Isolators are a waste of energy, combiners mean the starter bank is
overcharged.

Somewhat agreed, depends on the charge source & duration. A combiner is
nice & simple, low voltage drop (more efficient). It doesn't
necessarily mean that one or the other bank is going to be overcharged
though.

What is the Echo-Charge strap connected to on the alternator and
starter? It can't be the ground strap can it? What does breaking it
do? Are you talking about hooking the alternator directly to the
starter battery? I'm confused on this one.

Jeff wrote:
These are two separate issues. The EchoCharge can tie in on the hot
side of the house bank, and thus is connected to all of the charge
sources. Its output goes to the starter bat as its only charge
source. This ensures that the starter bat get its appropriate
(normally trickle) charge even if the house bank is receiving a voltage.


Your alternator has an echo charger?

A combiner is generally used only on the alternator output, which is a
shourt duration charge source and not likely to seriously overcharge
the battery ...unless the voltage regulator is FU or the battery(s) are
hot. A better charge regulator, external to the alternator (with temp
compensation) is a very good upgrade.

I have only seen echo chargers on 120V chargers; a better set-up
available now is completely seperate regulation available on seperate
legs.


The other issue is that most engines have a strap directly between the
alternator and the solenoid, and on to the battery switch. In my
setup (actually refer to Nigel Calder's book for this) you want the
alternator to feed the house bank, and the solenoid fed by the starter
battery. Thus, the strap must be removed.

The way that most older boats are set up, the alternator/solenoid
strap is at the "common" of the Big Red A/B switch. Current thinking
is that the starter and the house system should be separate circuits.

Well, they should have been all along, but it's cheap and simple and it
works for weekending (most of the time).

signed- Injun Ear (formerly known as Eagle Eye)