I just purchased a Beneteau Oceanis 400. I plan to be a live aboard although I am not moving on for another couple of months. I am confused with how to deal with the batteries and shore power. Currently I am connected to shore power, I understand that I have to put the AC circit power switch to on. My question is about the battery. I have 2 batteries. I have a battery selected with the selection of off (never while boat is running), 1, 2 or both. There are three handles below to turn the batteries on. While on shore power do I leave the batteries on, the battery selector to both, and should I always leave the charger on the circut panel on? I think from what I am reading in the Beneteau guide the charger is automatic. Tonight I decided it was best to shut everything down. I did not want to drain the battery. Thanks in advance for the help and advise. And yes I already know moving on to my boat in the middle of winter in NY is crazy, but that is when my lease is up on my apartment.
Battery/Charger Question
- Thread starter ChrisNJ
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Not a beneteau's are wired the same or have the same charger, especially if the previous owners made some changes. On my 2003 B393 I have only the 2 red battery switches and a black one for ground. I leave them on all of the time, except when sailing. One switch is for the positive side of the starter battery, the other is for the house batteries (I have 2 house batteries wired in parallel, so they act as one large battery for charging purposes).
I leave the AC (shore power) switch on, only when connected to shore power of course. On my boat, I can also set AC on via another set of switches for my generator. But not all boats have a generator.
I do not have the 1,2,both,off switch since that would be redundant with the 2 red switches for starter and house batteries. I don't know why you have this switch. With shore power AC switched on, and the 2 battery bank switches set to on, both battery banks are automatically charged.
You might want to see if you have some documentation about the wiring situation on your boat, or trace the wires yourself. Otherwise, we would just be guessing how to help you.
I leave the AC (shore power) switch on, only when connected to shore power of course. On my boat, I can also set AC on via another set of switches for my generator. But not all boats have a generator.
I do not have the 1,2,both,off switch since that would be redundant with the 2 red switches for starter and house batteries. I don't know why you have this switch. With shore power AC switched on, and the 2 battery bank switches set to on, both battery banks are automatically charged.
You might want to see if you have some documentation about the wiring situation on your boat, or trace the wires yourself. Otherwise, we would just be guessing how to help you.
Chris, I had trouble with this on my 1998 B352. There is a difference between the two batteries - one is a starter and the other should be house battery. The starter is on the part side of panel over the engine on my boat. You need to be fairly active managing the use of the battery bank. You should be using (or charging) one or the other, but not both. When I am plugged in on shore I always have the house battery on with the charger on it (due to fridge and other stuff being on). Before I leave I switch off the house and onto the starter. Start the engine, run the engine for a while to recharge it, up the sails, shut off engine and switch to house and sail around for a while. The house battery is used to run everything and our starter is saved for starting the engine later. When going in, I switch from house to starter and start the engine - back to the barn!
The important thing to note is that you have two different types of batteries on your boat - they do not operate or charge well in parallel. I fried by starter battery because it was being over charged with the house batteries. If I were you, investigate the state of your battery charge on how your charger is wired. But run your house and starter batteries indepentetly of each other. Don't run them parallel, that's a big mistake from my experience. The manual does not explain this very well, if at all.
Murray
The important thing to note is that you have two different types of batteries on your boat - they do not operate or charge well in parallel. I fried by starter battery because it was being over charged with the house batteries. If I were you, investigate the state of your battery charge on how your charger is wired. But run your house and starter batteries indepentetly of each other. Don't run them parallel, that's a big mistake from my experience. The manual does not explain this very well, if at all.
Murray
Generally, the charger will work even if the battery positives are switched off. The charger has separate leads that run to each battery. The positive switches only serve the purpose of putting the batteries "on line" in the 12 volt system.
It may depend somewhat on the brand of charger on the boat. The Xantrex on my boat functions as a trickle charger when the batteries are fully charged, so I generally shut the battery switches off. The bilge pump is wired direct so that circuit stays "live" at all times.
It may depend somewhat on the brand of charger on the boat. The Xantrex on my boat functions as a trickle charger when the batteries are fully charged, so I generally shut the battery switches off. The bilge pump is wired direct so that circuit stays "live" at all times.
Keep it simple and let your equipment manage things for you. Since you have a number of devices (fridge, lights, pumps, etc) that work on 12DC you should keep the AC, battery charger and battery switches all turned on. Unless your start battery is a different type (AGM or gel vs wet cell) from your house bank then the charger will keep both sets of batteries topped off. If they're wet cells check the water levels on a regular basis or they can dry up and cook on you. BTW you should never start the engine with the battery charger turned on. Doing so risks smoking your charger. I'm on my 4th Benny and haven't had any issues doing it this way with any of them.
I agree with Paul, the 1/2/all/off switch is not really needed if you have the standard switches as you note. In fact, they do the same function, but one could override the function of the other unless there's alot more to it than we know about the OEM setup and any changes. It does sound like you need to trace wire and make a diagram. Also agree with Mike, do not run the engine with the battery charger on. You only need one battery on when on shore power and charger. The charger is providing the juice to run your fridge while you're gone.
To answer your question, when on shore power leave one of the batteries off. Even if both OEM switches are off, the batteries will charge- there will just be no juice to power anything. It is not the best idea to have two batteries in parallel when charging since if one goes bad, it can drain the other. (There's another thread on this happening.)
WHETHER OR NOT YOU LEAVE THE CHARGER ON DEPENDS ON IF YOU'RE POWERING SOMETHING WITH 12 VOLTS. IF YOU WILL LIVE ABOARD, YOU SHOULD GET SOME 110-VOLT LIGHTS. Some chargers have a switch to bypass the charging mode and put out a constant (13.5?) volts to power your boat's gear.
To answer your question, when on shore power leave one of the batteries off. Even if both OEM switches are off, the batteries will charge- there will just be no juice to power anything. It is not the best idea to have two batteries in parallel when charging since if one goes bad, it can drain the other. (There's another thread on this happening.)
WHETHER OR NOT YOU LEAVE THE CHARGER ON DEPENDS ON IF YOU'RE POWERING SOMETHING WITH 12 VOLTS. IF YOU WILL LIVE ABOARD, YOU SHOULD GET SOME 110-VOLT LIGHTS. Some chargers have a switch to bypass the charging mode and put out a constant (13.5?) volts to power your boat's gear.
Thank you
Thank you all for your advise...it is great to have someone to ask these questions.
Chris
Thank you all for your advise...it is great to have someone to ask these questions.
Chris
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