What is the recommended procedure..
Start with Battery #1 or
Star with Both Batteries switch ON

THanks
JWB

John W. Bienko wrote:
What is the recommended procedure..
Start with Battery #1 or
Star with Both Batteries switch ON


Well, if you can charge the batteries seperately that's
probably the best idea, because unless the batterries have
been connected in parallel, they will be at different
voltages... and as soon as you connect them, the higher one
will start discharging itself into the low one. This will
heat them both up and make charging less efficient no matter
what you've got hooked up to the circuit to charge them.

DSK

In article ,
John W. Bienko wrote:
What is the recommended procedure..
Start with Battery #1 or
Star with Both Batteries switch ON

THanks
JWB

Many people have a dedicated bat for starting and one for cruising. We
start on one and cruise on two. If we have trouble starting, we use
both. The disadvantage of starting on both is that if it doesn't
start, you can run down both and have nothing left.

--
Capt. JG @@
www.sailnow.com

"Jonathan Ganz" wrote in message
...
In article ,
John W. Bienko wrote:
What is the recommended procedure..
Start with Battery #1 or
Star with Both Batteries switch ON

THanks
JWB

Many people have a dedicated bat for starting and one for cruising. We
start on one and cruise on two. If we have trouble starting, we use
both. The disadvantage of starting on both is that if it doesn't
start, you can run down both and have nothing left.

--
Capt. JG @@
www.sailnow.com

Or that you forget to switch the batteries after the engine is started, and
don't charge either battery properly, overcharging one battery and
undercharging the other.

John Cairns

"Dave" wrote in message
...
On Sat, 03 Jun 2006 23:13:31 GMT, "John Cairns"
said:

Or that you forget to switch the batteries after the engine is started,
and
don't charge either battery properly, overcharging one battery and
undercharging the other.

Why do you think that not charging the second battery will result in
overcharging the first? I would have thought that a well built system
would
prevent overcharging even if you had only one battery.

He didn't mention having a "well built system", simply a typical 1-2 All
battery selector switch, which does nothing to regulate charge. I would have
thought that if he had a "well built system" he would have nmentioned it and
indeed, probably never have asked the question in the first place, as he
would have had no need to. Which reminds me of the fact that I don't have a
"well built system" on my own boat, possibly a project to tackle this year.

John Cairns

OzOne wrote in message ...
On Sat, 03 Jun 2006 23:13:31 GMT, "John Cairns"
scribbled thusly:

Or that you forget to switch the batteries after the engine is started,
and
don't charge either battery properly, overcharging one battery and
undercharging the other.

John Cairns

Huh?



Oz1...of the 3 twins.

I welcome you to crackerbox palace,We've been expecting you.

What I read. Typically you have two different size batteries, which not only
charge a different rates but usually have different levels of charge. A
battery selector switch does nothing to regulate charging rates, and
batteries themselves are not self regulating. With a proper charge
monitoring system one would be able to manually switch between batteries,
but the original poster never indicated that he had one of those either. My
guess is that he doesn't.

John Cairns

OzOne wrote in message ...
He didn't mention having a "well built system", simply a typical 1-2 All
battery selector switch, which does nothing to regulate charge. I would
have
thought that if he had a "well built system" he would have nmentioned it
and
indeed, probably never have asked the question in the first place, as he
would have had no need to. Which reminds me of the fact that I don't have
a
"well built system" on my own boat, possibly a project to tackle this
year.

John Cairns

John, the regulator regulates charge.
When a battery is charged it simply stops charging....what would you
do after all batteries were charged and yet you still needed the
engine....Unplug wires?


Oz1...of the 3 twins.

I welcome you to crackerbox palace,We've been expecting you.

"Boatowner's Mechanical and Electrical Manual"

Good section on battery charging, with brief and easy-to-understand
explanations as to how alternators/batteries work in both automotive/marine
applications, the differences between those two very different types of
alternators. In a nutshell, automotive alternators/regulators are designed
to charge batteries that are never typically deeply discharged, marine
alternators/regulators are designed to charge deep cycle batteries that are
typically discharged to half of their capacity. You might note the term
alternator/regulator, we're talking about a typical automotive or marine
alternator that has an integrated regulator, not a seperate regulator like
those made by Heart or Ample Charge as part of a proper charging system on a
sailboat. Suggest you buy the book, hours of reading on
mechanical/electrical systems on boats, with an emphasis on sailboats, at
least that's my impression, though it could simply be bias.

John Cairns

.... I would have thought that a well built system
would
prevent overcharging even if you had only one battery.


True

He didn't mention having a "well built system", simply a typical 1-2 All
battery selector switch, which does nothing to regulate charge.

Also true, but not necessarily relevant. The usual
"1-2-Both" rotary switch is almost a guarantee that you will
have a dead battery at some point in the use of the boat,
and probably blow up your alternator as well.

.... I would have
thought that if he had a "well built system" he would have nmentioned it and
indeed, probably never have asked the question in the first place, as he
would have had no need to. Which reminds me of the fact that I don't have a
"well built system" on my own boat, possibly a project to tackle this year.


A smart charger is very well worth the money even if you
just overnight occasionally.


OzOne wrote:
John, the regulator regulates charge.


Umm, no. Unless it's a smart charger, all it regulates is
voltage.

Most alternators have the voltage regulator built into the
stator, which means that it sense voltage at the output of
the alternator, not on your battery. This guarantees that it
is not getting charged as much as it could, because the
voltage at the output is higher than what your bettery
actually gets. Then, most regulators work on a resistance
curve that does not bring the amperage down at the right
curve for charging as the battery voltage goes up. Usually
the voltage will go too high, which means it's boiling off
the battery electrolyte.

Fresh Breezes- Doug King

.... The usual
"1-2-Both" rotary switch is almost a guarantee that you will
have a dead battery at some point in the use of the boat,
and probably blow up your alternator as well.


Mys Terry wrote:
Bwhahahahahahahaha! What an idiot!


Let's see, who's the idiot... a person who knows about
alternator field disconnects or the person who doesn't...

DSK

John,

I have to agree with you. After years of using single batteries for
starting and running and other for House Battery and a single for
Inverter, I finally learned to start on two and run on both; just like
my truck camper. My Inverter wasn't hooked up to the battery switch so
that did need special attention. I've since done away with the Inverter
battery and paralleled it inverter with the house battery. They all get
the same charge. Works for me and cleaned up the wiring.

http://community.webtv.net/tassail/ThomPage