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You are smart not trusting others when it comes to electricity! Please let us know what your measurements reveal.
Do you have the OEM BEP battery switch / DVSR?
Yes the stock system has the dual+combine switches and DVSR in the cluster pack. I'm going to pull the switches and verify everything is wired correctly this spring. I already verified the battery wiring and changed the house/start order so my house is now closer to the switches so I could add my amp without adding longer power lines. And the system correctly isolates the start and house when floating. I have my charger on the house, but I think I'm going to switch to the start so it follows the BEP procedure described above. I'll trace the charging lines...if I'm correct, it goes to the start side only and the DVSR will combine them during charging.
Assumption: ALL three factory battery switches and ignition are off.
So what happens if you have the standard 2 battery setup on a 212x and hook a 2 bank charger up (one to each battery)? It would seem to me that the DVSR would become irrelevant since each bank is directly connected to the terminals of the separate batteries.
Assumption: ALL three factory battery switches and ignition are off.
So what happens if you have the standard 2 battery setup on a 212x and hook a 2 bank charger up (one to each battery)? It would seem to me that the DVSR would become irrelevant since each bank is directly connected to the terminals of the separate batteries.
The dual bank charger does not remain isolated. Once the DVSR senses the charging voltage, the relay trips and combines both batteries so you're not getting individual charging. There's a mod to prevent the DVSR from combining, but then when you're out zipping around on the boat the engines are not charging both batteries, just the start. You would then need to use the yellow combine switch while running the engines and then turn if off again when floating, back and forth, or some other way to isolate. I didn't want to do that mod as my engines do a decent job of charging back up on longer runs, and I wanted the system to remain fully automatic so I don't have to remember to change the switches on/off as I use the boat. So I swapped to a single bank NoCo to charge both automatically and it works fine for my needs.
The dual bank charger does not remain isolated. Once the DVSR senses the charging voltage, the relay trips and combines both batteries so you're not getting individual charging. There's a mod to prevent the DVSR from combining, but then when you're out zipping around on the boat the engines are not charging both batteries, just the start. You would then need to use the yellow combine switch while running the engines and then turn if off again when floating, back and forth, or some other way to isolate. I didn't want to do that mod as my engines do a decent job of charging back up on longer runs, and I wanted the system to remain fully automatic so I don't have to remember to change the switches on/off as I use the boat. So I swapped to a single bank NoCo to charge both automatically and it works fine for my needs.
Hmmm, that defeats the purpose of the two bank charger and eliminates the capability of the charger to treat the batteries differently if they discharge at different rates. I am going to examine the DVSR more closely when I bring the boat out of storage and likely add a switch to break that circuit for charging.
Hmmm, that defeats the purpose of the two bank charger and eliminates the capability of the charger to treat the batteries differently if they discharge at different rates. I am going to examine the DVSR more closely when I bring the boat out of storage and likely add a switch to break that circuit for charging.
Having a dual bank charger is really only needed if you have two different batteries and you need to charge them independently for full capacity, for instance a regular flooded Lead-Acid and an AGM, which charge at different rates and voltages.
If both batteries are of the same chemistry and size, discharge rates and combining them to recharge is not an issue as they will balance naturally through electron equalization. Think of it as 2 jugs of water with a hose between them, draining one jug will still equalize them to the same level, and adding water to one, will flow equally into both. So even if you run the house down to 50% and the start is at 99%, charging them together is not an issue as they will spread the charge across the banks and balance out. That's why I went with a single bank charger to keep it simple for my setup and keep it all automatic so we can enjoy more time on the water and less time "thinking".
@FSH 210 Sport it seems you know quite a bit about the stock BEP VSR, looking for help on hopefully and easy question.
This is the only thread I could find with details on the BEP VSR with any details. I have a 2014 Yamaha 242 Limited S I bought last summer ('20) and have had it in storage all winter. I ran into a post about Blue Seas Add-A-Battery Kit - 120A with the ACR - Automatic Charging Relay, thought it would be good for my two battery, 2 engine boat so I don't have to worry about the stereo running down both batteries and leaving me stuck.
Yesterday when I brought home the boat to work on it, I noticed that I had the BEP VSR installed and started doing some research that led me here. Looks like the Blue Seas add-a-battery will be redundant and I don't need. However, I am not sure how the switch positions should be for normal use. Would I just turn House on and Start on (not labeled) and leave Emerg Parallel in off position? I think last summer I ran all the time with all 3 on. Also, I am assuming the unlabeled switch is start.
The NOCO genpro with selectable chemistry mode is a good choice for this application. Lithium batteries with built in BMS should have a charger built for that purpose as it works a bit differently to completely shut off current for safety reasons. Being able to select the battery type and have it go back into that mode with persistent memory is a great and IMO required feature of the Noco as opposed to auto sensing for this application. The thermal compensation is also another key feature. There are other more expensive brands that have these features as well.
Be careful with lithiums and what charger you select as thermal runaway and fire are a concern. I also hear that many insurance agencies will not cover a boat fire caused by a lithium battery. Do your research and buy true high quality batteries and chargers for lithium applications. Also don’t believe all of the marketing as some brands spend a lot more there and less on the components.
As for isolation do your research here too. Wether it be two separate two bank chargers or a 4 bank the set up for the three chemistries; charging each fully isolated is important. So yes the switches and any relay system do matter.
However, I am not sure how the switch positions should be for normal use. Would I just turn House on and Start on (not labeled) and leave Emerg Parallel in off position? I think last summer I ran all the time with all 3 on. Also, I am assuming the unlabeled switch is start.
