Hi Jeff. Love your channel, you are a fantastic source of knowledge. I currently have an issue with my new to me Benetau 40. I recently added a washdown pump and a larger anchor (55 lbs) to the boat with the washdown pump hooked up to the same load. The overload keeps tripping just as I get to the point of bringing the anchor over the roller (of course). I certainly know that the cabling is undersized based on the calculations (108 amps) I've done, but not have done all the voltage drops measurements such as across the contact relays, cable run, etc. One suggestion given to me was to install a battery in parallel to the windlass and fuse it with a 125 Amp fuse in order to protect the battery. This set up was actually done on a 55 foot yacht many years ago and is still working. The concept is that the battery acts as an accumulator and shares the load between the existing system and the added battery. In a PERFECT world all batteries in a bank should be equally sized but that would require a 4D battery. All batteries on board are LifeLine AGM. Your thoughts please.
You could certainly add a bow battery for the windlass. But I would not directly connect it to the house bank. I would add an ACR or dc to dc charger between them. Those would be fused at both ends
Thanks Jeff, super timely video as I’m currently installing a new thruster and have decided to add a dedicated battery to power it. I keep reminding myself that “nothing is easy.”
I recently solved this problem with a battery to battery charger on a boat with a 12 volt start bank, 12 volt house bank and 24 volt bow thruster and windlass. I fed the battery to battery charger from a free output from a diode splitter on the alternator for when the engine is running and from an unused output on a 3 bank charger. This way the thruster batteries are charged while at the dock or with the engine running but the isolation is fully automated. A big step up compared to hauling the batteries out of under the V berth and taking them home to charge.
@@PacificYachtSystems No. I set up the DC-DC charger with two sources, the battery isolator so it would run when the alternator was charging and an unused output on a battery charger so the batteries charge while at the dock or charging with the generator. This achieves my goal of the DC-DC charger shutting off when the charging sources are off so I'm not depleting the house bank.
I have same problem on my boat, 42’ twin diesel cruiser. House bank, 2 8D agm batts, are charged by one alternator. If I put combiner between house and stern thruster batt I am worried it might be too big of a load on alternator, 2 8D’s and a group 31. Hence, I only charge stern thruster batt by battery charger. Alternator on other engine charges start batts and huge air heater’s load for 5 minutes while main engines warm up ( to reduce smoke) Need a combiner with a time delay if there is such a thing.Bow thruster is powered by house batts.
In this scenario how do you determine the size of the cables between house bank to the ACR and from the ACR to the BT/Windlass bank? When the engine is running and the ACR is closed it essentially is a circuit running from the alternator in the stern all the way to the thruster in the bow? Would you just use the same size that is run from the alternator to the house bank, or do you need to upside all the cables for this? Also, if for whatever reason the house bank is depleted so the system would technically get a “Undervoltage Lockout” and there is an emergency situation with a BS ACR 500A is it okay to use the bypass switch to combine the batteries so that alternator volts flow to the bow bank, or would that be problematic and there should be some manual switch to route the alternator direct to the bank in the bow?
Question for a video Jeff. I have a battery bank at the bow for my bow thruster. Two batteries wired up to supply 24v. I have 2 windlasses, 12v each, running back to my house battery bank. Is there a way to use that bow battery bank to power my windlass? I’d need to step down 24v to 12v. Thanks Tim Ps I’ll just go google it but might be good content 😊
I watch a lot of sailing blogs like Sailing Sophisticated Lady, Sailing Uma, Zingaro and the like. I have my own off grid system in my RV. I worry about all these folks jamming all this stuff in their boats and wish for a Jeff Cote style assessment of some of these systems for safety. If you look at Sailing Doodles and the way he destroyed his boat and how all his batteries and inverters were in the bilge and fried immediately. I think about your vids about what happens when things all blow up. I was in Santa Barbara the day that the dive boat Conception burned everybody on it alive and I worry about my utube sailors out there. It could be a good way to reach out to so many folks about safety if you could look at these systems folks are running. Thanks
Thanks Keith for sharing. We learnt the hard way, by doing and learning over and over again. The advantage with expertise from repetition is that shows you the things you never fore saw. Glad you find our channel informative.
Hi Howard, what's your reasoning behind install the DC to DC charger at the bow battery, are you trying to offset voltage drop to the battery from the DC to DC charger?
@@PacificYachtSystems I am considering doing this as well. I currently have a combiner connecting my house battery bank to my bow thruster battery. The main issue I have come across is that when the combiner is activated and the bow thruster is engaged I see a voltage drop in my main house system and a pretty substantial lug from the alternator on my engine as it tries to deliver amperage to deal with the sudden spike. Ive been told that I can connect the combiner to a relay that breaks the connection when the thruster control is on to avoid these spikes. I may also add an additional battery to the bow thruster bank to provide more cranking power for those short bursts when the thruster is engaged. That said, I also think a dc- dc charger could also be a solution to keep my thruster batteries topped up while underway, but then I lose the ability to provide "support" current to the bow thruster battery from the house. Mulling it over as I think I could go either way - relay to the combiner OR installing a dc-dc charger. Any thoughts one pros and cons of doing it either way?
@@PacificYachtSystems yes, better sensing of batt voltage for better charge profile unless you use a charger with remote sense. Just another method to charge a remote battery.
Thanks, Jeff! Right now I use my house bank of four 8D AGMs for the thruster and windlass, and am about to upgrade to lithium, but keep one of the 8Ds to dedicate for the thruster/windlass. Keeping that battery charged is a key part of the system, so you just answered an important question. Would you recommend any kind of B2B charger for when the engine is not running to top off/maintain the thruster/windlass battery from the house bank? Right now I have a Xantrex Echo Charge to maintain my genset start battery from the house, would this work for the thruster/windlass battery assuming that the heavy lifting is done by the alternator?
Hi David, consider a DC to DC charging converter as it will give your thruster and windlass battery exactly what they need as a charge profile. The xantrex echocharge is good but the DC to DC charging converter is better.
I was just about to ask this, so can a DC to DC charger be a third option? Or is there a reason you didn’t mention it in your video. Always appreciate the videos Jeff ✌🏻
I here you talk about not putting certain electronics in engine rooms. Maybe you could answer this question in a video. I have an outboard engine but my fuel lines travel through the same compartment that my batteries are stored in, is this a concern? I change my fuel lines out every couple of years for safety reasons. Your thoughts?
Hi Jeff. Love your channel, you are a fantastic source of knowledge. I currently have an issue with my new to me Benetau 40. I recently added a washdown pump and a larger anchor (55 lbs) to the boat with the washdown pump hooked up to the same load. The overload keeps tripping just as I get to the point of bringing the anchor over the roller (of course). I certainly know that the cabling is undersized based on the calculations (108 amps) I've done, but not have done all the voltage drops measurements such as across the contact relays, cable run, etc. One suggestion given to me was to install a battery in parallel to the windlass and fuse it with a 125 Amp fuse in order to protect the battery. This set up was actually done on a 55 foot yacht many years ago and is still working. The concept is that the battery acts as an accumulator and shares the load between the existing system and the added battery. In a PERFECT world all batteries in a bank should be equally sized but that would require a 4D battery. All batteries on board are LifeLine AGM. Your thoughts please.
You could certainly add a bow battery for the windlass. But I would not directly connect it to the house bank. I would add an ACR or dc to dc charger between them. Those would be fused at both ends
Thanks Jeff, super timely video as I’m currently installing a new thruster and have decided to add a dedicated battery to power it. I keep reminding myself that “nothing is easy.”
Thanks for sharing John, glad the content was timely.
I recently solved this problem with a battery to battery charger on a boat with a 12 volt start bank, 12 volt house bank and 24 volt bow thruster and windlass. I fed the battery to battery charger from a free output from a diode splitter on the alternator for when the engine is running and from an unused output on a 3 bank charger. This way the thruster batteries are charged while at the dock or with the engine running but the isolation is fully automated. A big step up compared to hauling the batteries out of under the V berth and taking them home to charge.
Did you connect the DC to DC charger to the battery isolator because you only wanted it to charge via the alternator?
@@PacificYachtSystems No. I set up the DC-DC charger with two sources, the battery isolator so it would run when the alternator was charging and an unused output on a battery charger so the batteries charge while at the dock or charging with the generator. This achieves my goal of the DC-DC charger shutting off when the charging sources are off so I'm not depleting the house bank.
Great tips Jeff. Thanks from Western Kentucky.
Thanks for watching!
love to see what you mean and show the product ?!
I have same problem on my boat, 42’ twin diesel cruiser. House bank, 2 8D agm batts, are charged by one alternator. If I put combiner between house and stern thruster batt I am worried it might be too big of a load on alternator, 2 8D’s and a group 31. Hence, I only charge stern thruster batt by battery charger. Alternator on other engine charges start batts and huge air heater’s load for 5 minutes while main engines warm up ( to reduce smoke) Need a combiner with a time delay if there is such a thing.Bow thruster is powered by house batts.
Thanks for sharing!
In this scenario how do you determine the size of the cables between house bank to the ACR and from the ACR to the BT/Windlass bank? When the engine is running and the ACR is closed it essentially is a circuit running from the alternator in the stern all the way to the thruster in the bow? Would you just use the same size that is run from the alternator to the house bank, or do you need to upside all the cables for this?
Also, if for whatever reason the house bank is depleted so the system would technically get a “Undervoltage Lockout” and there is an emergency situation with a BS ACR 500A is it okay to use the bypass switch to combine the batteries so that alternator volts flow to the bow bank, or would that be problematic and there should be some manual switch to route the alternator direct to the bank in the bow?
Question for a video Jeff. I have a battery bank at the bow for my bow thruster. Two batteries wired up to supply 24v. I have 2 windlasses, 12v each, running back to my house battery bank. Is there a way to use that bow battery bank to power my windlass? I’d need to step down 24v to 12v.
Thanks
Tim
Ps I’ll just go google it but might be good content 😊
I watch a lot of sailing blogs like Sailing Sophisticated Lady, Sailing Uma, Zingaro and the like. I have my own off grid system in my RV.
I worry about all these folks jamming all this stuff in their boats and wish for a Jeff Cote style assessment of some of these systems for safety. If you look at Sailing Doodles and the way he destroyed his boat and how all his batteries and inverters were in the bilge and fried immediately. I think about your vids about what happens when things all blow up. I was in Santa Barbara the day that the dive boat Conception burned everybody on it alive and I worry about my utube sailors out there.
It could be a good way to reach out to so many folks about safety if you could look at these systems folks are running. Thanks
Thanks Keith for sharing. We learnt the hard way, by doing and learning over and over again. The advantage with expertise from repetition is that shows you the things you never fore saw. Glad you find our channel informative.
A DC to DC charger also works well in this application. Locate it near the bow battery.
Hi Howard, what's your reasoning behind install the DC to DC charger at the bow battery, are you trying to offset voltage drop to the battery from the DC to DC charger?
@@PacificYachtSystems I am considering doing this as well. I currently have a combiner connecting my house battery bank to my bow thruster battery. The main issue I have come across is that when the combiner is activated and the bow thruster is engaged I see a voltage drop in my main house system and a pretty substantial lug from the alternator on my engine as it tries to deliver amperage to deal with the sudden spike. Ive been told that I can connect the combiner to a relay that breaks the connection when the thruster control is on to avoid these spikes. I may also add an additional battery to the bow thruster bank to provide more cranking power for those short bursts when the thruster is engaged. That said, I also think a dc- dc charger could also be a solution to keep my thruster batteries topped up while underway, but then I lose the ability to provide "support" current to the bow thruster battery from the house. Mulling it over as I think I could go either way - relay to the combiner OR installing a dc-dc charger. Any thoughts one pros and cons of doing it either way?
@@PacificYachtSystems yes, better sensing of batt voltage for better charge profile unless you use a charger with remote sense. Just another method to charge a remote battery.
Thanks, Jeff! Right now I use my house bank of four 8D AGMs for the thruster and windlass, and am about to upgrade to lithium, but keep one of the 8Ds to dedicate for the thruster/windlass. Keeping that battery charged is a key part of the system, so you just answered an important question. Would you recommend any kind of B2B charger for when the engine is not running to top off/maintain the thruster/windlass battery from the house bank? Right now I have a Xantrex Echo Charge to maintain my genset start battery from the house, would this work for the thruster/windlass battery assuming that the heavy lifting is done by the alternator?
Hi David, consider a DC to DC charging converter as it will give your thruster and windlass battery exactly what they need as a charge profile. The xantrex echocharge is good but the DC to DC charging converter is better.
@@PacificYachtSystems, much appreciated! Would something like the Victron Orion TR 30A be a good choice? I already have one that I can repurpose.
I was just about to ask this, so can a DC to DC charger be a third option? Or is there a reason you didn’t mention it in your video.
Always appreciate the videos Jeff ✌🏻
I here you talk about not putting certain electronics in engine rooms. Maybe you could answer this question in a video. I have an outboard engine but my fuel lines travel through the same compartment that my batteries are stored in, is this a concern? I change my fuel lines out every couple of years for safety reasons. Your thoughts?
Good suggestion.