Installing Battery Chargers - Conection advice needed

[PaulRainbow]

Good grief Paul ..... you would have to be out of your mind to use method 4. More like spagetti than serious cabling. As that guy says about my RR method:

No, method 4 is the Rolls Royce method Richard. Yours is just a cheaper option that doesn't improve on method 2 unless the cables are exactly equal length.

It is actually quite simple to achieve but requires two extra interconnecting links and two terminal posts. The difference in results between this and the 2nd example are much smaller than the differences between the 1st and 2nd (which are enormous) but with expensive batteries it might be worth the additional work.

As my batteries cost £700 a pop, this certainly looks like the RR solution to me.

Richard

Very selective quoting Richard, how about "Note that it is important that all 4 links on each side are the same length otherwise one of the main benefits (that of equal resistance between each battery and the loads) is lost. "

 

[RichardS]

Very selective quoting Richard, how about "Note that it is important that all 4 links on each side are the same length otherwise one of the main benefits (that of equal resistance between each battery and the loads) is lost. "

Errrr .... not selective. Just not wanting to repeat what I myself had already stated in post #18, viz "the absolute Rolls Royce solution is to have all the cables exactly the same length" so surely we're agreed on that.

Now, we just need to agree whether Method 4 should be called the "Spagetti Method" ...... so perhaps the first question is to ask whether anyone has ever actually adopted this method?

Richard

 

[PaulRainbow]

Errrr .... not selective. Just not wanting to repeat what I myself had already stated in post #18, viz "the absolute Rolls Royce solution is to have all the cables exactly the same length" so surely we're agreed on that.

Now, we just need to agree whether Method 4 should be called the "Spagetti Method" ...... so perhaps the first question is to ask whether anyone has ever actually adopted this method?

Richard

The whole point of the entire article is to show how to connect batteries so they are used equally. The point of method three is that each battery has the same load applied to it because all cables are exactly the same length, if they are not the same length it is no better than method two. In fact, it could be worse due to the increase in connections.

Method four is superior because it is easier to wire than method three. Excluding the main supply cables method three has eight link cables and two busbars, method four only has six link cables and no busbars, the same as method two. The only differences between methods four and two are how the longer link cable is connected and where the load cables are connected. It is no more complicated and requires no more components than method two.

That said, the gains made by methods three and four, over method two, are small (as can be seen by the calculations for method two) and only apply if all of the cables are the same length. So unless all cables are exactly the same, method two is as good as anything.

One final point, if Gary has kept his link cables the same length his interconnecting wiring cannot be bettered.

 

[RichardS]

Method four is superior because it is easier to wire than method three ....

.... clearly so, and hence the veritable stampede of people with an answer to my question about whether anyone has ever actually adopted the "Spagetti" method?

Or perhaps they're all glued to the telly awaiting Teresa May's resignation?

Richard

 

[temptress]

I do have more than one leisure battery. These are installed as per this diagram as are the isolation switches. Installing the busbars and charges is a job for this weekend.

Is my diagram incorrect?

I'm confused here. Is this a 24v system? why are the Positives connected to the Negatives?

 

[VicS]

I'm confused here. Is this a 24v system? why are the Positives connected to the Negatives?

6 volt batteries perhaps ?

 

[PaulRainbow]

6 volt batteries perhaps ?

Gary has started a few 12v threads recently, so i assumed 6v batteries.

 

[PaulRainbow]

.... clearly so, and hence the veritable stampede of people with an answer to my question about whether anyone has ever actually adopted the "Spagetti" method?

Or perhaps they're all glued to the telly awaiting Teresa May's resignation?

Richard

May i suggest you look more closely at method four ? It is no more complicated and has no more cables than method two, it has two less cables than your method.

Rather than batteries 2 and 3 being linked the link cable goes between 1 and 3. It's just a longer cable going to a different terminal. No extra cables, connections or busbars compared to method two. The load cables are connected to different terminal, but again, no extra hardware.

I doubt many people have bothered with this method, for one thing it requires equal numbers of batteries. I also doubt many people have used method three. Most of us are happy with method two and understand that the gains of method three are small and unless the cables are of equal length nil.

Only you seem to have chosen to adopt the method with the most cables, connections and busbars and install with unequal cable lengths. Thus having no gains over method two, but more cables, connections and busbars than any other method

 

[VicS]

I do have more than one leisure battery. These are installed as per this diagram as are the isolation switches. Installing the busbars and charges is a job for this weekend.

Is my diagram incorrect?

Gary,

Your diagram does not seem to show any route by which the house battery bank is charged by the engine alternator ( other than by closing the emergency linking switch)

Presumably you have some form of split charging arrangement .. diodes?? VSR ??


Apologies if I've missed an explanation somewhere but I have skipped over the stupid arguments above regarding Rolls Royce vs spaghetti

 

[Jokani]

Your diagram does not seem to show any route by which the house battery bank is charged by the engine alternator ( other than by closing the emergency linking switch)

Hi Vic, an ommission/mistake on my part. I do have solar and alternator charging, I have just not added these to the diagram, now I think I have coreect way forward (ie I can use busbars and not the terminals directly) I'll work on updating my diagram.

Thanks for takin the time to look Vic.

 

[RichardS]

Apologies if I've missed an explanation somewhere but I have skipped over the stupid arguments above regarding Rolls Royce vs spaghetti

LOL

Deffo best to stick to what you know Vic.

Richard

 

[temptress]

6 volt batteries perhaps ?

thank you, that makes sense.

 

[Jokani]

Gary has started a few 12v threads recently, so i assumed 6v batteries.

Yes, 4 Trojans, in pairs, in series. Could be considered over the top for a Centaur, but I like my electronic gadgets. plus on occasions I need to work from the boat, so phone WiFi and laptop etc need to be powerd.