Danny I have similar setup to what you plan, except I have 2 six volt golf cart batteries connected in series for house bank and one group 27 deep cycle for starting a 4 cylinder diesel.
Worked fine for me four about 5 years now. I never charge both batteries from the alternator at the same time, usually the staring battery at first for a while after startup until the ammeter shows a reduction to very low charge rate and then switch to house bank and charge continuously while under engine power. Always remember to check and top up your battery electrolyte with distilled or deionized water. My batteries stay on board year round and I check fluids and bring them to full charge with a battery charger before winter storage Dwight Veinot C&C 35 MKII, Alianna Head of St. Margaret's Bay, NS -----Original Message----- From: cnc-list-boun...@cnc-list.com [mailto:cnc-list-boun...@cnc-list.com] On Behalf Of djhaug...@juno.com Sent: August 24, 2012 10:23 AM To: cnc-list@cnc-list.com Subject: Stus-List Battery Setup Okay, I'm out on the mooring and the only way of charging my batteries right now is the engine. I currently only have a single battery installed but, I want to add 2 more. The current battery I got last year, brand new and it has seen little use. It is a deep cycle marine battery. I was thinking to get another deep cycle marine battery and have a pair for house power and have another for engine starting. I have a Balmar MaxCharge MC-612 and a Balmar 75 amp alternator and a off-1-both-2 battery switch (pretty simple, right?) I have no AC system, I have no refrigeration or air conditioning or hot water or potable water pumps or pressurized potable water. Just old fashioned light and a couple of cigarette lighter type power outlets. My questions are; 1. do I need a cranking battery for starting with an atomic 4? This single deep cycle I have now seems to be doing the job fine. 2. without a separator, the routine would be, switch to starting battery, start engine, switch to both while running the engine, then switch to house (or off when sailing if no power is needed) when the engine is cut? 3. I think I can get away without the separator for the rest of this season anyway, it is really a convenience, right? Not having to manually switch over to the battery I need. 4. There should be no problem using the A4 engine to charge the batteries if need be, right? I assume thats the reason for the high end alternator and multi-stage marine regulator... I would love to hear all insights, suggestions and comments. We're going cruising to the Buzzards Bay islands for a week and I'm trying to make sure we don't run out of light and cell phone charging during our week in the boat. I'm thinking I'll get some battery operated LED lights as well. I also have these little power pack for phone charging which will also help conserve battery power. I'm just not sure what to expect. Also, I have a little electric trolling motor for the dinghy and picked up a tractor battery to run that. Any thoughts as to whether I can expect to get to shore and back a few times on that? I was just trying to keep the power pack lighter than a full sized deep cell. I do have a gas 4hp engine but it needs work and I don;t have the time to mess with it. Thanks, Danny Lolita 1973 Viking 33 Westport Point, MA _______________________________________________ This List is provided by the C&C Photo Album http://www.cncphotoalbum.com CnC-List@cnc-list.com ----- No virus found in this message. Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 2012.0.2197 / Virus Database: 2437/5220 - Release Date: 08/23/12 _______________________________________________ This List is provided by the C&C Photo Album http://www.cncphotoalbum.com CnC-List@cnc-list.com
