What do you mean the ACR kicks on and lets the volts keep climbing? ANY charger should work just the same as your alternator. With your higher power/current chargers you'll start having the option of multiple charge banks. You can use these, or not. If you use the multi bank option then both your banks will receive charge from the charger all the time. If not then the ACR will control when the second bank gets charged.
With a large enough charger it is possible to exceed the recommended charge current of the start battery. As I recall you have AGMs all around. So 30% or Ahr should be your charge limit. A 100Ahr starting battery would be limited to 30 amps. Theoretically if you discharged your starting battery far enough and had lets say a 60amp charger then 60 amps would be pumped into the starting battery until the 13.4-ish volts was reached and the ACR "kicked on". At this point the 60 amps is being shared with all of your batteries. IIRC you're pushing upwards of 500Ah? So 150amps max charge rate? Now your 60 amp charger is well within the margins. The real question is, how often are you going to be discharging your starting battery to the point that it can receive 60 amp of current before it charges to 13.4v? I would say it is extremely rare. So now you are at an impasse. Do you stay safe and prevent the remore possibility of exceeding the max charge rate by getting a smaller charger? Or do you size the charger according to your wallet (because you're not gonna exceed the rate of your house batteries)? Or do you double your wiring and run a double bank setup and forget about the ACR? I have ProMariner pNautic 1260, 12v, 60 amp, up to 3 banks, and I'm very satisfied. It is absolutely bomb proof. A single exception to my satisfaction is that the remote display panel is not capable of programming the charger or initiating an equalize charge. The need to program is rare and usually only happens during install or battery change out to a new chemistry. The equalize shouldn't be a concern for you since you have AGM. They make equally high quality lower power units. Another way to consider you power needs is when you take a slip and shore power, how long do you have to wait before the batteries are fully charged. Lets say you have 600Ah with the house and starting batteries combined. Lets say you only discharged them to 50%, 300Ah. You'll need no less than 30 amps for 10hours. That's really rough math considering that it doesn't properly account for the absorption phase. If you're cruising and pull in around 7 or 8pm but need to get an early start in the morning at 5 or 6am then you'll only just barely be full charged. Probably not done with the absorption phase. YMMV Josh Muckley S/V Sea Hawk 1989 C&C 37+ Solomons, MD On Nov 9, 2016 5:30 PM, "Edd Schillay via CnC-List" <cnc-list@cnc-list.com> wrote: > Listers, > > Finally coming out of my depression (about the boating season being over — > not the election) and am seeking a recommendation for a good on board > battery charger. > > Here’s the rub — I’m learning that most of the smart chargers out there, > like a ProSport, won’t work with my system because I have a house bank and > an engine bank — and when over 13 volts is detected, the ACR kicks in and > charges both banks, throwing off the ProSport and letting the volts just > keep climbing. > > Anyone now of a good wall-mount charger that will just kick in 13-14V or > so when operating? It won’t be used often — just the rare occasions when > I’m plugged in to shore power. > > > All the best, > > Edd > > > Edd M. Schillay > Starship Enterprise > C&C 37+ | Sail No: NCC-1701-B > City Island, NY > Starship Enterprise's Captain's Log <http://enterpriseb.blogspot.com/> > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > This list is supported by the generous donations of our members. If you > wish to make a contribution to offset our costs, please go to: > https://www.paypal.me/stumurray > > All Contributions are greatly appreciated! > >
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