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Trickle charger question...

jacksonkev

Member III
My Ericson 30+ has never had an onboard battery charger. I’m thinking about eventually installing one but haven’t really felt the need. I recently bought a nice little charger for my car (NOCO Genius G3500 6V/12V 3.5A) and am thinking about leaving it hooked to my 2 battery bank (see pic) over the winter. I thought it would be the best way to keep them fresh and “conditioned” for the spring.

My questions...

1. Is there a safe way to connect the charger to charge/maintenance both batteries at the same time?

2. Does my battery setup look up to spec? I haven’t looked much at it, it works like it’s supposed to but I can’t seem to find any diagrams or pics online that mirror my configuration. Just making sure that I don’t have a goofy (or unsafe) setup.

Thanks in advance!
 

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Timsb

Member II
I would take a look at that jumper between the two negatives. I don't like the way it is touching the positive. A little bit of chaffing in the insulation and you could have a serious problem. Otherwise, without a separate starting battery, the setup looks good to me. I assume the hold down straps were removed for the photo. In your setup both batteries are connected without an isolator, so charging one charges the other equally albeit a bit slower. I would take a look at that jumper between the two negatives. I don't like the way it is rubbing on the positive. A little bit of chaffing and you could have a serious problem

I have found a solar trickle charger to do a great job of keeping the batteries fresh. I throw it up on top of the companion way and tie it to the traveler when I leave the boat then stow it while sailing. You'll need to use a controller above a certain wattage.

My boat has a dedicated starting battery and two group 24's as a house bank. There is an isolator between the two banks to prevent one bank from draining the other below a predetermined voltage but in charging mode the isolator allows both banks to charge. I like the security of knowing that if the start battery ever dies (like they do every few years) that I can always use the house bank to start the engine.
 
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markvone

Sustaining Member
jacksonkev,

The positive cables (any wires attached to the positive terminals) need to be fused within 7 wire inches per AYBC. Below is a link to a related post on EY.o using Blue Seas battery fuse blocks:

http://www.ericsonyachts.org/infoexchange/showthread.php?14220-Battery-Fuse-Block

This is an easy install if you have ~ 2 inches of vertical space above your batteries. Blue Seas has other fuse types that will fit in less space. These are shown in MaineSail's excellent How-to article:

http://www.pbase.com/mainecruising/battery_fusing

Lot's of excellent info on MaineSail's site.

I added battery fuses in winter of 2015 to conform to current AYBC but my boat hadn't burned up in the first 34 years :).

I would just flip the negative jumper so it loops away from the positive terminal end of the batteries.

Attaching the positive output of the battery charger to either battery positive will charge both batteries in your bank.

Re-attach battery hold down straps.

Mark
 

jacksonkev

Member III
I would take a look at that jumper between the two negatives. I don't like the way it is touching the positive. A little bit of chaffing in the insulation and you could have a serious problem.

Great call. I didn't notice the jumper (-) issue. I'll move that asap. Thanks.
 

jacksonkev

Member III
jacksonkev,

The positive cables (any wires attached to the positive terminals) need to be fused within 7 wire inches per AYBC. Below is a link to a related post on EY.o using Blue Seas battery fuse blocks:

http://www.ericsonyachts.org/infoexchange/showthread.php?14220-Battery-Fuse-Block

This is an easy install if you have ~ 2 inches of vertical space above your batteries. Blue Seas has other fuse types that will fit in less space. These are shown in MaineSail's excellent How-to article:

http://www.pbase.com/mainecruising/battery_fusing

Lot's of excellent info on MaineSail's site.

I added battery fuses in winter of 2015 to conform to current AYBC but my boat hadn't burned up in the first 34 years :).

I would just flip the negative jumper so it loops away from the positive terminal end of the batteries.

Attaching the positive output of the battery charger to either battery positive will charge both batteries in your bank.

Re-attach battery hold down straps.

Mark

All great advice. The pic is old. I took it when I last checked the the batteries and then put the hold down straps back in place.

Slightly silly question (perhaps)...I saw some examples online of connecting the trickle charger to the positive terminal on one battery and the negative on the other. Something about balancing the voltage drop evenly across both batteries. Is that even an issue with small 3.5 amp charger? Or do I just connect positive/negative on either battery?
 

jacksonkev

Member III
While I am guilty of not (yet) adding the large fuse for the main load, this picture from my blog does show the fused/terminal strip for all of the smaller loads that go directly to the pos. terminal.
http://www.ericsonyachts.org/infoexchange/entry.php?485-2016-New-Batteries-New-Smartgauge

Blue Seas really hit a design home run with this product, imho.

Wow...beautiful setup. Battery envy over here.

One question..does it make a difference if you have your batteries set up in "series" (like yours)? Or would any battery bank benefit from the smartgauge? I guess that's 2 questions.

:egrin:
 

Loren Beach

O34 - Portland, OR
Senior Moderator
Blogs Author
Wow...beautiful setup. Battery envy over here.

One question..does it make a difference if you have your batteries set up in "series" (like yours)? Or would any battery bank benefit from the smartgauge? I guess that's 2 questions.

:egrin:

Note that our Smartgauge is measuring one 12 volt battery bank, consisting of two six volt batteries in series. So the meter is just reporting on the "one" bank.
I would guess that it would measure two 12 volt batteries in one bank, being wired in parallel, just as easily. Check with Balmar to be sure.
My instruction booklet is down at the boat or I would just "RTFM" as the old saying goes. :rolleyes:
 

jacksonkev

Member III
Note that our Smartgauge is measuring one 12 volt battery bank, consisting of two six volt batteries in series. So the meter is just reporting on the "one" bank.
I would guess that it would measure two 12 volt batteries in one bank, being wired in parallel, just as easily. Check with Balmar to be sure.
My instruction booklet is down at the boat or I would just "RTFM" as the old saying goes. :rolleyes:

Good call! Thanks!
 

markvone

Sustaining Member
I should have noted this in my first post:

Here is MaineSail's How-to on installing a marine battery charger:

http://www.pbase.com/mainecruising/installing_a_marine_battery_charger

He does not recommend using any non-marine charger on a boat in the water. (I wouldn't be worried on the hard.)

If you don't need a permanently installed battery charger on the boat, I would just bring the two batteries (and the negative jumper cable) home, get a positive jumper to wire them in parallel and charge them at home. I use a small smart charger at home to keep a classic car charged and hook it up to a spare marine battery at home every month or two to keep it charged.

Mark
 
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