GBM wrote:
"Jeff" wrote

This is a frustrating issue, because the urge is to find a "proper"
solution, but that costs money. I would love to find a "half decent"
alternator/regulator that was under $500, or an amp-hour meter for
$50. The only thing that seems cheap are the batteries!



In researching this, I came across what seems a reasonable solution made by
Blue Seas. It consists of their Batterylink and their Dual Circuit battery
switch

http://www.bluesea.com/Article_detai..._ID=137&id=273

Cost seems to be reasonable. Does this seem like a reasonable way to go?

GBM


It looks like a battery combiner. Its more expensive then some, but
with adjustable set points it is probably a reasonable value.

My personal preference is for an EchoCharge, which is only a few
dollars more. In fact, I was willing to buy one even though I already
had a combiner similar to the ACR. My issue is that I frequently
discharge my house bank and then spend an hour or more charging at
fairly high voltage. A combiner would be overcharging the starting
batteries during these times. The EchoCharge allows the starting
batteries to trickle charge, while the house bank getting 90 Amps.