Connecting several sources to the house battery

[micheck]

Dumb question of the week! I want to connect my solar, water generator, engine alternator and house battery together and then use an ACR or echocharger to supply the starting battery.

The thing I can't get my head around is each of these items has a different voltage - what happens when I tie them all to the same busbar?

[rtbates]

Not 100% sure, but I can be very sure that it won't be good..

[noelex 77]

Multiple charging sources ar the norm on a crusing boat and will not cause any problems. Make sure all the charging voltages are appropriate.
The charging source with the highest voltage ( or longest time at the highest voltage) will be the dominanant charging source as the batteries become , so if possible arrange he charging voltages so they cut out in he best order, say engine, water, and solar last.

[slacker]

Best bet is to tie all of your external 12V sources to something like a Blusea Safety Hub 150, then a 0 or 00 cable direct to the battery bank. The battery combiner/echo charger goes between the house and start batterys. All of your inputs should be seperatly regulated and your house bank will accept whatever current is avaliable.

[davisr]

Hey Micheck,

Check out my diagram on the thread just below yours. I have two charging sources (Iota 45 charger and Yamaha starter/alternator) joined to a single bus bar along with an ACR.

http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...ect-83430.html

I'm pretty sure that I have this drawn correctly, but I'm still trying to get a little more help/advice with the fusing of these circuits.

Regards,
Roscoe