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12-15-2019, 09:28 AM
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#1
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Guru
City: Oconto, WI
Vessel Name: Best Alternative
Vessel Model: 36 Albin Aft Cabin
Join Date: Oct 2012
Posts: 3,145
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What exactly is a " Battery Bank"
Please be gentile with me, I'm fragile..
Everyone talks about their "battery bank". I think I have one, or maybe two on my boat. Maybe even three, But I'm not sure.
Allow me to explain my ignorance..
I have a single starting battery for my diesel. It is stand alone. Is it a "bank"?
I have four deep cycle batteries connected together for my house batteries, still making 12 volts. Is this also a bank?
Three deep cycle batteries connected for the inverter, still 12 volts. Is this a third bank?
My new battery charging system says it will charge and maintain two deep cycle banks and one starting battery bank. Does that mean it will charge and maintain all eight batteries?
BTW..Whoever monitors and sets up the weekly newsletters and does all the other assorted work of keeping this website running..CONGRATULATIONS !! Job well done. I can't tell you the number of things I have learned here and the hours I have spent enjoying the website while my boat is on the hard!!
pete
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12-15-2019, 09:38 AM
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#2
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Guru
City: Bethlehem, PA
Vessel Name: Lady Kay V
Vessel Model: 1978 Hatteras 53MY
Join Date: Oct 2015
Posts: 1,098
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You'll get a lot of answers, but here is my $.03
A bank is a group of batteries connected in a variety of ways to act as a single source of power, ie at the end there's two wires coming out, a positive and a negative.
Subject to a number of physics laws batteries can be of a variety of types, voltages and capacities and can be combined in series and/or parallel to create the desired voltage and capacity. Generally the banks consist of similar batteries.
I would not call a single battery a bank, but some may do so.
In your case I would call it a start battery, house bank and inverter bank.
It sounds like your charger would take care of the start battery and two banks and thus yes, of all batteries. Without looking at the specs I can't tell you how WELL it will do that.
If it is an existing setup and it works..... then you're good to go.
Hope this helps.
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12-15-2019, 09:39 AM
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#3
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Guru
City: Rochester, NY
Vessel Name: Hour Glass
Vessel Model: Chris Craft 381 Catalina
Join Date: Aug 2019
Posts: 7,550
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As far as I'm concerned, a bank is a group of 1 or more batteries connected together. My boat has 3 banks. Start 1, start 2 and house. Start 1 and start 2 are each just a single group 27 deep cycle. House is 2x 6v L16 AGMs in series for 12v. All 3 banks are charged by a 3 bank Blue Sea P12 charger. The 3 banks aren't connected to each other (unless the engine or generator start switches are used to parallel start 1 and start 2 or unless the engines are running, where ACRs connect the start 1 and start 2 to house).
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12-15-2019, 10:15 AM
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#4
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Valued Technical Contributor
City: Litchfield, Ct
Join Date: Aug 2012
Posts: 6,784
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The answers above are correct. You have three "battery banks", one for starting battery bank and two deep cycle banks- one for house and another for inverter. This is not the best situation. Why?
Even though your new battery charger will charge all three, do they all three get charged by your propulsion engine's alternator. There are ways of doing this but it requires two ACRs or combiners. If you combine the two deep cycle banks permanently then you can do it with one ACR or combiner.
Also putting all of your deep cycle eggs in one basket is better because it distributes the loads between the two sets of batteries. If house loads are heavy and discharges the separate bank below 50%, that isn't good for it. But if the house and inverter banks are combined, then if inverter loads are light you can use the inverter bank's capacity to stay above 50%. And visa versa.
As far as I can see there is no upside to separating the banks, only downsides.
David
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12-15-2019, 10:19 AM
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#5
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Guru
City: Annapolis
Vessel Name: Ranger
Vessel Model: 58' Sedan Bridge
Join Date: Aug 2013
Posts: 7,088
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Pete Meisinger
I have a single starting battery for my diesel. It is stand alone. Is it a "bank"?
I have four deep cycle batteries connected together for my house batteries, still making 12 volts. Is this also a bank?
Three deep cycle batteries connected for the inverter, still 12 volts. Is this a third bank?
My new battery charging system says it will charge and maintain two deep cycle banks and one starting battery bank. Does that mean it will charge and maintain all eight batteries?
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Yes. Yes. Yes. And yes.
But as you can see from other replies, some choose to refer to a single battery as a battery, and multiple batteries connected together as a bank. But then to others, any single or multiple can be a bank.
Another factoid: in product manuals, it's not uncommon to see "battery" even if the writer can mean a "battery bank" as a source. So you connect your 3-bank charger to battery 1 (maybe a single), battery 2 (maybe a bank of four), and battery 3 (a bank of 3).
It's all good, and you can bank on that.
-Chris
__________________
Chesapeake Bay, USA
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12-15-2019, 10:28 AM
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#6
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Guru
City: Seattle
Vessel Name: AZZURRA
Vessel Model: Ocean Alexander 54
Join Date: Aug 2017
Posts: 4,308
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One could make the argument that 1 battery is made up of a group of individual cells therefore it is a battery bank. Battery chargers are rated by how many battery banks they can mange. Most chargers today either manage 1 bank or 3 banks. Chargers don’t care if there is only 1 battery it’s still labeled as a bank. I have a house bank and a starting bank. In these cases there are multiple batteries involved. I also have a generator starting battery. I have never referred to it as a bank. It is however connected to bank 3 on my backup battery charger.
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12-15-2019, 10:35 AM
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#7
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Enigma
City: Slicker?
Join Date: Oct 2007
Posts: 16,563
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1530s, "action of battering," in law, "the unlawful beating of another," from Middle French batterie, from Old French baterie "beating, thrashing, assault" (12c.), from batre "to beat," from Latin battuere (see batter (v.)).
Meaning shifted in Middle French from "bombardment" ("heavy blows" upon city walls or fortresses) to "unit of artillery" (a sense recorded in English from 1550s). Extension to "electrical cell" (1748, first used by Ben Franklin) is perhaps from the artillery sense via notion of "discharges" of electricity. In Middle English, bateri meant only "forged metal ware." In obsolete baseball jargon battery was the word for "pitcher and catcher" considered as a unit (1867, originally only the pitcher).
__________________
RTF
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12-15-2019, 10:44 AM
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#8
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Guru
City: Aventura FL
Vessel Name: Kinja
Vessel Model: American Tug 34 #116 2008
Join Date: Oct 2017
Posts: 10,595
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The short/simple answer is; A battery is a method to storing energy until needed. It will be made up with individual cells.
__________________
Two days out the hospital after a week in the hospital because of a significant heart attack.
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12-15-2019, 11:23 AM
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#9
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Senior Member
City: Guntersville, Al
Vessel Name: StarLite
Vessel Model: Mainship 30 Pilot II - 2003
Join Date: Aug 2019
Posts: 413
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Can you spell redundant?
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12-15-2019, 12:22 PM
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#10
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Guru
City: Miami River
Vessel Name: Gotcha
Vessel Model: Grand Banks. Heritage. 54
Join Date: Aug 2016
Posts: 2,988
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This new boat has many batteries plus it has a step up transformer and a step down transformer, it has two inverters (bot 24v and 12v). The previous owner didn’t know what all this equipment did, he just said turn these switches on. It’s worked for two years. LMAO
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12-15-2019, 12:24 PM
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#11
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Guru
City: Oconto, WI
Vessel Name: Best Alternative
Vessel Model: 36 Albin Aft Cabin
Join Date: Oct 2012
Posts: 3,145
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Redundant is my middle name!!
Did you know if you say gullible real slow and in a low voice it rhymes with "orange". try it
pete
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12-15-2019, 12:51 PM
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#12
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Guru
Join Date: Jun 2008
Posts: 5,036
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Pete Meisinger
Redundant is my middle name!!
pete
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You must have worked in the Department of Redundancy Department.
__________________
Jay Leonard
Ex boats: 1983 40 Albin trunk cabin, 1978 Mainship 34 Model 1
New Port Richey, Fl
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12-15-2019, 01:57 PM
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#13
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Guru
City: Qualicum Beach, Vancouver Island
Vessel Name: Capricorn
Vessel Model: Mariner 30 - Sedan Cruiser 1969
Join Date: Feb 2019
Posts: 2,019
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I am surprised everyone got the "battery bank" concept wrong. A battery bank is a place you go to either in person, through a credit card, through a wallet, or other means of funds transfer. These funds are required because even though you read and had explained all the precautions you should take to extend battery life, you chose to ignore them, the sad results of ignoring said instructions happen to others but not to you.
Alas, they do happen to you thus necessitating a visit to the battery bank for funds for your batteries and supporting gear. Ignore all other definitions.
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12-15-2019, 04:35 PM
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#14
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Guru
City: Miami River
Vessel Name: Gotcha
Vessel Model: Grand Banks. Heritage. 54
Join Date: Aug 2016
Posts: 2,988
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Pete Meisinger
Redundant is my middle name!!
Did you know if you say gullible real slow and in a low voice it rhymes with "orange". try it
pete
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Pete. How slow do you have to say “gullible”? I tried for hours and can’t say it any slower and it never rhymes with “orange”. BTW what does gullible mean?
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12-15-2019, 05:36 PM
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#15
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Guru
City: Gulf Islands, BC Canada
Vessel Name: Sea Sanctuary
Vessel Model: Bayliner 4588
Join Date: Jul 2019
Posts: 5,017
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Bigsfish
Pete. How slow do you have to say “gullible”? I tried for hours and can’t say it any slower and it never rhymes with “orange”. BTW what does gullible mean?
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good post.
__________________
SteveK
You only need one working engine. That is why I have two.
Sea Sanctuary-new to me 1992 Bayliner 4588
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