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Old 20-12-2020, 10:10   #1
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Advice Please.....PLEASE??

My earlier post may have been too full of details. So here goes again: What are the pro and cons of wiring my charging sources to the common post of my 1–2-All-Off battery switch to control charging to either or both of my battery banks.
Charging sources: 70A Alternator, Victron 100/30MPPT solar controller, Victron IP67 120V/25A AC/DC charger.

There is a common cable that holds the input from the alternator and output to all loads, engine and house.

Will the alternator harm any of the other charging sources when I’m underway on the engine?
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Old 20-12-2020, 11:34   #2
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Re: Advice Please.....PLEASE??

You can parallel an alternator and Victron charger without risk to the Victron equipment.

From your description (without seeing a wiring diagram) it sounds like you may be able to disconnect the alternator from the batteries by setting it "off" - if you did this while under way your alternator would be toast.
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Old 20-12-2020, 12:09   #3
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Re: Advice Please.....PLEASE??

Isn't that common method for boats with 2 banks?
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Old 20-12-2020, 12:23   #4
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Re: Advice Please.....PLEASE??

If I understand you correctly, you would be selecting the bank to be charged in the same way--and with the same switch--that you select the bank from which you run your loads. A downside I see to this is that you would never be able to draw from one bank while charging the other. Even if that seems fine under most normal conditions, I try to avoid sacrificing flexibility with arrangements like that. You never know what sort of weird combinations of systems you need to patch together to limp home sometimes.
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Old 20-12-2020, 12:47   #5
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Re: Advice Please.....PLEASE??

Thanks, all. I’m sitting here watching 3 feet of fresh snow while the boat’s resting out the winter, so I’m working my way through an electrical upgrade that I started last summer with solar panels and am continuing with replacing my FLA deep cycle house bank with LFP batteries. Oh, yes, I have fried a couple of alternators in my day but it was via a faulty switch and not by my doing. Here’s the schematic of my current plan, without the charging sources connected to the central battery switch post.
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Old 20-12-2020, 13:09   #6
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Re: Advice Please.....PLEASE??

Not quite understanding what you are trying to accomplish. I would urge you to go to "Blue Seas" website for wiring diagrams (https://www.bluesea.com/). A telephone call to them will get you exactly what you need.

You should also reference: https://www.outbackmarine.com.au/ass...m%20Design.pdf

I believe the problem with your solution is that if the main switch is off, then the batteries will not charge because the current from the engine/alternator charge will be stopped at the switch. But that could also apply to the genset too if the generator runs off the same bank.

Your other issue appears to be that you do not want current from the alternator to blow the controller or voltage regulator from another charging source, hence the need both an isolator and controller.

You also are not going to want one batter to draw down the other to the point that you cannot turn over your generator or engine, so again, you are going to need some form of isolator between the batteries to stop one battery from discharging the other.

I hope this helps because I really don't quite understand what you are attempting to achieve. The On-Off-Both switch should be used to disconnect ALL current being drawn in the boat. It should not be used to control a charging system.

In my boat, the chargers bypass the switch so that ALL of the batteries are always receiving a charge from one source or another, no matter if the battery switch is set to 1, 2, or both.
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Old 20-12-2020, 14:44   #7
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Re: Advice Please.....PLEASE??

For several years, the consensus has been that all charging sources go to the house bank as it is usually the most depleted. Then use a spill over (ACR, FET based isolator, etc.) device to keep the starting battery or batteries charged. Only switches are On/Off in the B+ conductors to isolate loads from batteries if needed for maintenance or casualty control. Simple and safe and no human intervention required to keep all batteries topped up.
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Old 20-12-2020, 15:03   #8
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Re: Advice Please.....PLEASE??

Again, many thanks. I’ve been using a Blue Seas ACR when both engine and house banks were FLA but when I was contemplating keeping the ACR between the new FLA engine and LFP house banks Blue Seas advised that none of their present ACRs are tested with LFP/FLA banks. Strange, in this day and age. My trusty Blue Seas ACR 7600 allows me to set combine/isolate voltages between banks, but again, Blues Seas was not encouraging me to go that route. I will incorporate at Victron Orion 30-12/12 DC-DC charger between the FLA engine battery + and LFP house bank + to mitigate any issues between both banks when the 70A alternator is running. I have a portable generator but want to avoid using that. My “cruising” is really limited to just a few days away from AC power so this is a consideration. I’m expecting 300+W of solar to be enough to keep the LFP bank topped off during the daylight, and loads of under 20 amps during the evening to be more than handled by a 200AH LFP bank (2 100AH Battle Borns in parallel.

More snow is on the way here in upstate NY so I have plenty of time to contemplate my navel as well as my boat’s electrical plan for 2021.
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Old 20-12-2020, 15:36   #9
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Re: Advice Please.....PLEASE??

Everything I've read is that you always attach chargers to the _unswitched_ side of battery switches -- you always want charging to happen. As stated above, you would preferentially attach all charge sources to the larger bank (usually the house bank), and use some sort of automatic switch or charger to charge the smaller (usually start) battery(s). Since you have mixed type banks (LFP & AGM), you might look into a DC-to-DC charger for the smaller bank.
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Old 20-12-2020, 15:58   #10
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Re: Advice Please.....PLEASE??

OEM 1-2-B Switch Wiring History http://c34.org/bbs/index.php/topic,4....html#msg30101

1-2-B Considerations (New 2020 - Rodd finally got around to diagramming what I had done in the above link in 2009 )
https://marinehowto.com/1-2-both-bat...onsiderations/

Basic Battery Wiring Diagrams This is a very good basic primer for boat system wiring: http://c34.org/bbs/index.php/topic,6604.0.html

This is another very good basic primer for boat system wiring: The 1-2-B Switch by Maine Sail (brings together a lot of what this subject is all about)
http://forums.catalina.sailboatowner...d.php?t=137615

This is a newer primer for boat system wiring design with a thorough digram: Building a Good Foundation (October 2016)
http://forums.sailboatowners.com/ind.../#post-1332240

The Short Version of the 1-2-B Switch Stuff: http://c34.org/bbs/index.php/topic,5....html#msg38552 This is a link to the Electrical Systems 101 Topic, reply #2

What are ACRs, Combiners & Echo Chargers? (by Maine Sail) [scroll to the top]
http://forums.catalina.sailboatowner...d.php?p=742417 and http://c34.org/bbs/index.php/topic,9....html#msg70131

Making Sense of Automatic Charging Relays (2019)
https://marinehowto.com/automatic-charging-relays/
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Old 20-12-2020, 16:13   #11
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Re: Advice Please.....PLEASE??

Quote:
Originally Posted by Randy P View Post
Again, many thanks. I’ve been using a Blue Seas ACR when both engine and house banks were FLA but when I was contemplating keeping the ACR between the new FLA engine and LFP house banks Blue Seas advised that none of their present ACRs are tested with LFP/FLA banks. Strange, in this day and age.

More snow is on the way here in upstate NY so I have plenty of time to contemplate my navel as well as my boat’s electrical plan for 2021.

Check out Yandina's LFP battery combiner.

https://www.yandina.com/catalog.htm
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