"DSK" wrote:

It's not a "momentary surge," it's a voltage spike attempting to reach
infinite!

I think you're mincing words there. It IS a surge and it doesn't last
very long. And I'm not sure what you mean by "attempting to reach infinite"
but there is no way it comes close to "infinite". It it were that easy to
generate
huge (infinite) amounts of power we wouldn't need much oil. And it is
momentary - that is lasting a fairly short amount of time.




Depends on how you use the boat & generator... you've got a genset in a
22 footer? If true then you can skimp on the house banks, fer sure.


What I have is an engine and a generator. The generator is a device bolted
to the engine and runs off the engine via a belt. As in the type of power
generating device that was popular on cars and boats before alternators
took over. The generator connects to a voltage-regulator and "sends" power
to run the boat. Excess power will charge the batteries.



And is it really OK to leave a smart charger running and connected to
a battery for weeks at a time without checking on it? The thought
of that just makes me a little nervous.

It shouldn't. Of course it is a good idea to check the cells every
couple weeks, but a smart charger will not boil them like a taper
charger or trickle charger (which is basically a taper charger with very
low amperage) will... I go several months without having to top mine up.

OK, thanks.

And thanks for the tip about connecting my electronics via a seperate
battery so they they are more protected from spikes when starting
the engine, etc. I'll consider how I might do that in my system.

Again, thanks.

Gary Warner wrote:
I think you're mincing words there.

Yeah, I was trying to be funny.


What I have is an engine and a generator. The generator is a device bolted
to the engine and runs off the engine via a belt. As in the type of power
generating device that was popular on cars and boats before alternators
took over.

D'oh! I am old enough to remember these thingies, it's just been a long
time. IIRC they are not sensitive to open circuit damage anyway, so the
above comments are even more fruitless.



Again, thanks.

Very welcome... I don't claim to have any great expertise but am glad to
relate my experiences & observations.

BTW last year when we were shopping for batteries, I drew up a
spreadsheet to compare battery capacities & prices. It helps make a good
pick, the ones that seemed to offer best performance for the price were
Trojan and Exide. The best performance, and highest price, where the
Rolls/Surrette batteries, which have approximately twice as much power,
weight noticeably more for the same group size, and cost about 3X. The
West Marine batteries are Exides with a different label and a big
mark-up. Did I already say this?

Fair Skies
Doug King