On Sat, 19 Nov 2005 10:48:32 -0500, Marc wrote:

I have a battery set up consisting of 4 group 24's divided into a
house bank of 3 and a starting bank of 1, controlled by a 3 position,
make before break, switch. The shore power charger is a Xantrex
trucharge smart charger.

The start battery has been running dry, while the house bank is
normal.

Do all cells of the start battery require the same amount of water?
If five cells need lots of water, and one very little, it is likely
that the non-thirsty cell is shorted, and the battery should be
replaced - in fact, I'd suggest that the battery should be replaced in
any case. I have a Truecharge on my boat, and the batteries use very
little water.

It turns out that the reefer, while switched at the breaker,
draws from both banks simultaneously, and cannot be isolated to one
bank or the other.

This doesn't make sense - if the reefer draws from both banks, that
would mean that the two banks are connected together, and _everything_
will draw from both banks.

My gut instinct is to sever the common connection. I believe that the
the draw down of the starter battery is a greater percentage of its
capacity than the house bank and thus the charger is frying the start
battery.

My question: Is there any reson for the reefer to be connected in
common to both batteries? What is common practice?

Common practice would be to have the start battery powering only
engine-related loads, with the house battery supplying everything
else, including the reefer.

--
Peter Bennett, VE7CEI
peterbb4 (at) interchange.ubc.ca
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