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Old 09-28-2007
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Steve...no...the Truecharge models are good chargers...all except the 10 and 10TB have an EQ cycle as well and if you've never used it, it is a good idea to do so once in a while...I used to do it monthly when I was living aboard.
That said...the fact that you are plugged in with a good charger 90% of the time leads me to think tht our batteries shoul be OK. With a roughtly 300 amp hour total, you need an alternator in the 80-90 amp area...anything else would be overkill unless you plan on further enlarging your bank or switching to AGM's which can accept unlimited amps. A 200 amp alternator will NOT charge your batts any faster than an 80Amp one given your present size and configuration.
With your size house bank...244A/H's...you can use 122A/H's before you need to recharge. Your battery bank will ACCEPT about 60Amps of current in bulk charge stage so you can recharge to about 90% full in about 2 hours of engine running time with ANY alternator over 60 amps.
If that is not quick enough for you...your only alternative is to changeover to AGM batteries and a 120amp alternator which will get you done in half that time.
Hope this is helpful to your decisions.
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