new mulitbank battery charger experiences

LydieBP

LydieBP

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May 2, 2020
28
Westerly Conway MKII 36 Indian Rocks Beach
Hello fellow sailors, My just acquired ketch has an old burned out xantrex multistage battery charger, I need to replace. I've been considering several different brands, Noco and Victron in particular. I need 3 banks, 12v, 40Amps. Has anyone had good experiences with these brands or another? Thanks for any suggestions.
 
D

dlochner

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Jan 11, 2014
12,426
Sabre 362 113 Fair Haven, NY
Victron, Sterling/ProMariner, Mastervolt are all well respected marine battery chargers.

Bear in mind, a multi bank charger only divides the total capacity of the charger across all the banks. In other words, if all three banks need charging, then the charger will provide 40a/3 amps or a bit more than 13 amps to each bank. Depending on how large the banks are, how they are configured, and the type of battery that may or may not be an adequate charging protocol.

This might be a good time to consider how you will use your boat and the battery needs and the kinds of charging your batteries in the future will need and take that into account as you consider different chargers. The ability to charge LiFePO4 batteries and to set custom charging profiles would be high on my list of desirable characteristics.
 
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Davidasailor26

Davidasailor26

.
May 17, 2004
5,473
Beneteau Oceanis 37 Havre de Grace
dlochner said:
Bear in mind, a multi bank charger only divides the total capacity of the charger across all the banks. In other words, if all three banks need charging, then the charger will provide 40a/3 amps or a bit more than 13 amps to each bank. Depending on how large the banks are, how they are configured, and the type of battery that may or may not be an adequate charging protocol.
Click to expand
Just to be clear, it’s the total output that’s limited, not the output per bank. If you have a starter bank, thruster bank, and house bank where only the house bank is discharged then all 3 banks will be held at absorption voltage but the house bank will be the one taking almost all of the current.
 
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LydieBP

LydieBP

.
May 2, 2020
28
Westerly Conway MKII 36 Indian Rocks Beach
Thanks everyone for the input. There seven batteries in the boat, 4 together regular lead acid, 2 together AGM, and one lead acid house battery which the PO left disconnected because he said he didn't use , need it. There are two 6AWG cables that plug into a charger. Again, the PO said he didn't use it and left it unplugged under a pile of spares bits and whatnots.
 
Davidasailor26

Davidasailor26

.
May 17, 2004
5,473
Beneteau Oceanis 37 Havre de Grace
Do you have a sense for the state of health of each of the batteries? Having both Flooded Lead Acid and AGM, even with a multi-bank charger, is not optimal. Also having one battery disconnected and then trying to bring it back into the bank could lead to imbalances that aren't great for the health of all of the batteries. And with 5 FLA and 2 AGM there's no great way to set up a start bank and house bank without mixing FLA with AGM on the same bank, which is especially inelegant.
 
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DArcy

DArcy

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Feb 11, 2017
1,756
Islander Freeport 36 Ottawa
I have the same setup as @jssailem, Sterling Pro charging the house bank and an ACR charging the start battery from there. The benefit of this setup is that all charge sources charge both banks. If you go with the multi-bank charger then you need another means of charging both banks when charging from the engine alternator, solar, wind, generator...

I have charging from 3 sources: shore power AC charger, solar, engine alternator. All of these charge both the house and starter batteries.

If you have different chemistry in the house and starter banks you would be better off with a DC to DC charger instead of an ACR between the battery banks.
 
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Davidasailor26

Davidasailor26

.
May 17, 2004
5,473
Beneteau Oceanis 37 Havre de Grace
There’s nothing terribly wrong with that setup, but it might not be optimal depending on what you want. The alternator will only charge the house bank when the 1-2-B switch is set to Both. Also you don’t need a specifically dual battery solar controller to charge the two house batteries. You can just charge them as one bank of parallel batteries.
 
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J

jdrutten

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Mar 27, 2021
170
Hunter 306 Lake Pepin
twodzusfittings said:
Would this set up, without a AC charger, be correct?
Click to expand
If you put the alternator in parallel with the starter you can charge either/both batteries. Also, this would be a good time to consider an ACR as mentioned above. I'm happy to contribute the second marinehowto.com suggestion in this thread, which covers this arrangement as well as several others: 1/2/BOTH Switch Considerations
 
JamesG161

JamesG161

SBO Weather and Forecasting Forum Jim & John
Feb 14, 2014
7,728
Hunter 430 Waveland, MS
I would explore this before I began...

Why did the Xantrex BURN UP?

My New Xantrex is wired like your diagram and is fantastic.

Jim....
 
L

LloydB

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Jan 15, 2006
905
Macgregor 22 Silverton
Remove the unused battery from the boat and make sure that the disconnected cables cannot short out to anything. Get a VOM meter and make sure that the wiring goes where you think it does. Decide how you are going to use the boat because if it is always plugged into shore power between weekends don't just set sail for Hawaii on a whim.
 
Davidasailor26

Davidasailor26

.
May 17, 2004
5,473
Beneteau Oceanis 37 Havre de Grace
twodzusfittings said:
@Davidasailor26 You mean line this:
View attachment 223002
Click to expand
That’s not what I had in mind. It would let the start battery get charged by the MPPT, but that wouldn’t be a priority for me, especially if you have a dual bank shore charger anyway. I’d probably run the alternator to the house bank so it’s always getting charged, and replace the 1-2-B switch with an ACR.

Also I hope it’s just left off the diagram for simplicity, but you’ll need fuses on all the positive battery cables within 7” of the terminals.
 
DArcy

DArcy

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Feb 11, 2017
1,756
Islander Freeport 36 Ottawa
Here is the DC distribution wiring diagram I drew up for my boat. I kept the 1/2/Both switch to allow starting from the House bank and running house loads from the Starter bank if necessary. For normal operation the switch is in the 1 position and there is a separate switch for the starter. The Starter bank is automatically charged when the ACR detects a charge voltage on the House bank from any of the sources.

I made a separate Always On bus for the charge sources and the fridge. I think it would be a good idea to add a switch between the house bank and the Always On bus but I haven't done this yet. If there was a problem with the house bank this would allow normal operation, with limited capacity, by switching the 1/2/B switch to 2 and disconnecting the House bank. I have good access to the House bank so removing a cable is fairly easy, but not ideal.

DC Wiring Diagram.jpg
 
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D

dlochner

.
Jan 11, 2014
12,426
Sabre 362 113 Fair Haven, NY
DArcy said:
Here is the DC distribution wiring diagram I drew up for my boat. I kept the 1/2/Both switch to allow starting from the House bank and running house loads from the Starter bank if necessary. For normal operation the switch is in the 1 position and there is a separate switch for the starter. The Starter bank is automatically charged when the ACR detects a charge voltage on the House bank from any of the sources.

I made a separate Always On bus for the charge sources and the fridge. I think it would be a good idea to add a switch between the house bank and the Always On bus but I haven't done this yet. If there was a problem with the house bank this would allow normal operation, with limited capacity, by switching the 1/2/B switch to 2 and disconnecting the House bank. I have good access to the House bank so removing a cable is fairly easy, but not ideal.

View attachment 223003
Click to expand
Do you have a switch on the house battery output? As it is drawn it is not possible to isolate the house bank yet allow the essential devices to run off the start/reserve battery.
 
DArcy

DArcy

.
Feb 11, 2017
1,756
Islander Freeport 36 Ottawa
dlochner said:
Do you have a switch on the house battery output? As it is drawn it is not possible to isolate the house bank yet allow the essential devices to run off the start/reserve battery.
Click to expand
No I don't have a switch on the House bank. That's what I was saying here:
DArcy said:
I think it would be a good idea to add a switch between the house bank and the Always On bus but I haven't done this yet.
Click to expand
I would have to disconnect the cable from the battery to isolate it.
 
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