New Battery Installation

May 2, 2012
276
Catalina 310 Toronto, Ontario
Well my batteries finally FRIED. 8 yrs old. I have a Charles which I think I should replace when I get new Trojan 105's. Is this Pro Mariner Pro Nautic 1250 12 Volt 50 Amp 3 Bank Charger a good replacement? When it stipulates 3 Banks does that mean 3 batteries?
I will be installing 4 of the Trojans. If anyone here has photo & diagram of installation it would be much appreciated. Wire size gauges would help also. I'll be putting this together over the winter on the hard.
Cheers
2 Old Pirates
 

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Feb 26, 2004
22,760
Catalina 34 224 Maple Bay, BC, Canada
When it stipulates 3 Banks does that mean 3 batteries?
Not necessarily. A bank of batteries can be one or more individual batteries. In your case, you most likely will put the golf carts into as large a bank as you can, have a separate reserve bank (individual single battery in this case), and a VSR - voltage sensitive relay) to automatically parallel the two banks when charging sources are present. This is covered in Maine Sail's discussion of the charger:

Wiring a new charger From Maine Sail:

http://forums.sailboatowners.com/in...ation-tips-considerations.136765/#post-880275 and

http://www.pbase.com/mainecruising/installing_a_marine_battery_charger
 
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Likes: LeslieTroyer
May 20, 2016
3,014
Catalina 36 MK1 94 Everett, WA
A bank can be one or more batteries. I got the Sterling from @Maine Sail . It’s the same as the pro Mariner. I only charge the house and let ACR’s handle the other two banks. This way I’m not running extra wire and the system charges consistently regardless of being on the alternator, shore power charger, wind, solar........

Les
 
Aug 29, 2016
131
Catalina 2004 310 (Hull #250) BC
Here are photos of my four Trojan T105's (2 banks with 2 batteries hooked up in series for each bank). The Promariner model is a 30A one but I'm just coastal cruising and can easily plug in most times. I changed the location from where the original Charles dumdum charger was in the port lazarette locker, to an area under the sink - it stays cool and dry there. Main Sail had commented that a drip collar would be a good idea. My AWG sizes would be different than your 50A model, but I will say that it is a much much shorter run to the batteries in the newer location.
 

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Ward H

.
Nov 7, 2011
3,645
Catalina 30 Mk II Barnegat, NJ
Not necessarily. A bank of batteries can be one or more individual batteries. In your case, you most likely will put the golf carts into as large a bank as you can, have a separate reserve bank (individual single battery in this case), and a VSR - voltage sensitive relay) to automatically parallel the two banks when charging sources are present. This is covered in Maine Sail's discussion of the charger:

Wiring a new charger From Maine Sail:

http://forums.sailboatowners.com/in...ation-tips-considerations.136765/#post-880275 and

http://www.pbase.com/mainecruising/installing_a_marine_battery_charger
This! Read both of the articles @Stu Jackson is suggesting. I would say Stu's links but he needs to update the second link to this. https://marinehowto.com/installing-a-marine-battery-charger/

These articles will answer all your questions but in short, the ProMariner charger has 3 output posts but they are connected internally. According to Maine Sail most chargers do.
MS recommends wiring for one large house bank (Bat switch 1) and one "reserve" bank (Bat switch 2) of one battery. The ACR @LeslieTroyer mentions is connected between the two banks. When the house bank is fully charged the ACR then connects the charging source to the reserve bank.
The purpose of connecting this way is if you accidentally drain the house bank, you always have the reserve battery ready to start the motor.
Buy the charger and ACR from Maine Sail and you get great customer service and support.

PS: While your on the marinehowto.com website, read all the articles in the electrical category. A lot of knowledge there that will help you understand and set up your new bank and charger.
 
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Nov 16, 2012
1,037
Catalina 310, 2000, #31 31 Santa Cruz
Well my batteries finally FRIED. 8 yrs old. I have a Charles which I think I should replace when I get new Trojan 105's. Is this Pro Mariner Pro Nautic 1250 12 Volt 50 Amp 3 Bank Charger a good replacement? When it stipulates 3 Banks does that mean 3 batteries?
I will be installing 4 of the Trojans. If anyone here has photo & diagram of installation it would be much appreciated. Wire size gauges would help also. I'll be putting this together over the winter on the hard.
Cheers
2 Old Pirates
Here's a PDF of my wiring diagram (charger is no a 50A version) and some pictures of the installation in the battery area. I also installed a new panel at the nav station, with real breakers. I'm happy to answer any questions you've got about it. We're very happy with how it turned out. Maine Sail and others here were extremely helpful with advice and ideas.

Final Battery.jpeg IMG_1088.JPG IMG_1080.JPG IMG_1074.JPG IMG_0905.JPG IMG_0911.JPG
 

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Likes: Ward H
Nov 16, 2012
1,037
Catalina 310, 2000, #31 31 Santa Cruz
Well my batteries finally FRIED. 8 yrs old. I have a Charles which I think I should replace when I get new Trojan 105's. Is this Pro Mariner Pro Nautic 1250 12 Volt 50 Amp 3 Bank Charger a good replacement? When it stipulates 3 Banks does that mean 3 batteries?
I will be installing 4 of the Trojans. If anyone here has photo & diagram of installation it would be much appreciated. Wire size gauges would help also. I'll be putting this together over the winter on the hard.
Cheers
2 Old Pirates
Either the ProNautic or Sterling charger is an excellent choice. I was a little confused about the terms they use (each uses different words for the identical mode), especially the BC and PS modes, so I put together this description of how they work, based on information here and talking to Sterling tech support:

Assuming the battery starts at 50% SOC and the charger is in Flooded (Preset 1) profile.

Stage 1 (Fast, Bulk, Charging). Constant, (max) amps; voltage is based on battery resistance (low R for 50% SOC), and slowly rises (as SOC increases to 80-90% and battery resistance increases) until it reaches Absorption/Conditioning/High value of 14.8V. Now it switches to:

Stage 2 (Absorption, Condition, High). Constant V of 14.8V. Amps decrease as battery resistance continues to increase, and SOC rises. At some point the unit decides that the SOC is about 98% (based on time and amps?) and it switches to:

Stage 3 (Float, Auto Maintain). Constant V of 13.6V. Amps as required.

After some time, if in BC mode, it switches to standby, turns off charge and monitors the battery voltage. If it drops to the Maintenance voltage, 12.8 V, the unit switches back to Absorption (Stage 2).

In PS mode the unit should stay in Stage 3. If DC load goes up (frig, bilge pump, etc.) the unit will supply enough current to cover the load.
 
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Likes: Ward H
Feb 26, 2004
22,760
Catalina 34 224 Maple Bay, BC, Canada
When the house bank is fully charged the ACR then connects the charging source to the reserve bank.
Ward, thanks, I changed the link to the newer one in Elec Sys 101.

Not quite, the relay closes when charging voltage is sensed. It has no way to know when the house bank is full. See:

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
 
Nov 16, 2012
1,037
Catalina 310, 2000, #31 31 Santa Cruz
Nov 18, 2010
2,441
Catalina 310 Hingham, MA
Here are photos of my four Trojan T105's (2 banks with 2 batteries hooked up in series for each bank). The Promariner model is a 30A one but I'm just coastal cruising and can easily plug in most times. I changed the location from where the original Charles dumdum charger was in the port lazarette locker, to an area under the sink - it stays cool and dry there. Main Sail had commented that a drip collar would be a good idea. My AWG sizes would be different than your 50A model, but I will say that it is a much much shorter run to the batteries in the newer location.
Hey Bernie,

I would suggest you take a look at MaineSail's article on battery orientation. It appears you batteries are not correctly orientated and you might lessen your battery life.

Good luck and fair winds,

Jesse
 
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Likes: BC Bernie
Feb 6, 1998
11,665
Canadian Sailcraft 36T Casco Bay, ME
The SI version only disconnects if you wire the SI to the starter solenoid. I didn't do that the first installation I did, but did on the second. I'm really happy now that my chart plotter doesn't reboot every time I start the engine.
Guys,

Please be aware that if all you have a 1/2/BOTH switch the SI (start isolation) feature adds no benefit. For SI to work you would need a dedicated start battery with it's own battery switch. I've seen a number of DIY's wire SI when using a 1/2/BOTH thus not fully comprehending what it actually does.
 
Nov 18, 2010
2,441
Catalina 310 Hingham, MA
Well my batteries finally FRIED. 8 yrs old. I have a Charles which I think I should replace when I get new Trojan 105's.
Good decision!
Is this Pro Mariner Pro Nautic 1250 12 Volt 50 Amp 3 Bank Charger a good replacement? When it stipulates 3 Banks does that mean 3 batteries?
As others have said, the 3 banks means 3 banks not batteries. So you could charge a house bank, starting bank and windlass bank from the charger (3 separate leads, one for each bank). Each bank could be one or more batteries.

Personally I think the 50 amp is undersized. In his article on installing a marine battery charger, MaineSail recommends a minimum of 10% of Ah capacity. So T-105s have a capacity of 225 Ah. Putting them in series means you will have a total capacity of 450 Ah (weather in two banks or one). A 50 amp charger will be just 10%. The 60 amp charger would be a better choice and only costs $75 more.

I will be installing 4 of the Trojans. If anyone here has photo & diagram of installation it would be much appreciated. Wire size gauges would help also. I'll be putting this together over the winter on the hard.
Cheers
2 Old Pirates
I like Rob's wiring diagram if you want to go with a starting battery. I didn't. I have a large primary bank and a reserve bank. You can get my layout from some previous blog posts I did, like this one. I have changed my setup to get proper orientation on all my golf cart batteries (now Trojan T-105 REs). To do this I have an AGM as the reserve so I don't have to worry about orientation.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Good luck and fair winds,

Jesse
 
Nov 16, 2012
1,037
Catalina 310, 2000, #31 31 Santa Cruz
Guys,

Please be aware that if all you have a 1/2/BOTH switch the SI (start isolation) feature adds no benefit. For SI to work you would need a dedicated start battery with it's own battery switch. I've seen a number of DIY's wire SI when using a 1/2/BOTH thus not fully comprehending what it actually does.
Thanks for clarifying that. I sort of cheated; kept the 1/2/Both switch and added a Blue Sea 6006 300A mini-switch on the dedicated start battery. It adds a little bit of complexity, but more options for which battery powers what. Not having the chart plotter rebooting all the time is a great feature.