Daryl-
When you add your starter battery: ?my understanding is that alternators are single output chargers (i.e., only one of your two banks will be charged by the alternator unless you combine the two banks when your engine is running). ?I did not want to have
to combine my batteries manually (via the battery switch) when I was running my engine so I use a BlueSea ACR that automatically combines my two banks when it detects a charging source. ? I¡¯ve been very happy with this method ¡ª when underway, I turn both of
my banks on and then never have to fiddle with the battery switch again regardless of whether my engine is running.
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On Jan 1, 2023, at 12:25 PM, Daryl Clark <dlclark@...> wrote:
?Andy,
I also purchased VIctron's Smart Shunt and will be installing this month when I make the journey up to Bayfield to check out how Intuition is fairing the winter season - it will be helpful to know TRUE LOADS for planning and for the future!?
Which high output alternator did you go with? What amperage? What is your normal load like on your PSC 31??
Do you have a separate starting battery? Currently have two Lifeline AGM Group 31 batteries - each in a separate bank. Planning on combining them into the house bank and adding a starting battery.
The AGM's are 5 years old now - I have had lifeline batteries in both the Flicka and Dana without issues - the Flicka batteries were still going strong after 10 years - but the loads were not quite what they are on Intuition with refrigeration.
I had some issues last summer with the AGM battery/ alternator performance - (my investigation found the negative battery connections appeared to be loose, thus the batteries were not charged properly.?
The biggest issue is the Hitachi alternator just is not up to the task of keeping a 210 AMP/Hour battery bank charged up in a reasonable timeframe for weeks of cruising (even a few days at this point).
Not sure if the batteries are toast now or not - will be doing some state of charge testing when I go up. If the batteries are still good, I want to plan a charging system that can handle LITHIUM batteries in the future.
I will check out the Sterling Power products - thanks for that information - I will check out their product literature..
The WAKESPEED 500 smart alternator regulator looks interesting.
Daryl
Kate Lee