I am getting my 1999
Bavaria 38 Ocean ready for some long-term cruising next year. I am waiting for
delivery of some
solar panels now.
My first step was to install a Blue-sea 1830 SOC
monitor yesterday and did a little load testing, dropping my house
battery SOC a bit with the
charger off, then disconnecting all loads and turning on the AC
charger. The first thing I noticed is that when the AC charger is operating and providing 18.5 amps with the DC panel off (no load), the starter and house
batteries (both are AGM) are at about the same 14.4 volts.
I'm sure my starter
battery is fully charged. I have an older BEP
Marine Voltage Sensitive Relay Module - Dual sense (not the one marked "digital) I see the VSR is labeled Cut-In 13.7V and Cut-Out 12.8V.
Am I over-charging the starter battery because the VSR is closed while the house battery is
charging? I have had the
boat for 10 years and always leave the
boat charging when I am away. Has the starter battery been over-charging all this time?
When I install the
solar (to charge the house battery) what should I do about the VSR? I'd like the
alternator to always charge the starter first then connect to the house. I think that will be enough so
solar and AC should prefer the house without overcharging the starter.
Links to other threads are appreciated also.
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