Rick Cortese wrote:
Jeff wrote:
There is no problem that I know of. My boat (and several hundred
sister ships) has twin engine that feed a house bank with no diodes,
etc. In addition, many have solar panels and/or wind generators that
are always connected. Further, they use a combiner to also charge two
starting batteries, and it all magically works.


Alternators 'cept the solar panel which probably has blocking diodes
which have diodes built in. The OP may have misspoke but he included
generator.

I'm just old enough to remember old style generators that we used to
hook up to 12V batterys to see them run. I seem to recall my family had
a pit bike type minibike made out of a 12V lead acid automotive battery
hooked to a generator/drive motor for riding around the farm *but* I am
really foggy on that one. My memory of things in the 50's is really bad.

Is your point that without blocking one generator would try to run the
other as a motor? Interesting point, although it doesn't apply to
alternators.

I do remember motor/generators; my first boat had a Palmer one
cylinder gas engine (about 6 HP?) with a starter/generator and magneto
ignition.