New battery charger and wiring

[hatterass]

I have finally got a new battery charger for my 61 MY. I will be replacing the old laMarch with a new solid state one. My question is do I connect the new one the same way as the old one or should I run new Wires to the battery banks. As it stands now I am not even using the batteries to run the boat. I have them disconnected because of overcharging. This being saids all my house systems still run off the charge acting as an "inverter". So it seems that the charger is doing all of the work before it gets to the batteries. Should I re wire the charger to just the batteries? or is keeping it the was it is fine? I don't think this is standard wiring procedure in todays standards but this was the original configuration from Hatteras.

 

[SKYCHENEY]

If the wiring is good shape, just reuse it. The batteries don't care where the wires are routed in the system. The charging will be just the same.

 

[jim rosenthal]

Make sure you have the same size returns back to the charger as the charging cables. I ran separate returns back to the charger on all three battery banks; it improved the charging performance considerably.

 

[Pascal]

Not sure I understand your description but the charger output should go to the batteries and the batteries should run the “stuff”

Bypassing the batteries is nuts... if you loose shore power you don’t have bilge pumps or anything.

Personality I would replace the wiring. Old untinned wire do get corroded. Cheap insurance

 

[Boatsb]

Since no one on the forum has seen the wiring I'd value the free advice at what it cost.

Layout a proper charging circuit diagram for the new charger. Make sure the wire size and protection is adequate before deciding if it can be reused. Update the system where it makes sense.

Remember the standards have evolved since the vessel was built. It may be time to step up and do it right. Especially if the charger can put out higher amperage than the previous one.

Many of the chargers I sell can be used as power supplies. It's not a common use but can be practical in certain situations.

 

[hatterass]

Ok so I called Hatteras and spoke to one of the engineers, I was also able to break out the original blue prints for the wiring of the boat. The way the wired the battery charger back then is to go from the battery charger to the buss panel and then out to the house and batteries. In this config I can use the battery charger like a power supply. ( I know this because I have no batteries hooked up in the boat and everything works, i.e. the heads and lights) The charger does not go directly to the batteries and not isolated from the house system. Should it get rewired to just charge the batteries or keep it the way it was designed and installed? What ill effect will that have on a new charger and will it work properly in this config. I purchased a Powerstream 32V 240V 40amp charger.

 

[Pascal]

Personally in don’t see any benefit to this set up. When shore power is off, nothing works. What are you bulge pumps connected to?

You say the batteries are disconnected which makes no sense.

Impossible to understand without more details. Why would the batteries be disconnected?

How many banks do you have, what size batteries and how many outputs on you charger

Typically charger outputs go to each battery bank with a fuse. If the batteries are far from the charger, you can also connect the output to the battery switches but make sure they are connected to the terminal that s always on (coming from battery) so the charger works when the battery switch is off

Reason I suggested new wiring is that depending on the age of the boat the original may be untinned and already corroded. Do it right or do it twice

 

[Boatsb]

The charge will charge the batteries. It will power the circuits. It will send electrons to wherever its needed if set up like that. If theres no isolation diodes it feeds everything on the circuit.

The difference between a charger and a charger that can be a power supply is that ithe latter can support the rest of the system should the batteries need to be disconnected. It's not supposed to replace the batteries but to charge them and keep the house load fed.

I'm pretty sure the hatteras engineer who designed the system knows more than some of our more vocal member experts.