I'm looking for a wiring diagram for connecting 3 banks of Batteries together. 1 Starting 2 sets for house & Ice box
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Man you opened a can of worms
There are about 257 different (and equivalent) ways to do it. You could buy a four-way switch and just plumb in the extra bank just like it is done with a 3-way switch You could buy 2 3-way switches and have a madding array of settings to get every thing to charge or discharge as you wanted. I'd not go this route unless you are a born again switch flipper as you will get cough with your pants down eventually Use a set of 2-way switches (the WM answer as it extracts the most $$$ out of the victum) and have a maddening array of settings like above. Use a fancy electronic gismo that does all the thinking for you but requires you to mess with the voltage regulator to compensate for the 0.5 volt drop it subtracts from the charging voltage. ... .. ... ... ... ... Or, and I recommend this one, Just go with 2 banks. If your concern is that the reefer is going to drain your batteries and leave you high and dry in the house battery department then consider this. A bigger bank will be able to discharge more AH before reaching the 50% limit on it's discharge than one of the two smaller house banks. This means the reefer will run longer and if the bank is properly sized to the system you have it WILL get you to the next charge time. You still have the starting battery to run the house stuff and if you use a deep cycle battery for the starter then you have plenty of time to piddle around (batteries always run down at night when all the electrical power is off except the anchor light and reefer) and can start the motor the next morning once everyone is up. My personal preference is just have one bank and a sailors attitude toward battery usage but not everyone wants to do that. If you need help designing the load-storage-charging system drop me a line at roosaw@verizon.net and I can talk specifics. Just adding another bank can cause as many problems as it got rid of. Good luck
There are about 257 different (and equivalent) ways to do it. You could buy a four-way switch and just plumb in the extra bank just like it is done with a 3-way switch You could buy 2 3-way switches and have a madding array of settings to get every thing to charge or discharge as you wanted. I'd not go this route unless you are a born again switch flipper as you will get cough with your pants down eventually Use a set of 2-way switches (the WM answer as it extracts the most $$$ out of the victum) and have a maddening array of settings like above. Use a fancy electronic gismo that does all the thinking for you but requires you to mess with the voltage regulator to compensate for the 0.5 volt drop it subtracts from the charging voltage. ... .. ... ... ... ... Or, and I recommend this one, Just go with 2 banks. If your concern is that the reefer is going to drain your batteries and leave you high and dry in the house battery department then consider this. A bigger bank will be able to discharge more AH before reaching the 50% limit on it's discharge than one of the two smaller house banks. This means the reefer will run longer and if the bank is properly sized to the system you have it WILL get you to the next charge time. You still have the starting battery to run the house stuff and if you use a deep cycle battery for the starter then you have plenty of time to piddle around (batteries always run down at night when all the electrical power is off except the anchor light and reefer) and can start the motor the next morning once everyone is up. My personal preference is just have one bank and a sailors attitude toward battery usage but not everyone wants to do that. If you need help designing the load-storage-charging system drop me a line at roosaw@verizon.net and I can talk specifics. Just adding another bank can cause as many problems as it got rid of. Good luck
batteries
Good morning from the 3 Battery bank guy, we race cruise and condo the boat so I’m looking for the best of worlds on a pauper pay. I like to keep the starting battery separate a 24 frame battery. Then the 2nd set 2 27 frames for house and the 3rd set 2 6 volt golf cart batteries for the refrig only. The racers demand cold beverages don’t you know. Well this system worked well until I lost a cell in one of the 6 volt batteries. And the switches weren’t set right down went all 5 batteries. “Actual I think it discharged them through the alternator loop. What a trip 200 miles left in the Chicago to Mac race with dead batteries. We finally got the engine started by putting the 2 12 volts in series it pumped out about 16 volts. I hate all those switches but really think I need to be able to separate and Isolate that darn starting battery. Just for the reason of what happened to me. Isn’t there an isolator or one way switch that lets the current flow only one way between batteries?
Good morning from the 3 Battery bank guy, we race cruise and condo the boat so I’m looking for the best of worlds on a pauper pay. I like to keep the starting battery separate a 24 frame battery. Then the 2nd set 2 27 frames for house and the 3rd set 2 6 volt golf cart batteries for the refrig only. The racers demand cold beverages don’t you know. Well this system worked well until I lost a cell in one of the 6 volt batteries. And the switches weren’t set right down went all 5 batteries. “Actual I think it discharged them through the alternator loop. What a trip 200 miles left in the Chicago to Mac race with dead batteries. We finally got the engine started by putting the 2 12 volts in series it pumped out about 16 volts. I hate all those switches but really think I need to be able to separate and Isolate that darn starting battery. Just for the reason of what happened to me. Isn’t there an isolator or one way switch that lets the current flow only one way between batteries?
BEP battery Management
I use a BEP battery management distrubution panel to isolate and automatically charge my house and start battery.
I use a BEP battery management distrubution panel to isolate and automatically charge my house and start battery.
Yep, can of worms.
Bill, I could have written your post. I've done the multi-bank routine too. Now I have one. Life is good.
Bill, I could have written your post. I've done the multi-bank routine too. Now I have one. Life is good.
OK 2 banks
Just do the normal setup for a 2 bank arrangement. Then you have a starter battery and the biggest house bank you can get. You problem with one cell shorting out and taking out the rest of the bank is a fact of life for multiple battery banks. Not much you can do about that except check frequently and keep your nose working. The times I have seen a bad cell the volt meter showed it first and then my nose picked it up. The volt meter will begin to "twitch" as the bank tries to keep the shorted cell charged up and the shorted cell goes badder and badder. Your nose picks it up well into the process by picking up that same smell you get when bulk charging. If you catch it early enough you can just slip the negative or positive terminal off the bad battery and continue on.
Just do the normal setup for a 2 bank arrangement. Then you have a starter battery and the biggest house bank you can get. You problem with one cell shorting out and taking out the rest of the bank is a fact of life for multiple battery banks. Not much you can do about that except check frequently and keep your nose working. The times I have seen a bad cell the volt meter showed it first and then my nose picked it up. The volt meter will begin to "twitch" as the bank tries to keep the shorted cell charged up and the shorted cell goes badder and badder. Your nose picks it up well into the process by picking up that same smell you get when bulk charging. If you catch it early enough you can just slip the negative or positive terminal off the bad battery and continue on.
3 Batteries, 2 banks, one boat
Rod, I did what you are trying to do. Two batteries (A & B) wired together to make 12 volts make my first (primary house) bank. One battery (C) solo is my second (primary starting) bank. But (C) is still a deep cycle. Either bank can start motor or run fridge. Two things I did that I think help. First, the charger has three charge post but was orginal setup for two batteries in total. So there was a "jumper wire" combining +2 and +3. (these wires were also run through the selector switch. I ran the wires (#1, 2,& 3) direct from charger to each respective battery. So while on shore power, everybody (A, B, & C) gets juiced! When motoring, I "generally" put selector on "Both" so all batteries get some current. Just remember to switch to your house bank when the motor is off. Second thing, put in a block of ice and turn off the fridge while sailing or at anchor. Along the same lines, we put water bottle in the freezer are while at the dock and as they freeze we move them to the fridge. Unless you're gone for over three days, you can make it. (one last suggestion-pre freeze all the cold items you can.
Rod, I did what you are trying to do. Two batteries (A & B) wired together to make 12 volts make my first (primary house) bank. One battery (C) solo is my second (primary starting) bank. But (C) is still a deep cycle. Either bank can start motor or run fridge. Two things I did that I think help. First, the charger has three charge post but was orginal setup for two batteries in total. So there was a "jumper wire" combining +2 and +3. (these wires were also run through the selector switch. I ran the wires (#1, 2,& 3) direct from charger to each respective battery. So while on shore power, everybody (A, B, & C) gets juiced! When motoring, I "generally" put selector on "Both" so all batteries get some current. Just remember to switch to your house bank when the motor is off. Second thing, put in a block of ice and turn off the fridge while sailing or at anchor. Along the same lines, we put water bottle in the freezer are while at the dock and as they freeze we move them to the fridge. Unless you're gone for over three days, you can make it. (one last suggestion-pre freeze all the cold items you can.
You only need one set for house.
No need to separate the components on the house bank. A bigger bank is more efficient than two smaller banks. Do you feel the need for a backup house bank? Why?
No need to separate the components on the house bank. A bigger bank is more efficient than two smaller banks. Do you feel the need for a backup house bank? Why?
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