I have an 01 420 with factory generator and inverter and don't understand the way the batteries are wired. My previous boats were pretty straight forward with a 1/2/all/off switch to select which batteries were being used or charged. My understanding on the way my 420 was set up was that the house bank and starting batteries were on completely separate circuits so that I could not run down the starter battery using the inverter and dc accessories and the inverter/charger would not charge the house battery, but only the solar trickle charger charged it. I came to this conclusion based only on the experience that when I ran down house batteries, even down to 11 volts, the starter stayed at 12.5 or so. Last weekend, I inadvertently left the blower on all night and ran the house batteries down below 11, but this time the starter battery was also drawn down under 12 and would not start the engine or generator. If they were isolated, it would not have drawn down, if they're not, it should have drawn down every time I use the house batteries, but didn't. Can anyone explain how they're wired? thanks
420 battery wiring questions...
- Thread starter Persy
- Start date
- Status
My 420
My 420 which as I type is running the genset to recharge the house bank, is wired as you sugested. The house bank (2X4d) is seperated from the start battery unless the engine is running. If the engine is running, the house and start batteries are paralleled. Right now I see 14.50 volts on the start batteries (gen set alternator to the start battery) and 14.30 on the start batteries. When the genset runs a little longer the house bank will go to 14.40 or so with a charge of less than 25 amps and I will kill the generator. Bill Bell Boot Key Harbor, trying to get back home to Punta Gorda, Fl.
My 420 which as I type is running the genset to recharge the house bank, is wired as you sugested. The house bank (2X4d) is seperated from the start battery unless the engine is running. If the engine is running, the house and start batteries are paralleled. Right now I see 14.50 volts on the start batteries (gen set alternator to the start battery) and 14.30 on the start batteries. When the genset runs a little longer the house bank will go to 14.40 or so with a charge of less than 25 amps and I will kill the generator. Bill Bell Boot Key Harbor, trying to get back home to Punta Gorda, Fl.
Battery Selector Switch
I would think that you have a battery selector switch or not, my 2007 36 has 2-4D's and no start battery. I also have an inverter and a battery selector switch to use either battery,the switch is 1 or 2 and both. I am still trying to understand and need help with the two circuit breakers under that battery selector switch. Nick
I would think that you have a battery selector switch or not, my 2007 36 has 2-4D's and no start battery. I also have an inverter and a battery selector switch to use either battery,the switch is 1 or 2 and both. I am still trying to understand and need help with the two circuit breakers under that battery selector switch. Nick
Don't get confused
What are the CBs connected to? Perhaps they are the main CB for each circuit? The whole how do I set up my system is just that a system answer. The boat manufacturer did a market analysis and determined that for the boats target audience the cheapest way of keeping them buying there product was xxxxx setup. If you are not in the target audience then you may want to change your setup. That depends on what you want to do differently and how much money you are willing to spend. It depends on what electrical production means (solar, genset, alternator....) you have available and what you think is important to keep charged up and how you wish to accomplish that. That is why there are so many different setups out there. You really have to decide how you want to operate your boat. Typically there are two camps, those that just want the batteries to be charged and don't want to manipulate the system and those who are willing to futz with the system to keep the batteries charged. The first camp will have more money to throw at their system than the second! Inside each camp there are wide variations due to the equipment available to charge the batteries, the battery bank size, and the loads the system sees. There is no one right answer for all boats or even for the same boat used differently. The correct answer is the one that works for you. Start with determining how you use the boat. If you use it in more than one way (day sailing with an occasionally cruse for example) then you need to look at both and decide which one presents the most challenge to the system vs how much you use the boat that way vs how much it would cost to use it that way. If you only use the boat in the most challenging way once a year it might be cheaper to just run the motor a little longer to keep the batteries charged than to, for instance, go buy a $1000 solar panel array. Next determine the AH usage for each cycle. A cycle being a load usage that repeats. For day sailing it could be weekly or bi-weekly, for cruising it would be daily but for a live aboard it could be seasonal. Then determine how you are going to provide the AH production for the cycle. and then determine your battery storage needed to get you from usage to production. The process is replete with "engineering assumptions". Most of these are common sense but if we engineers called them that we would not get paid much so we make it sound complicated. It is not complicated just tedious. Being lazy, I made up a spreadsheet that does all the calculations for you and all you have to do is play around with how you use the loads, the battery bank size, and the means of production. email me at roosaw@verizon.net if you wish a copy.
What are the CBs connected to? Perhaps they are the main CB for each circuit? The whole how do I set up my system is just that a system answer. The boat manufacturer did a market analysis and determined that for the boats target audience the cheapest way of keeping them buying there product was xxxxx setup. If you are not in the target audience then you may want to change your setup. That depends on what you want to do differently and how much money you are willing to spend. It depends on what electrical production means (solar, genset, alternator....) you have available and what you think is important to keep charged up and how you wish to accomplish that. That is why there are so many different setups out there. You really have to decide how you want to operate your boat. Typically there are two camps, those that just want the batteries to be charged and don't want to manipulate the system and those who are willing to futz with the system to keep the batteries charged. The first camp will have more money to throw at their system than the second! Inside each camp there are wide variations due to the equipment available to charge the batteries, the battery bank size, and the loads the system sees. There is no one right answer for all boats or even for the same boat used differently. The correct answer is the one that works for you. Start with determining how you use the boat. If you use it in more than one way (day sailing with an occasionally cruse for example) then you need to look at both and decide which one presents the most challenge to the system vs how much you use the boat that way vs how much it would cost to use it that way. If you only use the boat in the most challenging way once a year it might be cheaper to just run the motor a little longer to keep the batteries charged than to, for instance, go buy a $1000 solar panel array. Next determine the AH usage for each cycle. A cycle being a load usage that repeats. For day sailing it could be weekly or bi-weekly, for cruising it would be daily but for a live aboard it could be seasonal. Then determine how you are going to provide the AH production for the cycle. and then determine your battery storage needed to get you from usage to production. The process is replete with "engineering assumptions". Most of these are common sense but if we engineers called them that we would not get paid much so we make it sound complicated. It is not complicated just tedious. Being lazy, I made up a spreadsheet that does all the calculations for you and all you have to do is play around with how you use the loads, the battery bank size, and the means of production. email me at roosaw@verizon.net if you wish a copy.
battery charging // battery selection switches
Be aware, on the bigger models Hunter is using the “battery selector switch(es)” as battery-REcharge-selectors. On the cb-panel you will find the house-battery-load-selector. when charging all, the starter-battery will be recharged (if selected) through a diode to prevent to be sucked empty by the house-bank. (( Be aware, a bad starter battery can suck the whole house-bank empty through that diode if you don’t disconnect that battery-selector switch.))
Be aware, on the bigger models Hunter is using the “battery selector switch(es)” as battery-REcharge-selectors. On the cb-panel you will find the house-battery-load-selector. when charging all, the starter-battery will be recharged (if selected) through a diode to prevent to be sucked empty by the house-bank. (( Be aware, a bad starter battery can suck the whole house-bank empty through that diode if you don’t disconnect that battery-selector switch.))
- Status