Next message: Peter Gelinas: "RE: lv-ab: KISS Wind Generator"
If you have a battery monitor, like a Link 10 or Link 20, you will know
right away if things go wrong. Voltage and charging current will either
suddenly or slowly change. The Links also calculate your charge efficiency
for you, if something is discharging within the banks, this will go down,
A LOT. (This would, in a roundabout way, provide the between battery
metering that you requested below.) If something is discharging outside the
bank it will show as amp hours used, as well as current during the
discharge. When I installed mine, it told me that I didn't need to charge
so much, that the internal voltmeter in my GPS was inaccurate, and that I
needed to raise the charge voltage. It gives voltage at the batteries,
which compared with voltage at the buss bars in the dashboard, showed that I
needed larger wire size to the buss bars and that I had a bad connection
near the starter. As it shows current in and out, you can keep tabs on the
alternator current which relates to the V belt condition too. Lots of
information! Also recommend Xantrex C-40 solar panel controller & monitor
for lots of info there, if you have over 100 Watts of solar panels.
Regulators: I spent $120 for an external Balmar regulator, which expired
just after the warranty. I replaced it with a Home Depot 1 hour timer wired
to full field the alternator and reconnected the alternator's existing
internal regulator. Now I read how many amp hours I am down, then wind up
the timer to replace it. Otherwise, many of my trips were too short to give
me full charge with the internal regulator tapering the charge back from the
start.
Lee Haefele
Nauticat 33 Alesto
>
> So I decided not to install individual breakers for each battery. For the
> info#4 I'm still thinking. Grouping the batteries to 2 separate banks can
be
> a not so good cure, but I would rather avoid that type of configuration.
> With 2 banks, if 1 cell fails, only 1 bank will be discharged.
> If somehow I could meter the current coming out from each battery and
> current on the boat's main cable, that can be a solution. If the 2
amperage
> differs, that would mean a bad cell.
>
> Any ideas? What is your solution for info#4?
>
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