Balmar battery monitor and ACR

Jan 25, 2011
2,436
S2 11.0A Anacortes, WA
I am replacing all batts this spring. House bank is four 6V in one bank. Reserve (start) is one 12V fed from the house bank via an ACR. All FLA and will stay that way. I was also considering installing the monitor since the batts will be new. However, I'm failing to understand how it would work with reserve batt switching in and out via the ACR. So far, I’m talking myself out of the monitor. Any experience here with this?
 
Jan 11, 2014
12,779
Sabre 362 113 Fair Haven, NY
I assume you are talking about an SG200 from Balmar. A good battery monitor is key to understanding how your electrical system is working.

If you haven't reviewed the two articles below, I encourage you to read them. They will help you understand your system.

Where does the alternator output go? To get the most out of the ACR the alternator and charger output should go to the house bank with the start battery being charged via the ACR.

Start batteries get very light use. While there is a lot of current being drawn when starting, it is for a very short time. Typically less than 1 ah is used. For that reason they are recharged quickly. It is nice to monitor them, but not essential.

The house battery is a different story. This is the main source of electricity for the boat and it can get drawn down to low levels. Knowing how close to 50% SOC the battery is, will help you preserve the life of the battery. In addition to the articles linked below, there are other articles on batteries and charging worth reading on the MarineHowTo.com site.



 
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Jan 25, 2011
2,436
S2 11.0A Anacortes, WA
Dave, it is wired as you state. Yes, talking about the sg 200. When the ACR is connecting the house and start, it will see the capacity of both the house bank and starting. When the voltage drops, the ACR will disconnect. And the sg200 will only see the house bank. How would the sg 200 know the difference. The batt bank can keep changing sizes….
 
Feb 26, 2004
23,004
Catalina 34 224 Maple Bay, BC, Canada
The same could be said to be true of paralleled banks with coulomb counters. I've had my Link 2000 in for 20 years and never gave it a thought. When charging, the reserve or start bank uses little takes less, no appreciable impact on charge measures.
 
Jan 11, 2014
12,779
Sabre 362 113 Fair Haven, NY
Dave, it is wired as you state. Yes, talking about the sg 200. When the ACR is connecting the house and start, it will see the capacity of both the house bank and starting. When the voltage drops, the ACR will disconnect. And the sg200 will only see the house bank. How would the sg 200 know the difference. The batt bank can keep changing sizes….
The SG 200 uses the Smart Shunt which measures current entering and leaving the house bank. The voltage is measured directly at the house battery terminal. It won't be affected by the Start Battery. You won't know the SOC for the start/reserve battery, that's not a big issue because it will seldom be discharged and when used for starting, it will be returned to 100% within minutes of starting the engine.

If the monitor measured the voltage at the alternator, you might see a difference when the ACR was open. But that would be negligible.

Let me rephrase your question a bit. What does the monitor read when there is both a load and charging source on the battery? (in your question the load would be charging the starting battery). The monitor reads how many amps are going into the battery. For example, when running my refrigeration will draw ~28 amps. When no charging source (alternator, solar, or charger) the monitor reads -28 amps. If there 10 amps of the solar is available, then the monitor reads -18 amps, because that is how much the battery is contributing to running the refrigeration. The same happens when I use battery charger (50 amp), it will supply the power to refrigerator with any extra power going to the battery if it needs it, thus the charger may be putting out the full 50 amps, the refer comes on and the monitor shows the current going into the battery dropping from 50 amps to 22 amps.

Remember an ACR only closes the circuit when a charging voltage is present, when there is no charging voltage the circuit stays open and the 2 battery banks are isolated. The charging source doesn't differentiate between a device consuming electricity and a battery needing a charge. A battery needing a charge is simply another device on the circuit that is consuming electricity.

You'll be fine with the ACR and the SmartGuage, in fact you will be better off than you are now. The two essentials are having all charge sources going to the house bank, and the shunt must be the last thing on the negative side of the circuit, i.e., only the shut is connected to the negative terminal. (Temp sensors don't count)
 

jssailem

SBO Weather and Forecasting Forum Jim & John
Oct 22, 2014
22,877
CAL 35 Cruiser #21 moored EVERETT WA
Mark.
Dave (@dlochner ) nailed the details of the 2 banks and the SG200.
I am installing an SG200 in the exact same way. I have had the Victron monitor 702 for the the past 5 years. It was better than many of the counters available at the time, but in my reading the SG200 has improved on the tech and by now worked out the bugs.

If you are going with FLA replacements, check out the factory store for DYNO batteries located in Seattle near Fisherman's terminal.
I have had a great performance using their Deep Cycle - 30TMX battery. Last I purchased were a smidge over $150 for a 12 volt 135 AmpHr battery.
 
Jan 25, 2011
2,436
S2 11.0A Anacortes, WA
Ur
Mark.
Dave (@dlochner ) nailed the details of the 2 banks and the SG200.
I am installing an SG200 in the exact same way. I have had the Victron monitor 702 for the the past 5 years. It was better than many of the counters available at the time, but in my reading the SG200 has improved on the tech and by now worked out the bugs.

If you are going with FLA replacements, check out the factory store for DYNO batteries located in Seattle near Fisherman's terminal.
I have had a great performance using their Deep Cycle - 30TMX battery. Last I purchased were a smidge over $150 for a 12 volt 135 AmpHr battery.
 
Jan 11, 2014
12,779
Sabre 362 113 Fair Haven, NY
Mark.
Dave (@dlochner ) nailed the details of the 2 banks and the SG200.
I am installing an SG200 in the exact same way. I have had the Victron monitor 702 for the the past 5 years. It was better than many of the counters available at the time, but in my reading the SG200 has improved on the tech and by now worked out the bugs.

If you are going with FLA replacements, check out the factory store for DYNO batteries located in Seattle near Fisherman's terminal.
I have had a great performance using their Deep Cycle - 30TMX battery. Last I purchased were a smidge over $150 for a 12 volt 135 AmpHr battery.
Dyno batteries has a good reputation. Even some of us on the right coast have heard of them.
 
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Jan 25, 2011
2,436
S2 11.0A Anacortes, WA
Thanks all for the discussion. It’s a bit clearer now. John, I been buying Dynos for better part of 40 hrs!!
 
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jssailem

SBO Weather and Forecasting Forum Jim & John
Oct 22, 2014
22,877
CAL 35 Cruiser #21 moored EVERETT WA
Oh,,, should have read the next post... :biggrin:

So your an old guy...:poke: