Battery?

[freeheel4life]

So Mike, am I understanding you correctly in that in rush current, if alternator was charging up around 14.6v and functioning properly, is probably more than ACR is rated for??

[chpthril]

We all know that an alternator will never be charging at its rated peak, just like an amp will never put out its rated peak. But thats a 25A spread between alt potential and ACR capacity. Over time this could wear on the 65A ACR components faster, then say a higher rated ACR thats closer to the capacity of the alt.

Also, if thats a 5A per bank charger, id like about 2X that for servicing a dedicated house bank, especially if the user will be dropping anchor for extended periods on a regular basis. Id like more bulk rate output for what could potentially be a very depleted battery.

[freeheel4life]

Thanks Mike. I may have to bust out the Amp clamp during spring checks. More curiosity than anything now that we talk about it. Plus I don't get a chance to use it much. Good excuse to bust it out.

[Brianrzr]

What about filling ballast? I always let the engine idle while I'm filling, but that has put a lot of hours on the boat. I wouldn't mind just having the batteries do it, if its not to much of a drain on them.

[chpthril]

Those 4 ballast pumps are likely about 16A of draw. You could run then about 5 hours with the engine off.

[TigeFamily]

If I am not already running boat on way to our spot while filling....I always fill and drain ballast with the engine off and have never had an issue but I also rarely sit in cove with stereo booming for hours, usually if we are on boat we are playing/surfing. You are still isolating the starter battery anyway so you should not have to worry about boat not starting due to filling ballast without boat on.....and Mike installed a 3rd battery for me last summer, so know I am good to go now!