I am combining my two present batteries into one house bank (by connecting the positives). If I connect something to one of these batteries, will this connect it equally to the other? For instance, can I connect the charger directly to just one battery, or do I have to connect it directly to both of them?
wiring question
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Get some help
No offense intended, but by your question it seems you don't know much about electricity in general, and big batteries in particular. You could get hurt, burn the boat down, etc.
That said, it's not a good idea to connect batteries of dissimilar type, capacity, age or use together into one bank - even batteries that are exactly the same except for age or use history.
Second, you don't say what kind of ground or negative bus you have - so answering whether you can do so by simply "connecting positives" is not possible.
No offense intended, but by your question it seems you don't know much about electricity in general, and big batteries in particular. You could get hurt, burn the boat down, etc.
That said, it's not a good idea to connect batteries of dissimilar type, capacity, age or use together into one bank - even batteries that are exactly the same except for age or use history.
Second, you don't say what kind of ground or negative bus you have - so answering whether you can do so by simply "connecting positives" is not possible.
Connections matter for current sharing!
For excellent current sharing of batteries in parallel, you need to keep the wire distances equal.
Jumper positive(+) of battery1 to positive(+) of battery2.
Jumper negative(-) of battery1 to negative(-) of battery2.
Use short heavy wires for these jumpers.
Connect the load wire positive(+) to battery 1(+).
Connect the load wire negative(-) to battery 2(-).
With this wiring configuration each battery will have the same wire resistance to the load and they will share current very well.
Now if you have a clamp-on current meter, use it to measure the current for each battery by measuring the battery to battery jumper current. The positive jumper will measure battery 2 current, the negative jumper will measure battery 1 current.
The battery charger and load wires should be connected the same.
Charger positive(+) to battery 1(+).
Charger negative(-) to battery 2(-).
Hope this helps.
For excellent current sharing of batteries in parallel, you need to keep the wire distances equal.
Jumper positive(+) of battery1 to positive(+) of battery2.
Jumper negative(-) of battery1 to negative(-) of battery2.
Use short heavy wires for these jumpers.
Connect the load wire positive(+) to battery 1(+).
Connect the load wire negative(-) to battery 2(-).
With this wiring configuration each battery will have the same wire resistance to the load and they will share current very well.
Now if you have a clamp-on current meter, use it to measure the current for each battery by measuring the battery to battery jumper current. The positive jumper will measure battery 2 current, the negative jumper will measure battery 1 current.
The battery charger and load wires should be connected the same.
Charger positive(+) to battery 1(+).
Charger negative(-) to battery 2(-).
Hope this helps.
thanks
You are right, Jviss, I have a lot to learn still. So far, Stu Jackson has been giving me invaluable advice.
So, what I'm gathering from the suggestions of Guy T is that the best arrangement would be to get a post, wire the positives of the two batteries to each other AND also to the post and then run all other wires to that post. As for the negatives, they already had a common ground, so I can just continue with that arrangement.
And, yes, they are both the same type (AGM) bought and installed at the same time.
You are right, Jviss, I have a lot to learn still. So far, Stu Jackson has been giving me invaluable advice.
So, what I'm gathering from the suggestions of Guy T is that the best arrangement would be to get a post, wire the positives of the two batteries to each other AND also to the post and then run all other wires to that post. As for the negatives, they already had a common ground, so I can just continue with that arrangement.
And, yes, they are both the same type (AGM) bought and installed at the same time.
just to make sure
John
Guy's advice is correct but only if you are connecting two 12VDC batteries in parallel. We're assuming you are not using 6 V batteries which require a different configuration. Just want to make sure...
John
Guy's advice is correct but only if you are connecting two 12VDC batteries in parallel. We're assuming you are not using 6 V batteries which require a different configuration. Just want to make sure...
What Guy suggested is just what
the Ample Power Primer material drawing I shared with you said to do.
the Ample Power Primer material drawing I shared with you said to do.
voltage
yes, I'm using 12 v batteries, but thanks for checking.
On the jumper cables - I am figuring on using #2 AWG since they are only six or eight inches long. Is that right?
yes, I'm using 12 v batteries, but thanks for checking.
On the jumper cables - I am figuring on using #2 AWG since they are only six or eight inches long. Is that right?
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