BruceK
Moderator Emeritus
- Joined
- Oct 31, 2011
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The Manual for my twin engined boat says don`t run with the battery switch set to "All" or "Both". The marine electrician who did my boat delivery said the same when he provided a schematic of the battery set up. But why?
Today I spoke with the electrician about something else and quizzed him on "why". He says if you set to "ALL" the alternators see the batteries as fully charged and won`t put out amps.
I try to alternate between setting to "1" and to "2" while running but at anchor,I set to "All". I know there is a "make one house and the other start" thinking on a 2 battery bank set up,but I figure I`d rather drain both batts moderately than drain the heck out of one while preserving the "start" one 100%. Of course you need to know you`ll have enough amps for starting, in my case I know from experience I will. And in the unlikely event that`s not so, there`s the genset and charger to provide amps, with its own dedicated start battery.
Today I spoke with the electrician about something else and quizzed him on "why". He says if you set to "ALL" the alternators see the batteries as fully charged and won`t put out amps.
I try to alternate between setting to "1" and to "2" while running but at anchor,I set to "All". I know there is a "make one house and the other start" thinking on a 2 battery bank set up,but I figure I`d rather drain both batts moderately than drain the heck out of one while preserving the "start" one 100%. Of course you need to know you`ll have enough amps for starting, in my case I know from experience I will. And in the unlikely event that`s not so, there`s the genset and charger to provide amps, with its own dedicated start battery.