Now we have been paid, we need to prioritise our spendings.
The electrical system is the biggest problem at the moment, so ideally we'd replace the batteries, get a new charger and another alternator (so we can charge starter and leisure batteries simultaneously). A small petrol generator also comes high on the list. But first we'll probably get a SmartGauge, so we can keep a better eye on the batteries we have and hopefully make them last longer. We were thinking about a bigger inverter but we really don't need one, since we don't want to run anything with a particularly high wattage.
I think we both know what our Christmas presents from each other are going to be this year!
(RFQ) P.O (#E769224939)
2 days ago
Never tried to wrap a boat battery before....... :)
ReplyDeleteHave you thought about using a split charge relay as an alternative to an extra alternator? This effectively prevents the starter battery being drained by the domestic stuff (by isolating it all the time the engine is not running). Much cheaper, and you won't have to get longer alternator belts.
ReplyDeleteI had considered that, thankyou :) . The Smart Bank which you can get to work with the SmartGauge is- I've been told- effectively a posh split charge alternator.
ReplyDeleteIt's just that the journeys that we tend to do are often quite short- about two hours, maximum- and so it would give us a useful extra boost to charge both battery banks simultaneously. You can also configure the SmartGauge-SmartBank combo to use the power from the starter battery alternator to charge the domestics as well after the started battery is charged- which would seriously increase the charging capacity!
Having said that, now there's a possibility of a generator which would make keeping the batteries charged a lot easier, having the setup as I described above is not necessarily such a priority.
Thanks for the suggestion, though. I think we'll probably end up without a second alternator for some time yet, on the basis of cost- there's a lot more things to do in the meantime!