Baffled

[The Vortex]

Ok, granted, I am not the sharpest wheelbarrow in the toolbox, but I truly believed that when the time came to hookup all the new doodads I've bought I would rise to the occasion. And I haven't. We have an Air-X 400 watt wind generator, two 75 watt panels and of course the engine alternator (35amp?). I bought 4 Trojan T-105 plus batteries and a Blue Sky 2512ix controller without the pro remote. I would like to wire the batteries as two separate and equal banks. I would like to charge the small starting battery (for our MD-11 with handcrankability) through the controllers' aux 2amp output. I have the battery selector switch plus an additional selector switch controlling the shoreside charger. We will be in the Sea of Cortez and later, Central America. Wouldn't it be great to be able to select any charging source and direct it to either battery bank? I just don't know enough to move forward. HELP, kindly CF'ers...

[cal40john]

Why do you want 2 house banks? Used to be common, but usually just means you discharge the batteries more heavily and make them die earlier. One house bank with charge sources to that, the aux output keeps the starting battery full. No messing around with switches all the time.

John

[The Vortex]

Thank you John. I am concerned about not having enough charging amperage to keep all those amp/hours up in one big bank, and thinking to get one bank fully charged and then move to the next. Maybe a bad idea. We have a not too efficient Norcold fridge but not much else for loads, also a Honda eu1000 that can drive the 20 amp charger. The wind generator has it's own controller but I can't fathom where and how to connect the charging sources. We are going up to San Diego this week for what I hope is the final shopping trip..

[cal40john]

As the batteries get closer to fully charged they accept less current. So you have your charging sources throttled back not producing much charge into the battery, meanwhile you're still discharging the other bank much faster than you're charging the first. Better to have your charging devices see a slightly discharged situation and be told to put out most if not all of their capability.

If you don't have enough to keep up, splitting into 2 banks makes it worse.

John

[The Vortex]

Got it, one bank. Now, do I just put the charging output through fuses and right onto the battery terminals?

[rebel heart]

Originally Posted by The Vortex

Got it, one bank. Now, do I just put the charging output through fuses and right onto the battery terminals?

I have a 12v+ bus bar for the house. It's connected to:

- distribution panel
- bilge pump
- solar charge controller
- alternator
- starter selector switch

I'm pretty reluctant to wire anything to the battery terminals other than battery wires, but that might just be me. Definitely though, just use the one bank and wire all your charging sources to it. Get an acr to bridge the house and starter.

[kaimusailing]

Ahoy Vortex,
I am also doing some refurbish of the electrical. I have a catamaran with separate banks, one in each hull, plus an engine battery. Each hull has its own solar panels and charge controller. I have a wind generator that isn't wired in yet, and I was thinking of wiring it to both DC panels on a switch, just like any load, however it would allow wind generator to charge that bank. The other scheme would be to bring its wiring to a central point, at the engine box in the middle of the boat and wire a switch to send it to either bank or to the engine battery.

[The Vortex]

Right, I wish to set up a kind of manifold for the charge sources, but I am ignorant in how the sources detect each other and then regulate based on the individual supplies. Still baffled, but getting better. Thanks.

[Bash]

Originally Posted by The Vortex

Right, I wish to set up a kind of manifold for the charge sources, but I am ignorant in how the sources detect each other and then regulate based on the individual supplies. Still baffled, but getting better. Thanks.

They detect voltage. You can set each source to regulate itself at a different voltage. For example, I have my wind generator set to shut itself off when the batteries are about 95% full, so that the solar panels are left to do the final topping up.

[The Vortex]

Thanks, Bash...so I can dial down the controller on the wind gen a certain amount and watch the solar controller to see when it takes over. I think I get it.

[Badsanta]

Suggest you get several boat electric books. I found that although similar it may be explained differently by another author. Try amazon
Don't connect anything to the battery use buss bars and fuse everything, use the right size wire with proper connections. when figuring length of wire for size you have to measure both ways to properly size it. You only want to do this once so do it right.

[Badsanta]

Do a search in CF for "Best Boat Electrical Books "

[cwyckham]

There have been several excellent threads on this forum in the last 6 months on this topic. I've learned a lot.

The sources will not interfere in any meaningful way. Send them all into the single house and then use an echo charger from the house to the single starter battery. It's all set and forget and when they batteries are down, they will all simultaneously charge. No swithching, totally set and forget.

You will need a controller for your panels and one for your wind generator. They don't need to interconnect and will not interfere with eachother. The Air-X may have a built in controller (I know the Air-Breeze does).

[The Vortex]

Thanks, CW, I am better today. Shopping tomorrow!