Iliade
Well-Known Member
I have a sealed >100Ah battery up in the bows for the windlass, paired with a nearby old fashioned diode splitter.
Now, following some issues with charging and unexplained battery loads, probably from an old diode splitter for domestic/ engine batteries which I remain unable to locate, I ditched a lot of old wiring and fitted a sterling A to B charger to charge engine and domestic batteries, which it is doing admirably.
There is engine battery voltage coming to the input side of the windlass' split charging diode which only supplies the windlass battery.
The engine & service batteries are charged by wind with a Marlec controller and the service battery additionally charged by solar.
Cue the hideous sulphide smell tracing game, together with eventual alternator overloading and fault lights & low voltage at the BM1 monitor. Once it became prominent, the issue was quickly traced back to the windlass battery which was probably on the point of melting or exploding! It was carefully disconnected and left on the pier to cool down before going to recycling.
My question is, does the panel think the battery just died of old age (it wasn't that old) or was it being chronically overcharged? Before I fit the replacement I would like to ensure that this doesn't happen again... Would ditching the diode and coupling it to the engine battery with a resistor to limit current perhaps be a better idea? I realise that something like a DC: DC charger is the ideal solution but I don't wish to spend ~£300 on such an item. [edit: I have found some for under £100, but the point still stands]
Now, following some issues with charging and unexplained battery loads, probably from an old diode splitter for domestic/ engine batteries which I remain unable to locate, I ditched a lot of old wiring and fitted a sterling A to B charger to charge engine and domestic batteries, which it is doing admirably.
There is engine battery voltage coming to the input side of the windlass' split charging diode which only supplies the windlass battery.
The engine & service batteries are charged by wind with a Marlec controller and the service battery additionally charged by solar.
Cue the hideous sulphide smell tracing game, together with eventual alternator overloading and fault lights & low voltage at the BM1 monitor. Once it became prominent, the issue was quickly traced back to the windlass battery which was probably on the point of melting or exploding! It was carefully disconnected and left on the pier to cool down before going to recycling.
My question is, does the panel think the battery just died of old age (it wasn't that old) or was it being chronically overcharged? Before I fit the replacement I would like to ensure that this doesn't happen again... Would ditching the diode and coupling it to the engine battery with a resistor to limit current perhaps be a better idea? I realise that something like a DC: DC charger is the ideal solution but I don't wish to spend ~£300 on such an item. [edit: I have found some for under £100, but the point still stands]
