If all battery switches are turned to 'off'..

[dbrandt6]

Would that prohibit any power generated by the wind generator from getting to the batteries? The two leads from the wind generator go directly to the generators (D400) regulator then to the first battery group in the battery bank.

Thank you for your responses! Cheers!

[rwidman]

Your diagrams don't show switches.


Shutting off the battery switches should not shut off the wind generator but it really depends on how your installation was wired. I would think that somewhere there would be a switch to disconnect the wind generator.


BTW: The voltmeter in your diagram would be a constant drain on the batteries. It should have a switch to disconnect it when not needed.

[barnakiel]

Not sure I am reading the chartlet right.

I can see the windmill charging the batteries and the switch is only on the consumers side.

Switch on the consumers side of the battery does not inhibit the generator charging the battery.



Cheers,
b.

[nigel1]

Short answer to the question, in your case, is no, if the battery switches are turned to off position, that will only isolate the consumers from the battery bank, the output from the d400 is still going to the bank.

Now, I'm no expert, more of an enthusiastic amateur, but I would suggest that a better set up for the D400 is to leave the positive cable where it is, but take the negative cable of the D400 off the Group C pair of batteries, and connect to the negative on the Group A pair of batteries. I think overall, the charging would be more balanced over the 6 batteries in this case.

There is no switch on the D400 to disconnect it, the makers of the d400 suggest the use of a "braking" switch, which basically shorts the D400 and slow the blades down, and allows the blades to be "safely" stopped before securing them.

I initially fitted this switch, but on reflection, it just adds a whole heap more of connections so it was removed. The D400 can be easily stopped by turning it off the wind.

[nigel1]

PS, welcome to the forum, you waited a long time for your first post

[nigel1]

Sorry, just looked at your diagram again, the negative from the D400 should go to the shunt (S Terminal), so that that the charge can be measured.

[reed1v]

You are going to either blow up the batteries or kill them dead.

[Thorne]

Originally Posted by dbrandt6

Would that prohibit any power generated by the wind generator from getting to the batteries? The two leads from the wind generator go directly to the generators (D400) regulator then to the first battery group in the battery bank.

Thank you for your responses! Cheers!

I don't want to be a downer here, but....

Due to the hazards involved this is not a thing you want to be guessing on.
Fire being a big one.
Fried equipment is a big one.
and so on.

If you don't absolutely KNOW what is connected to what and WHY each and every aspect of EVERY component is there... I.E. max voltage tolerances, fuse parameters, grounding requirements, what switch controls what, what dump loads you are employing for when the batteries are full and the gen is still spinning and on and on.

You need to do more research, call a qualified electrician, watch more YouTube videos, check the specs on each component, make sure they match your system, make sure you put fuses in the right spots. Make sure you have a big enough dump load. Make sure your charger can handle the highest voltage your gen is producing.

This is not something you should be asking basic connecting questions about. You must know all this stuff before you try to install it for sure.

Don't forget your diodes.

[Teknishn]

Am agreeing with Nigel1 and Reed1v here. You need to move the charging lead to either the "A" bank negative terminal or the "S" Terminal in your drawing. Reason being is that currently you are only charging the "C" bank. The other 2 banks are charging, or trying too, by sucking the life out of "C" bank, thereby causing more wear and tear (and most likely premature failure) of "C" bank. Moving the negative terminal to the "A" bank or "S" Terminal will result in more equal charging across all batteries in the system so that they are not drawing current away from each other.

Yeah, and don't forget you diodes as Thorne said

(reverse current protection).

[mickelsen]

Outstanding posts. In my experience a well qualified professional is a best route. And safest, I refer back to the fire consideration. I have been on a friends boat in the SJ islands one evening at anchor and the fire required every fire extinguisher on board to get things under control.

[Dave22q]

Any amateur who tries to deal with an issue like this deserves what he gets. Qualified electricians may be hard to find but they tend to be worth the trouble of seeking them out and compensating them.

[dbrandt6]

Thank you all for your inputs. I am currently in Michigan and the boat is in the BVI's (on the hard now until October). That is why I am going from memory on the exact wiring. I am having a friend that lives there going to her and taking a few pictures so that I do not have to go from memory any more.

What prompted this whole inquiry is that when they (the marina where I have the boat stored for the summer) tried to start her to move her into position to have her hauled out, they said all the batteries were dead.... Even though the wind generator had been operating since we left in April. All house batteries were new fall of 2014. This is the same procedure we have followed for the past 7 years and the D400 has never failed to keep the batteries topped off.

I'm beginning to think that perhaps it was just the 'starter' battery that went bad, that one is 4 years old. I asked them to use my jumper cables hanging in the storage compartment to jump the starter from the house batteries and he said they were all dead.... I am thinking he (employee of marina) was confused... and or didn't want to bother.

At any rate, my friend that is going to take the pictures will check all batteries and give me an update in a day or two.

Any amplifying info I will pass on. Thank you again.

[skipmac]

Originally Posted by Teknishn

Am agreeing with Nigel1 and Reed1v here. You need to move the charging lead to either the "A" bank negative terminal or the "S" Terminal in your drawing. Reason being is that currently you are only charging the "C" bank. The other 2 banks are charging, or trying too, by sucking the life out of "C" bank, thereby causing more wear and tear (and most likely premature failure) of "C" bank. Moving the negative terminal to the "A" bank or "S" Terminal will result in more equal charging across all batteries in the system so that they are not drawing current away from each other.

Yeah, and don't forget you diodes as Thorne said

(reverse current protection).

No correct. All three battery banks are being charged since, according to the diagram, all three banks are connected. So the wind charger output can be connected to the + of any bank and charge all three.

[skipmac]

Originally Posted by reed1v

You are going to either blow up the batteries or kill them dead.

OP did say the output from the wind charger went first to a regulator. So will depend on the regulator. Unless the regulator is defective or not programmed to drop to a float charge when the batteries are full then the batteries will neither blow up nor die.

[skipmac]

Originally Posted by dbrandt6

Thank you all for your inputs. I am currently in Michigan and the boat is in the BVI's (on the hard now until October). That is why I am going from memory on the exact wiring. I am having a friend that lives there going to her and taking a few pictures so that I do not have to go from memory any more.

What prompted this whole inquiry is that when they (the marina where I have the boat stored for the summer) tried to start her to move her into position to have her hauled out, they said all the batteries were dead.... Even though the wind generator had been operating since we left in April. All house batteries were new fall of 2014. This is the same procedure we have followed for the past 7 years and the D400 has never failed to keep the batteries topped off.

I'm beginning to think that perhaps it was just the 'starter' battery that went bad, that one is 4 years old. I asked them to use my jumper cables hanging in the storage compartment to jump the starter from the house batteries and he said they were all dead.... I am thinking he (employee of marina) was confused... and or didn't want to bother.

At any rate, my friend that is going to take the pictures will check all batteries and give me an update in a day or two.

Any amplifying info I will pass on. Thank you again.

Is the start battery separate from the three banks you showed in your diagram? If yes, then is there an automatic combiner, Duocharge or similar to charge the start battery when the house batteries are being charged? If not then the house battery possibly just lost charge from sitting, exacerbated by a couple of years of age.