Another battery bank

[Randy R]

I am thinking I will need more battery capacity, my thoughts are to add another house bank and a selector switch to allow isolation of new and old battery banks. My question is on charging the new bank. I don't want to ditch the ProMar digital charging system I have. My thoughts are to add a single bank charger for the second house bank for dock side and under engine I could select the bank to be charged.

Alternate is solar ot batteries and solar.

We love using freezer/fridge and watching a movie when on the hook.

I just need a sanity check or other path to achieve two banks with two batteries each.

 

[Justin_NSA]

Take a look at Mainsail's setup. It's how I did mine. Rather than use the selector switch to determine which banks to charge, both banks are always on the charger and the selector determines which bank(s) are connected to systems.

 

[Stu Jackson]

Make it all one big bank, don't split a house bank. Here's why:

Largest House Bank 101 (by Nigel Calder)

http://c34.org/bbs/index.php/topic,5807.msg45046.html#msg45046

and Maine Sail's excellent writeup: https://forums.sailboatowners.com/i...-vs-one-house-bank.184137/&highlight=windlass

 

[Stu Jackson]

Take a look at Mainsail's setup.

Here they are:

OEM 1-2-B Switch Wiring History http://c34.org/bbs/index.php/topic,4949.msg30101.html#msg30101

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

This is a newer primer for boat system wiring design with a thorough digram: Building a Good Foundation (October 2016)
http://forums.sailboatowners.com/in...dc-electrical-foundation.181929/#post-1332240

The Short Version of the 1-2-B Switch Stuff: http://c34.org/bbs/index.php/topic,5977.msg38552.html#msg38552 This is a link to the Electrical Systems 101 Topic, reply #2

What are ACRs, Combiners & Echo Chargers? (by Maine Sail) [scroll to the top]
http://forums.catalina.sailboatowners.com/showthread.php?p=742417 and http://c34.org/bbs/index.php/topic,9404.msg70131.html#msg70131

Making Sense of Automatic Charging Relays (2019)
https://marinehowto.com/automatic-charging-relays/

 

[Stu Jackson]

Those links come from:

Electrical Systems 101 http://c34.org/bbs/index.php/topic,5977.0.html

 

[Randy R]

Stu, my concern is I have two good batteries and am concerned about mixing new with old batteries. If the batteries would die on one of my other boats I could move the old and install 4 new batteries.

Opinions on mixing new and not new batteries of like capacity, I have Duracell 105 amp now and would replace with the same and place a fuse between new and old.

 

[Gunni]

Whatever you think you are saving by using two worn batteries will be consumed by the labor and materials to rig up a two-bank house...and eventually you will want to simplify to a single house bank. Pull the two worn batteries and sell them, get 4 fresh.

 

[Randy R]

Good point, I might move the old to a comper that needs batteries, that is another project I have on my list.
Relaxing on retirement every fifth Thursday of the month.