starter to move, but
wouldn't even turn over the engine. (The voltage on the new battery
prior to cranking was 12.58.)
I don't see the need to buy a huge over-sized battery, unnecessarily.
Question: what is the minimum battery size/strength needed for a LF-135?
What is working for you?
--
<><><><><><><><><><><><>Mozilla Thunderbird<><><><><><><><><><>
Bob McLeran and Judy Young Manatee Cove Marina
MV Sanderling Patrick Air Force Base
Defever 41 Trawler Melbourne, Florida
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Bob,
The Lehman manual recommends using a 120 AMP/hr battery; it does not say
anything about CCAs, etc. Therefore, a group 31 marine starting battery
would be the minimum. However, the two t105S should work just as well. We
have a 4D for starting our two SP225 Lehmans, with four t105s set up as two
house banks.
Greg Steckel
M/V Different Drummer
President 35 Sundeck
-----Original Message-----
From:
trawlers-and-trawlering-bounces+dd0267=gregsteckel.com@lists.samurai.com
[mailto:trawlers-and-trawlering-bounces+dd0267=gregsteckel.com@lists.samurai
.com] On Behalf Of Bob McLeran
Sent: Saturday, November 10, 2007 8:53 AM
To: T-T&T List
Subject: T&T: Engine starting battery/bank for LF-135
Question: what is the minimum battery size/strength needed for a LF-135?
What is working for you?
If it were me, I'd prefer two such starting batteries in parallel, to
have a fairly considerable margin of safety. My Dodge Cummins pickup
(5.9L, 235hp) comes standard with 2 group 27 batteries. My boat (Volvo
KAD44, 3.6L, 260hp) starting bank is a pair of Optima blue-top marine
starting batteries (800 CCA each). I've replaced the truck batteries
with Optimas as well, and they work better than the standard wet cells
ever did.
But I'd guess that one group 27 starting battery in really good shape
ought to be able to spin your engine. So I'd suspect that there's
something that needs attention in your wiring. The connections may not
be good enough or clean enough, or the wires may be too skinny, old and
corroded, or too long. Or your battery switch may be old and corroded.
It's also possible that the contacts in your starter are degraded.
My boat was often hard to start unless I switched to both banks of
batteries. I fiddled with it for some time, and finally identified the
problem.
Despite being fairly new and clean-looking, most of the lugs on the big
thick battery cables had been installed sloppily, and allowed some
wiggle between wire and lug. Smaller amounts of current, such as any of
the house loads, and even the windlass or charging, passed fine, but the
300 A needed for starting experienced a lot of resistance. I was able
to figure this by connecting a DVM to the starting circuit, and seeing
how much the voltage dropped during starting.
Tidy-looking shrink-wrap had concealed the problem. Re-doing all the
connections (and re-routing and shortening unnecessarily long wires from
battery to starter while I was at it) completely solved the problem.
Richard Cook
New Moon (Bounty 257)
Bob McLeran wrote:
Sanderling's engine starting bank consisted of two T-105s joined
together for 12 volts and 220 amps to start the Lehman-Ford 135. They
could barely do the job, for some reason or other, and I frequently had
to combine them with the house bank to get the engine to turn over. I
figured the batteries were shot, even though I had placed a
BatteryMinder on them for about 14 days for desulfation.
Yesterday I replaced the two T-105s with a marine grade battery with 850
CCA (don't remember the other specs but think it was a group 27 battery)
from Wally Mart. The new battery caused the starter to move, but
wouldn't even turn over the engine. (The voltage on the new battery
prior to cranking was 12.58.)
I don't see the need to buy a huge over-sized battery, unnecessarily.
Question: what is the minimum battery size/strength needed for a LF-135?
What is working for you?
Do not know the specs for the LH-135, however it does seem that one group 27
battery might be a little light.
Am wondering about when you used the two T105s. Assuming that did work at
one time and then stopped working. Might you be having issues with you
starter and/or cables? You could measuring the voltage at the starter its
self vs. the battery voltage (while cranking) to see if there is loss in
your starter cables. And if you have a clamp on AMP meter, measure the amp
draw. I seem to remember that a typical spec is around 250 amps ++ / --,
and if you see over 300a or even 400a your starter might just need to be
replaced. (Now, I am really not sure if these numbers are in SPEC for the
LH Diesel, perhaps some one else will have access to the correct numbers you
would want to look for....)
-al-
Bob,
A group 27 battery should be adequate for cranking your Lehman 135 in all
but very cold weather. I've worked on several boats with this setup. I'd
rather suspect your starter wiring. Check the size of the positive and
ground cables from the battery through the selector switch and all the way
to the starter motor. Check all connections for tightness, and clean
corrosion off all the connections with a sharp knife, wire brush, and
sandpaper. Sometimes the cable will flex and break many strands at a
crimp-on connector, so check for that condition, too.
What size are the cables, and how long is the total run? Sometimes it's a
long way from the battery to the switch, and then on to the engine.
Sometimes the path for the ground return current is tortuous, possobly being
run to a different battery bank altogether, than on to the start bank by a
smaller interconnecting cable. But if the engine used to crank smartly,
suspect corrosion in the connections.
Mark Richter, m/v Winnie the Pooh, Ortona, FL
Mark's Mobile Marine, electrical systems design, installation, and repair.
From: "Bob McLeran" rmcleran@ix.netcom.com
Question: what is the minimum battery size/strength needed for a LF-135?
Bob, I have used a pair if the small Exide GC's (don't remember the number)
for 6 years and they work fine for my SP135's. One pair of GC's for both
engines. Like others have said, it sounds like a wiring or starter problem.
You might look at the battery I just installed for my genset. It's a group
31 "industrial" battery I found at O'Reillys. According to them it's sold
for ambulances and such where they used a lot of battery power. It has the
marine type post, and something like 1000CCA's. It spins my genset way
faster than anything else I've ever had in there. It should work great on a
135.
Brent Hodges
Freindship
43 Albin sundeck
Seabrook, Tx
Snip
Question: what is the minimum battery size/strength needed for a LF-135?
What is working for you?
Samara has a pair of 120hp Lehmans. The manual states that the starter motor
draws 1070 amps stalled and 650 amps spinning at 1000rpm. I use a single
Optima (can't remember the capacity) for each engine. The arrangement is
fairly new, but it seems to be working fine.
Trevor Drawbridge
Samara-of-Kip
45ft C-Kip