Can anyone guide me through the steps of adding a third battery to my battery bank. I would like to have 2 for the boat and one for starting.
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Pete
batteries
My 336 has three batteries all have a commomn ground that leads to battery switch. The starting battery has an seperate red lead to the battery switch and the two house batteries are connected pos to pos to battery switch.
My 336 has three batteries all have a commomn ground that leads to battery switch. The starting battery has an seperate red lead to the battery switch and the two house batteries are connected pos to pos to battery switch.
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Paul Akers
Why Not...
...just attach them in a series (pos to pos, neg to neg) to make them in a string? Pros/Cons? This is a general question to all.
...just attach them in a series (pos to pos, neg to neg) to make them in a string? Pros/Cons? This is a general question to all.
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Ed Schenck
Paul, that will work. However, . . . .
it doesn't provide the security that most people want. Your configuration would have all the batteries in use all of the time. So there is the danger of draining them all and not having anything left for starting the diesel. I use the two house and one starter setup. Red #4 cable from switch one to battery one. Red #4 cable from switch two to "+" of battery two and on over to battery three. Then I use a West Combiner so that charging from the alternator or Heart catches all three.
it doesn't provide the security that most people want. Your configuration would have all the batteries in use all of the time. So there is the danger of draining them all and not having anything left for starting the diesel. I use the two house and one starter setup. Red #4 cable from switch one to battery one. Red #4 cable from switch two to "+" of battery two and on over to battery three. Then I use a West Combiner so that charging from the alternator or Heart catches all three.
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Paul Akers
Ed, I must clarify.
Ed, I was referring to adding another battery only to the house bank. On my boat, my starting battery is isolated, but I have my house bank "daisy-chained". I was wondering if there was a better way to wire it than the way I have it. Sorry, I didn't mean to confuse the question.
Ed, I was referring to adding another battery only to the house bank. On my boat, my starting battery is isolated, but I have my house bank "daisy-chained". I was wondering if there was a better way to wire it than the way I have it. Sorry, I didn't mean to confuse the question.
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Bryan C.
Parallel vs. Series?
Isn't series hookup pos to neg and results in a higher voltage and same amp hours; and a parallel hookup is pos to pos and results in same voltage and higher amphours? Don't have a diagram in front of me and I could have it mixed up. Jack, based on your quesiton it appears you already have a two bank setup and you want to add another battery to the house bank. That's easy. Paul is right, just hook the new battery to your existing house battery (believe its parallel, pos to pos neg to neg.) Use a heavy grade (sized for the distance between the battery) tinned cable for the hookup. I don't mean to be presumptuous, but your question leads me to believe you have little experience with DC systems. It is very easy to kill batteries rapidly if you don't follow certain operating and maintenance procedures. You will save yourself lots of money if you buy a book on DC electrical systems. Nigel Calder's book: "Boat Owners Mechanical and Electrical Manual" has an excellent discussion on DC battery systems as well as covering all the other major systems on your boat. There are other good books as well. Good luck.
Isn't series hookup pos to neg and results in a higher voltage and same amp hours; and a parallel hookup is pos to pos and results in same voltage and higher amphours? Don't have a diagram in front of me and I could have it mixed up. Jack, based on your quesiton it appears you already have a two bank setup and you want to add another battery to the house bank. That's easy. Paul is right, just hook the new battery to your existing house battery (believe its parallel, pos to pos neg to neg.) Use a heavy grade (sized for the distance between the battery) tinned cable for the hookup. I don't mean to be presumptuous, but your question leads me to believe you have little experience with DC systems. It is very easy to kill batteries rapidly if you don't follow certain operating and maintenance procedures. You will save yourself lots of money if you buy a book on DC electrical systems. Nigel Calder's book: "Boat Owners Mechanical and Electrical Manual" has an excellent discussion on DC battery systems as well as covering all the other major systems on your boat. There are other good books as well. Good luck.
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Paul Akers
NOT positive to negatve
If you go pos to neg to pos...you will, in effect, increase your voltage. In other words, 3 batteries wired that way will give you 36+ volts - a no,no. It's like batteries in a flashlight that are stacked end to end (pos to neg to pos).
If you go pos to neg to pos...you will, in effect, increase your voltage. In other words, 3 batteries wired that way will give you 36+ volts - a no,no. It's like batteries in a flashlight that are stacked end to end (pos to neg to pos).
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Tim
do it like this
battery1 battery3 + - - + + - - + + - - + battery2 - + + - - + + -------- + + + + + + + + + BatterySwitch So, the house batteries are hooked up in parallel, black-to-black and red-to-red, assumming you're using all 12v batteries. Hints: -use a screwdriver that is shorter than the distance between the terminals so it cannot short them. -take off your metal watch band -only connect new, same size, same brand batteries in parallel -always use covered battery boxes securely attached to the floor -only use the heaviest, shortest battery cables. I like the ones at WalMart for lawnmowers. -I like the Exide Nautilus batteries at BJ's wholesale club $50 for 120Ah at decent but not great quality.
battery1 battery3 + - - + + - - + + - - + battery2 - + + - - + + -------- + + + + + + + + + BatterySwitch So, the house batteries are hooked up in parallel, black-to-black and red-to-red, assumming you're using all 12v batteries. Hints: -use a screwdriver that is shorter than the distance between the terminals so it cannot short them. -take off your metal watch band -only connect new, same size, same brand batteries in parallel -always use covered battery boxes securely attached to the floor -only use the heaviest, shortest battery cables. I like the ones at WalMart for lawnmowers. -I like the Exide Nautilus batteries at BJ's wholesale club $50 for 120Ah at decent but not great quality.
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Tim
hmmm.
That was disapointing; all the spaces between my +'s and -'s got removed in the last message.
That was disapointing; all the spaces between my +'s and -'s got removed in the last message.
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Pete
Add an additional battery switch
I recently added a third battery primarily for starting. I did this by adding another switch by running the output from the old switch to the new switch as battery #2 and the red pos cable from the new batery to the new switch as battery #1. Then ran the output from the new switch to motor.
I recently added a third battery primarily for starting. I did this by adding another switch by running the output from the old switch to the new switch as battery #2 and the red pos cable from the new batery to the new switch as battery #1. Then ran the output from the new switch to motor.
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