Power Management Again

[waterat]

Some advise please, my boat has 2 alternators either 70 or 80 amps not sure. I have 2 110ah Domestic & 1 110ah starter, one alternator is soley for starter batt.

We have started living on the boat and we are using to much power daily and not being able to get the domestic batts back up to a reasonable charge state even after long engine running periods.

I feel that the starter alternator is wasted most of the time. I am looking for some advise on what to buy for my power management? Smartbank looks good but can I connect both alternators together?. I also have a genny so also looking for a charger to charge batts when running genny.

People before have said I need more batts but then I need the ability to charge them? I have also looked at Stirling and Mastervolt. What do people think, opinions please?

[WotEver]

Some advise please, my boat has 2 alternators either 70 or 80 amps not sure. I have 2 110ah Domestic & 1 110ah starter, one alternator is soley for starter batt.

We have started living on the boat and we are using to much power daily and not being able to get the domestic batts back up to a reasonable charge state even after long engine running periods.

I feel that the starter alternator is wasted most of the time. I am looking for some advise on what to buy for my power management? Smartbank looks good but can I connect both alternators together?. I also have a genny so also looking for a charger to charge batts when running genny.

People before have said I need more batts but then I need the ability to charge them? I have also looked at Stirling and Mastervolt. What do people think, opinions please?

Briefly, 'cos I have to get off.

 

SmartBank - yes it will parallel your alternators, and do so intelligently. If coupled with a SmartGauge it will also allow you to closely monitor your battery usage.

 

Any decent charger of say 40A capacity will charge from mains - there's a thread running right now that's mentioned this one.

 

No-one can tell you how many batteries you need, nor how best to charge them until you can accurately estimate your power requirements. You need to do a power audit. See Tony B's notes here on how to do one: http://www.tb-training.co.uk/MarineE05.html#The power audit

 

Tony

[steelaway]

Some advise please, my boat has 2 alternators either 70 or 80 amps not sure. I have 2 110ah Domestic & 1 110ah starter, one alternator is soley for starter batt.

We have started living on the boat and we are using to much power daily and not being able to get the domestic batts back up to a reasonable charge state even after long engine running periods.

I feel that the starter alternator is wasted most of the time. I am looking for some advise on what to buy for my power management? Smartbank looks good but can I connect both alternators together?. I also have a genny so also looking for a charger to charge batts when running genny.

People before have said I need more batts but then I need the ability to charge them? I have also looked at Stirling and Mastervolt. What do people think, opinions please?

 

 

Hi

 

I have had a Sterling alternator charge controler - with both alternaters connected together for 5 years - it has been perfect (up to a 70 amps charge to my domestic battery's).

It is also a very easly installed.

I would check that your battery's are still good though.

 

Alex

[Tony Brooks]

Briefly, 'cos I have to get off.

 

SmartBank - yes it will parallel your alternators, and do so intelligently. If coupled with a SmartGauge it will also allow you to closely monitor your battery usage.

 

Any decent charger of say 40A capacity will charge from mains - there's a thread running right now that's mentioned this one.

 

No-one can tell you how many batteries you need, nor how best to charge them until you can accurately estimate your power requirements. You need to do a power audit. See Tony B's notes here on how to do one: http://www.tb-training.co.uk/MarineE05.html#The power audit

 

Tony

 

 

An updated one here:- http://www.tb-training.co.uk/Poweraudit.htm

[Arnot]

Some advise please, my boat has 2 alternators either 70 or 80 amps not sure. I have 2 110ah Domestic & 1 110ah starter, one alternator is soley for starter batt.

We have started living on the boat and we are using to much power daily and not being able to get the domestic batts back up to a reasonable charge state even after long engine running periods.

I feel that the starter alternator is wasted most of the time. I am looking for some advise on what to buy for my power management? Smartbank looks good but can I connect both alternators together?. I also have a genny so also looking for a charger to charge batts when running genny.

People before have said I need more batts but then I need the ability to charge them? I have also looked at Stirling and Mastervolt. What do people think, opinions please?

Don't assume that becuase an alternator is capable of producing 80 amps that it will... Even if the engine is turning it fast enough it is unlikely that two leisure batteries would accept 80 amps safely for more than a few minutes.

 

It is more likely that the major problem is in the wiring and alternator control if your engine is a standard installation. It can allow you to charge your batteries more quickly if the alternators are both connected for charging the domestic batteries but not until the wiring and regualation are optimised and then only really on larger battery banks.

 

It might be an idea to have a professional have a look at it and give you a bit of advice before you do out and spend money on spec.

 

As for more batteries, in my experience a liveaboard tends to need between four and six 110Ah leisure batteries.

 

Sterling battery chargers are cheap but you do tend to get what you pay for in this area. Mastervolt and Victron are a far better and more permanent fix but come at a cost.

 

Regards

 

Arnot

Edited September 3, 2010 by Arnot

[waterat]

Thanks for your views on my thread,very much appreciated.

 

Dave

[WotEver]

An updated one here:- http://www.tb-training.co.uk/Poweraudit.htm

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