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More Battery Conundrums


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4 hours ago, Rebotco said:

When out cruising, the engine warning light and buzzer occasionally come on for a few minutes at a time after about an hours cruising.

I would try checking the connection of the multipin plug on the wiring harness. They are known to corrode and give all sorts of strange problems which could mean the alternator is not charging properly which would account for your loss of power when out cruising. I think the smart charger should switch off when connected to a single battery and it reaches the fully charged voltage. I am not sure how well they work so with a battery bank and/or solar charger.  

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7 minutes ago, Rebotco said:

HERE  is a copy of the user manual for my charger.

Hope this will answer some of the questions you have raised.

 

Not really. I would want to know the alternator's rated current, the charging current (Amps) first thing in the morning with the engine revving at 1200 rpm+, and the charging current at the end of the day.

 

14.5 volts is far too high to leave the batteries charging for long periods, and lead antinomy plates will gas even more at that voltage. The 13.6 volts in the supply mode is better, but it seems it has to be manually set rather than have the charger drop down to it without any user input.

 

13.6V may also be high enough to keep the VSR energised.

 

 

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2 hours ago, Rebotco said:

Thanks all.  Here's a link to the charger's specifications  HERE

Sorry I can't get to the boat for other info requested for a couple of weeks.

Having seen the spec's.

1. What is the input voltage for the charger?  The website was American, where the mains electricity is 110v, putting UK mains at 240v into a 110v appliance is going to cause trouble!!

2. You are setting this charger up correctly?  It has many functions, some of which will cause the problems you have.

3. If the boat is on charge now, it will be best however you do it, to get the charger switched off, and removed.

 

Bod

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1 minute ago, Bod said:

putting UK mains at 240v into a 110v appliance is going to cause trouble!!

 

That depends on the electronics inside.  Most power supplies nowadays used switch mode technology that, within reason, is supply voltage agnostic. Hence, printer etc. supplies that are not switched but rated for both voltages.

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7 minutes ago, Bod said:

Having seen the spec's.

1. What is the input voltage for the charger?  The website was American, where the mains electricity is 110v, putting UK mains at 240v into a 110v appliance is going to cause trouble!!

2. You are setting this charger up correctly?  It has many functions, some of which will cause the problems you have.

3. If the boat is on charge now, it will be best however you do it, to get the charger switched off, and removed.

 

Bod

The charger is made for the UK market.  You may be right that it could possibly be set up incorrectly (?)

That's something I will have to check out.

The charger is now disconnected.

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If you turn everything off when not out boating, then 100W solar should be enough to keep the batteries topped up. Even in winter when the output is very small it should be enough to counter the self discharge.

So once you have your new batteries try just switching off the charger altogether.

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9 hours ago, David Mack said:

If you turn everything off when not out boating, then 100W solar should be enough to keep the batteries topped up. Even in winter when the output is very small it should be enough to counter the self discharge.

So once you have your new batteries try just switching off the charger altogether.

Make sure batteries are fully charged before leaving the boat of course. Not sure if it wouldn't it be a good idea to fit a proper battery monitor to make sure the batteries are , well , monitored.... They can be expensive, would a smart Victron inverter  charger or charger fixed permanently do the job just as well? Asking for myself.

Edited by LadyG
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39 minutes ago, LadyG said:

Make sure batteries are fully charged before leaving the boat of course. Not sure if it wouldn't it be a good idea to fit a proper battery monitor to make sure the batteries are , well , monitored.... They can be expensive, would a smart Victron inverter  charger or charger fixed permanently do the job just as well? Asking for myself.

 

A charger will not normally show charging amps to the battery but might show charging amps it is delivering. Those are not the same thing if any other charge source is involved. A proper battery monitor will show both amps and volts and will be a better bet ------------- providing the boater either reads and fully understands the manual and how to operate it, or, rather easier, totally ignore what it claims to be the % charged and such like.

 

Note; this does not apply to the Smartguage but they have a proviso as well. Their % charge needs ignoring when on charge, it is somewhat inaccurate until a  short while after charging stops.

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25 minutes ago, Tony Brooks said:

 

A charger will not normally show charging amps to the battery but might show charging amps it is delivering. Those are not the same thing if any other charge source is involved. A proper battery monitor will show both amps and volts and will be a better bet ------------- providing the boater either reads and fully understands the manual and how to operate it, or, rather easier, totally ignore what it claims to be the % charged and such like.

 

Note; this does not apply to the Smartguage but they have a proviso as well. Their % charge needs ignoring when on charge, it is somewhat inaccurate until a  short while after charging stops.

Ok, I have three battery banks and two gauges, one LED on the bow batteries, they feed the fridge and I keep them as high as I can by turning off fridge, I think that's as much as I can do. It's only in the depth of winter I struggle to keep on top of everything i cc and the plan was to use a marina for a month or more in winter, but that has not worked out so far, for other reasons.

A battery monitor is not going to help significantly. I'll still have to replace the batteries when they die before me!

Edited by LadyG
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1 hour ago, LadyG said:

Ok, I have three battery banks and two gauges, one LED on the bow batteries, they feed the fridge and I keep them as high as I can by turning off fridge, I think that's as much as I can do. It's only in the depth of winter I struggle to keep on top of everything i cc and the plan was to use a marina for a month or more in winter, but that has not worked out so far, for other reasons.

A battery monitor is not going to help significantly. I'll still have to replace the batteries when they die before me!

Yes, but as everyone already knows your battery systems is far from a normal set up. :rolleyes:

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