Confirmation of Battery Charger and ACR

[smokey73]

I am in the middle of starting some upgrades and want to install a new smart charger. I currently have a Dytek 30A charger that I believe is original to the boat cir 1993-4.

I want to install a either a Sterling Pro Charge Ultra or ProMariner Pronautic P
40A smart charger. I currently have two 6V AGM Batteries for the House Bank and a 12V FLA for the Starter Battery through a Blue Sea ACR.

1. Will that setup (smart charger) with the AGM House and ACR/FLA Starting Battery be an acceptable (though not necessarily ideal) combination? Should I set the programmable smart charger for the AGM setting for the AGM House and then the ACR will take care of the FLA starting battery?

The AGM batteries are 2009 vintage so I am assuming they are nearing end of life. The boat is on a mooring with a new 40W Kyocera solar panel and MPPT solar controller wired to the house batteries. I need to do a capacity check on the house batteries but when it comes time to replace I'll probably go with four 6V golf cart batteries (from SAMS) rather than replace the AGMs.

2. I have an ON/OFF switch for the House Bank (near the house bank) and a separate ON/OFF switch for the Starter Battery (near the starter battery). I can't find a combination that will let me use the House Bank as an emergency power for starting the engine if I have too except to use jumper cables from the House to the Starting Battery? Any suggestions for how to wire it so I can have that capability?

Any comments, suggestions, corrections of my thinking or input would be appreciated as I want to make a logical upgrade. I figure the dytek won't be around forever and the smart charger is a good investment. I suppose I should get a battery monitor while I'm at it too?

Thanks in advance

 

[woodster]

I am in the middle of starting some upgrades and want to install a new smart charger. I currently have a Dytek 30A charger that I believe is original to the boat cir 1993-4.

I want to install a either a Sterling Pro Charge Ultra or ProMariner Pronautic P
40A smart charger. I currently have two 6V AGM Batteries for the House Bank and a 12V FLA for the Starter Battery through a Blue Sea ACR.

1. Will that setup (smart charger) with the AGM House and ACR/FLA Starting Battery be an acceptable (though not necessarily ideal) combination? Should I set the programmable smart charger for the AGM setting for the AGM House and then the ACR will take care of the FLA starting battery?

set it for agm and when you get your golf car batteries set it for flooded granted you will be getting wet cell

The AGM batteries are 2009 vintage so I am assuming they are nearing end of life. The boat is on a mooring with a new 40W Kyocera solar panel and MPPT solar controller wired to the house batteries. I need to do a capacity check on the house batteries but when it comes time to replace I'll probably go with four 6V golf cart batteries (from SAMS) rather than replace the AGMs.

2. I have an ON/OFF switch for the House Bank (near the house bank) and a separate ON/OFF switch for the Starter Battery (near the starter battery). I can't find a combination that will let me use the House Bank as an emergency power for starting the engine if I have too except to use jumper cables from the House to the Starting Battery? Any suggestions for how to wire it so I can have that capability?

you need a third switch to feed your house panel from your reserve bat you will have 1 on/off from AGM to house panel ..2 second switch to starter from reserve battery and 3 the third switch from reserve to house panel.... when you have the reserve battery supplying house panel you will have the agm battery bank switch in the off position

Any comments, suggestions, corrections of my thinking or input would be appreciated as I want to make a logical upgrade. I figure the dytek won't be around forever and the smart charger is a good investment. I suppose I should get a battery monitor while I'm at it too?

Thanks in advance

some one plz correct me if this is not correct

 

[Stu Jackson]

Basic Battery Wiring Diagrams This is a very good basic primer for boat system wiring: http://c34.org/bbs/index.php/topic,6604.0.html

This is another very good basic primer for boat system wiring: The 1-2-B Switch by Maine Sail (brings together a lot of what this subject is all about)
http://forums.catalina.sailboatowners.com/showthread.php?t=137615

 

[GorillaToast]

This is how I'm approaching the problem.

4 6v golf car batteries
1 12v starter battery
ACR to regulate charging

Switched with this:





Each switch is On/Off. One for Start battery, one for House Bank, and the third parallels the two banks for emergency starting.

 

[Allan12210]

2. I have an ON/OFF switch for the House Bank (near the house bank) and a separate ON/OFF switch for the Starter Battery (near the starter battery). I can't find a combination that will let me use the House Bank as an emergency power for starting the engine if I have too except to use jumper cables from the House to the Starting Battery? Any suggestions for how to wire it so I can have that capability?

One way is if you change your discreet on/off switches to off-1-both-2 selector switches. That's how I wired mine. Its set up so both are normally set to position 1. I refer to one switch as "house" and the other as "engine". If there is a problem with the engine battery, I switch the "engine" selector to position 2. Now the engine can start on the house battery bank. The "house" selector still on position 1 continues to be served by the house battery bank. The reverse also works. If the house bank goes dead, I can switch the "house" selector to position 2 and it is now serviced by the engine battery. In any configuration of the source to the house services (DC panel) I can leave the "engine" selector to OFF. I never use the both position on either of the selector switches as I don't see feeding a kaput battery bank with a good battery while trying to work around the problem.

See the attached .pdf file.

The references Stu cites are really good for the fundamentals. You can see a 1-B-2 and On/Off combo that also works. I liked my setup because I can isolate the starter, but its probably not required.

 

[mitiempo]

smokey

All that is needed is a simple on/off battery switch wired between the output of the house switch and the output of the start switch.

If the start battery were to fail switch start off, house and the new switch on. This will allow starting from the house bank without combining the house bank with the start battery.

 

[Maine Sail]

I am in the middle of starting some upgrades and want to install a new smart charger. I currently have a Dytek 30A charger that I believe is original to the boat cir 1993-4.

I want to install a either a Sterling Pro Charge Ultra or ProMariner Pronautic P
40A smart charger. I currently have two 6V AGM Batteries for the House Bank and a 12V FLA for the Starter Battery through a Blue Sea ACR.

1. Will that setup (smart charger) with the AGM House and ACR/FLA Starting Battery be an acceptable (though not necessarily ideal) combination? Should I set the programmable smart charger for the AGM setting for the AGM House and then the ACR will take care of the FLA starting battery?

The AGM batteries are 2009 vintage so I am assuming they are nearing end of life. The boat is on a mooring with a new 40W Kyocera solar panel and MPPT solar controller wired to the house batteries. I need to do a capacity check on the house batteries but when it comes time to replace I'll probably go with four 6V golf cart batteries (from SAMS) rather than replace the AGMs.

2. I have an ON/OFF switch for the House Bank (near the house bank) and a separate ON/OFF switch for the Starter Battery (near the starter battery). I can't find a combination that will let me use the House Bank as an emergency power for starting the engine if I have too except to use jumper cables from the House to the Starting Battery? Any suggestions for how to wire it so I can have that capability?

Any comments, suggestions, corrections of my thinking or input would be appreciated as I want to make a logical upgrade. I figure the dytek won't be around forever and the smart charger is a good investment. I suppose I should get a battery monitor while I'm at it too?

Thanks in advance

I would urge you to pick the voltage settings on your charger that most closely match what the AGM's need regardless or what the dip switch says on it.

The ACR will work fine but you want to match the voltages of the AGM's..

As for the battery switch simply add another ON/OFF. Note where the ON/OFF is connected to the HOUSE & START switches on the LOAD side......

 

[smokey73]

I would urge you to pick the voltage settings on your charger that most closely match what the AGM's need regardless or what the dip switch says on it.

The ACR will work fine but you want to match the voltages of the AGM's..

As for the battery switch simply add another ON/OFF. Note where the ON/OFF is connected to the HOUSE & START switches on the LOAD side......

Thanks Maine, What gauge wire should I use from the House switch to the Emergency Switch and from the Starter Switch to the Emergency Switch? These two switches are a good distance apart (about a 15 feet or so) I could put the Emergency Switch close to one or the other but there is no really good location midpoint.

I'm also assuming that to use the house battery as an emergency source to start the diesel it would be with the Start Switch off and the House Switch on, Emergency Switch on.

I'm also assuming that to use the start battery as an emergency source for the house batter (like to power the VHF radio in an emergency) you would have the House Switch off, Emergency Switch on and Start Switch Off.

That way you don't put a good battery loaded up with a dead or near dead battery.

 

[Maine Sail]

Thanks Maine, What gauge wire should I use from the House switch to the Emergency Switch and from the Starter Switch to the Emergency Switch? These two switches are a good distance apart (about a 15 feet or so) I could put the Emergency Switch close to one or the other but there is no really good location midpoint.

I'm also assuming that to use the house battery as an emergency source to start the diesel it would be with the Start Switch off and the House Switch on, Emergency Switch on.

I'm also assuming that to use the start battery as an emergency source for the house batter (like to power the VHF radio in an emergency) you would have the House Switch off, Emergency Switch on and Start Switch Off.

That way you don't put a good battery loaded up with a dead or near dead battery.

15' between battery switches... D'oh.........

You will want, at a bare minimum, the same size wire you already have but more likely up sized for voltage drop. You're probably looking at 1/0 or larger...

 

[smokey73]

15' between battery switches... D'oh.........

You will want, at a bare minimum, the same size wire you already have but more likely up sized for voltage drop. You're probably looking at 1/0 or larger...

Thanks. The Starter Switch is close to the Starter Battery (below the cabin sole just in front of the Diesel). The House Switch is in the aft lazarette closer to the House Batteries. Correct me if I'm wrong, but since the tie-in of the emergency switch is on the panel side of the House Switch, it would seem that I could tie the line from the House side somewhere near the panel to the Emergency switch. I could put the Emergency Switch near the Starter Switch or the Emergency Switch somewhere on the Panel which would cut the max run to something like 6 feet or so. Still, I think the max size I can get run, like at least 1/0 would be best. It wouldn't get power through that unless it was an emergency to start the engine if the starter battery fails or run an essential load from the starter battery if the house batteries fail.

Its been wired this way since new in 1994 so maybe I just live with it and if I need that kind of emergency capability I do it with one of the portable 12 starter battery kits and keep it ready for use.