Edd, The general idea is that your starting (Auxiliary Power) battery does not get used much and does not get discharged much (it is used only for a few seconds/ half a minute). Therefore, it does not need much charging and it gets back to a full charge very quickly (quite often before the engine is shut off). The House (Main Power) battery (battery bank), which is a true deep charge (deep discharge) and (usually) much bigger, requires much more charging.
Therefore, all charging sources should go to the house bank, to maximise its charging, with the start battery getting whatever is left over, because it does not need much. Since all of your on-board devices are connected to the house bank, this bank is discharged regularly. Having the start battery separated makes sure that you can start the engine, even if the house bank is fully depleted. Having said all that, keep in mind that many boats are configured with bank A and B (not house and start) and if you have the same batteries in both (A and B) banks, it does not matter which battery is primary and which is secondary and therefore it does not matter, how the charging sources are attached, as long as both banks are properly charged. For solar charging systems there are options available (e.g. Mornigstar Sun Saver Duo) that can charge both banks at the same time. They even allow to configure the split (I have mine set to 90:10 (%) – 90% going to house). Marek 1994 C270 Legato Ottawa Sent from Mail<https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=550986> for Windows 10 From: Edd Schillay via CnC-List<mailto:cnc-list@cnc-list.com> Sent: Sunday, August 2, 2020 12:39 To: cnc-list@cnc-list.com<mailto:cnc-list@cnc-list.com> Cc: Edd Schillay<mailto:e...@schillay.com> Subject: Re: Stus-List Solar panels in ACR environment Charlie, While some will swear that all charging sources (solar, alternator, etc.) should go to the same bank, I have yet to see any real reason anywhere as to why. When it is sunny, your ACR will see 13V or more and combine everything anyway. You can connect your solar to house or engine - whichever is easiest. I have an ACR installed. My alternator is connected to the engine bank. My solar and 110V charger is connected to the house bank. System has been working perfectly for many years now. Everything is fully charged. Of course, on my boat, we don’t call it “house” and “engine” - it’s Main Power and Auxiliary Power. All the best, Edd ———————————————- Edd M. Schillay Captain of the “Starship Enterprise” C&C 37+ | Sail No.: NCC-1701-B Venice Yacht Club | Venice Island, FL www.StarshipSailing.com ———————————————- 914.774.9767 | Mobile ———————————————- Sent via iPhone 11 Pro iPhone. iTypos. iApologize On Aug 2, 2020, at 12:21 PM, Charlie Nelson via CnC-List <cnc-list@cnc-list.com> wrote: 1st, thanks to the list members for the replies re my questions on jump starting a battery in a house and start battery bank set-up with an ACR. I think I have that straight! While I think I know the answer to the following question, I am pretty sure that others on the list know the answer! I plan to add a small solar panel to my system to keep the batteries topped off while I am away from the boat. (I prefer not to have shore power hooked up unless I am on board.) Since the ACR will distribute the solar power to the battery that needs it most (or both if they are at the same state of charge), does it matter whether I hook up the solar power via the mppt controller to the house or start battery bank? My current plan is to use a Blue Seas buss bar with a 50 Amp mrbf fuse to the positive terminal of the house battery bank. Thanks, Charlie Nelson Water Phantom C&C 36 XL/kcb _______________________________________________ Thanks everyone for supporting this list with your contributions. Each and every one is greatly appreciated. If you want to support the list - use PayPal to send contribution -- https://www.paypal.me/stumurray
_______________________________________________ Thanks everyone for supporting this list with your contributions. Each and every one is greatly appreciated. If you want to support the list - use PayPal to send contribution -- https://www.paypal.me/stumurray
