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Thanks for all the great information, guys. One last wiring related question... When replacing my 12V house batteries with a couple of 6V golf cart bats, do I have to swap out the wires that connect em to the charger, battery switch etc, or will the same gauge of wiring work here?
As long as the same means up to code. Plus you need 1 more cables to Connect neg/ positive to make the 6 volt a 12 volt. I use 2/0 gauge for my battery cables between batteries and to the positive and negative.
Using the larger gauge cuts down on resistance ( heat) and energy loss if traveling a distance. Make sure everything is fused properly.
Again consults Mainsails video tutorials. I would also be getting a battery monitor like the Victron I previously posted.
You may consider adding an ACR ( to combine in emergency the starting and house bank and allow charging .
Choosing A Charger With battery banks getting larger & larger and battery technology becoming more and more expensive a quality battery charger is not the place you want to skimp on features or quality. *For this article we are installing a: Sterling ProCharge Ultra Battery
Battery Monitor Diagram This article features the older Victron BMV-602. The 602 has been replaced by the BMV-7oo series. Everything in this article is still relevant to the current series of BMV monitors. Purchasing recommended products from our affiliate partners.Helps keep content coming...
Making Sense of the ACR WARNING: The ACR's in this article are not for use with LiFePO4 Batteries! What is an ACR? An ACR is nothing more than a fully automatic, voltage triggered, BOTH/PARALLEL switch that closes when charging voltage is present and opens when charge
Panel Layout In this article we used a Solbian panel that is no longer in production. Solbian solar panels are a unique product that fill a great niche for the marine market. They are really the absolute top tier semi-flexible panel
marinehowto.com
For great info. Much supplies by our own Mainsail on many many topics. I follow his videos and recommendations on many of my projects over the years. Marinehowto.com has many great topics
Buff Polish & Wax Try these products (for Gel-Coat only not intended for Awlgrip) The Cliff Note Version: Steps: #1-Clean the hull with an acid-base cleaner like FSR, oxalic acid, or On & Off to remove rust & tannin staining. (only if necessary) #2-Wet Sand by hand 600 (if really bad) then...
Examine your current wiring carefully. Look at the gauges see that they are proper. Look for corrosion and improper wiring. Make sure everything is fused as it should be.
If you follow all the advice given here, you will be spending $1000 or more to change your battery. Make sure your adding the battery and all the recommended gear to a safe environment.
In the last year or so Mainsail posted a review about a Balmar (I think) battery monitor that solves a problem with other BMs. Not a laxitive though. The BMs base settings are from a new battery the new model can keep track of the batteries diminished capacity over time and reflect this in its indication of battery condition.
I'd be interested to see if he recommends the newest Balmar over the Victron now.
I have a Balmar ARS -5 external 3 stage regulator with 2 temp cables and a 600 series 100 amp alternator.
I have been satisfied with its performance
My Victron still works excellently so I won’t change it unless it gives up the ghost
I will def be upgrading to a three stage charger in the future, but the previous boat owner had these three 12V batteries hooked up to the Charles charger and everything was working fine. What's the worst that could happen if I didn't upgrade the charger right now? They wouldn't last quite as long?
Is it three stage? If so it has to be set correctly.
If not you’ll piss your money away buying new batteries and shortening their life
It runs the possibility of over charging and not establishing a good charging profile
I’ve tried to explain to you that you have to look at this as a whole system. Maybe I’m not getting through
The way you charge the batteries has everything to do with how many cycles, what they charge to, and how to prevent overcharging them. You don’t have to get everything all at once , but you can’t piecemeal things either. A three stage charger is the centerpiece of maintaining and preserving the batteries for now for you.
Find out if the Charles is that. You’ve confused me/ us talking about some cheap auto zone charger and a sterling charger. All this is covered in the material I sent you.
You appear to be doing the right thing with the two 6 volt house bank, but will screw them up if not charged correctly and shorten their lives thus wasting your money.
I have given you many tutorials from our Resident expert Mainsail, Have you watched any of them, or are you just charging (sic) ahead . Almost everyone here has good advice but also have said you need to read.
if you have a Charles marine charger that is working why change it. they made very good chargers and they are 3 bank, 3 stage chargers that have charge profiles for all battery types. had one in our last boat
Is it three stage? If so it has to be set correctly.
If not you'll piss your money away buying new batteries and shortening their life
It runs the possibility of over charging and not establishing a good charging profile
I've tried to explain to you that you have to look at this as a whole system. Maybe I'm not getting through
The way you charge the batteries has everything to do with how many cycles, what they charge to, and how to prevent overcharging them. You don't have to get everything all at once , but you can't piecemeal things either. A three stage charger is the centerpiece of maintaining and preserving the batteries for now for you.
Find out if the Charles is that. You've confused me/ us talking about some cheap auto zone charger and a sterling charger. All this is covered in the material I sent you.
You appear to be doing the right thing with the two 6 volt house bank, but will screw them up if not charged correctly and shorten their lives thus wasting your money.
I have given you many tutorials from our Resident expert Mainsail, Have you watched any of them, or are you just charging (sic) ahead . Almost everyone here has good advice but also have said you need to read.
Yeah man, I'm currently watching the vids and have been slowly absorbing all this information. I'm just grappling with the $$ as I wasn't initially planning on three new batteries and a charger. Plus electrical is very daunting for me. Fingers crossed my Charles is indeed a three-stage and I can just plug these back in (with the addition of the wire to make the 6V a 12V) and then I'm off to the races!
if you have a Charles marine charger that is working why change it. they made very good chargers and they are 3 bank, 3 stage chargers that have charge profiles for all battery types. had one in our last boat
For sure...I'm just waiting to confirm that mine is indeed a three-stage charger. All this talk of needing one has me worried that it isn't, so I'm just confirming this before I plug in my three new batteries.
The last thing I want right now is to have to buy a new charger!
As long as the same means up to code. Plus you need 1 more cables to Connect neg/ positive to make the 6 volt a 12 volt. I use 2/0 gauge for my battery cables between batteries and to the positive and negative.
One question: I've read over the tutorials you provided on wiring this 6V. Thanks again. My two old 12V are currently set up in a parallel connection. Are you suggesting I do the two new 6V in a Series/Parallel connection, for a doubling of voltage and capacity?
two 6 volt batteries in series gives you 12 volts but does not double the rated capacity. two series 6volts with a rated capacity of 200 amp hour when in series will give you 200 amp hour at 12 volts
My current house batteries are in a parallel connection. I thought chef meant I had to now connect my 6s to make them 12V, ("Plus you need 1 more cables to Connect neg/ positive to make the 6 volt a 12 volt.")
so i thought he meant this part from the link provided which mentions a doubling of the voltage (and my understanding was that I was already doubling the capacity by having these two golf cart batts, 230+ 230:
"In a Series/Parallel Combo Configuration the batteries are wired per the diagram below and the result would be a doubling of the voltage and doubling of the capacity. In our illustration we show four (4) 6V batteries with 225AH wired together. Each set is wired in series creating 2 banks, then the 2 banks are wired together in a parallel configuration. The result would be a battery bank that produces 12V and 450AH."
My initial thought was... cant I just wire up these 6V the exact same way the 12s had been, in a parallel connection, and then I'm back where I started.
My current house batteries are in a parallel connection. I thought chef meant I had to now connect my 6s to make them 12V, ("Plus you need 1 more cables to Connect neg/ positive to make the 6 volt a 12 volt.")
so i thought he meant this part from the link provided which mentions a doubling of the voltage (and my understanding was that I was already doubling the capacity by having these two golf cart batts, 230+ 230:
"In a Series/Parallel Combo Configuration the batteries are wired per the diagram below and the result would be a doubling of the voltage and doubling of the capacity. In our illustration we show four (4) 6V batteries with 225AH wired together. Each set is wired in series creating 2 banks, then the 2 banks are wired together in a parallel configuration. The result would be a battery bank that produces 12V and 450AH."
My initial thought was... cant I just wire up these 6V the exact same way the 12s had been, in a parallel connection, and then I'm back where I started.
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