Xantrex Battery Charger Install questions

[WTunnessen]

I'm in the process of upgrading Gaulois' battery charging system which currently is the original (?) Guest 20 Amp charger and have a few questions and am wondering how others have installed theirs.  Gaulois is 1988 Mark I.  I'm installing Xantrex Truescharge2 40 AMP charger.  I had hoped this might be a simple change out but...

1. DC Fuses near batteries?  The manual says to install fuses on the leads running from the charger to the batters.  Have others done this?

From the manual:
"Electrical codes require the DC circuit from each battery to the charger to be equipped with a disconnect and an overcurrent
protection device, usually within 7 inches (17.8 cm) of each battery1. The devices are usually DC-rated circuit breakers, fused disconnects, or a separate fuse and disconnect for each circuit. These devices must be rated for DC voltage and current and be rated to withstand the short circuit rating of each battery....   The current rating of the DC fuses must be correctly matched to the size of the DC wiring used, in accordance with the applicable codes. This helps to protect the installation against fire in case of any overcurrent or short circuit fault."

2.  AC power connection - It looks like the current charger is wired to the AC Bus bar that is attached to the back of the panel.  Note - this is the original 1988 Mark I panel.

Have others used the same connection or added a separate breaker? 

The new Xantrex needs to be wired to a 20 AMP breaker.  It looks like this bus bar is wire to the "Outlet" breaker, which is 20 AMP.  But looking at the wiring chart on the owners manual, I am not 100% sure if this bus is tied to the 20 AMP "Outlet" breaker.


3. The old Guest Charger was wired to what looks like some sort of combiner which is then wired to the battery switch.  Its not labeled. But is "Balmer" blue and has what looks like heat exchanging fins. I'll take picture of it and post it.

Note - I did not trace wire from alternator to see if it is wired to the combiner or what ever it is. However, all the wires connected to it are 12 AWG. This seems pretty undersized for even the older charger. 

Was this the standard wire practices, or something "custom?" 

I've added new 6 AWG directly to the batteries in the original battery box.  That gets back to the fuse question.

4.  DC grounds -  The older charger's ground line runs to the negative bus bar on the panel.  I am wondering if that is sufficient for running the negative leads from Xantrex or if they should be grounded somewhere else, like the engine or if there is one, a ground bus for the batteries? 

[Rick Johnson]

I installed the same charger.

1) Yes, I included pictures of both the house bank and the starting battery.  Not sure you can see the fuse blocks but they are red Blue Sea Maxi blocks

2) I added a new circuit breaker (15amp) to the panel.  Just had to pop out a plastic plus in the panel.

3) Sounds like you have a Balmar Duo Charge.  Check the link below.

http://www.balmar.net/page20-Duocharge.html

4) As part of my wiring upgrade, I ran a new ground from a new busbar to the motor.

Have Fun.

Cheers,

Rick

[WTunnessen]

Rick

Thanks for the feedback and the pictures.

What size Maxi Fuses did you use and how did you determine the size?

I am not sure I have a plastic plus push out on the Mark I older panel for adding a new AC breaker.  Any one have any other recommendations?

[Rick Johnson]

Xantrex says a max 50amp fuse for the TrueCharge 40+.  I was also trying to follow Jim Moe's electrical upgrade (in the project section).  Jim shows a 20amp charger using 30amp fuses.  I think I went undersized with 40amp fuses but have not blown one yet.  I've had the TrueCharge for about 2 years now...  Works great!

Cheers,

Rick

[WTunnessen]

Thanks to google - on another  boat forum - found this suggestion:

"Battery chargers ABYC-20.5.6. Each ungrounded DC output conductor shall be provided with over current protection, based on the maximum output of the charger, or 20.5.6.1. the charger manufacturer shall provide instructions to install the overcurrent protection device within 7" of the charcer. Thats the reason for the fuses to answer the original question. Electrical code and proper engineering is to fuse at 1.23 times the max current rating. So, a 35 amp charger should be fused at 43 amps, or a 40 amp fuse is closest real value."

So this would suggest using a 50 amp fuse on Truecharge 40 as well.

[Stu Jackson]

WT, the article Rick suggested is both in Projects and the wiki:  http://www.c34.org/wiki/index.php?title=Catalina_34_Electrical_System_Upgrade

Reviewing the material in the electrical section of the wiki would be well worth your time.

[jmnpe]

I have the same year boat ( 1988 ). The original charger was wired to the top AC distribution CB position, and was about a 10 amp. When I added a second 50 amp charger, I just drilled another hole above the top AC distribution breaker for an additional CB. There is plenty of room to do it. A 10 - 20 amp AC CB will be plenty for the Truecharge2-40. A 50 or 60 amp fuse right at each battery would be a good choice. The Blue Sea Maxi Fuse and holder works well. You could also use the new Blue Sea 5191 plus associated fuse, but it increases the height too much for some battery installations, and they are not as readily available as the Maxi Fuse. The only reason to have it there is to protect the charger cable from destruction if you short it to ground down stream from the battery; the charger has it's own internal protection.

Definitely run a separate heavier ground cable from the batteries to either the charger output or the DC distribution terminal strip behind the electrical panel. The only ground connection on the original wiring from the distribution panel area to the battery was a #10 wire. If you add a #6 ( minimum ) ground cable direct from the batteries to the ground distribution terminal strip, the whole DC system on the boat will thank you. Then, you can connect the ground output on the charger to either the ground distribution terminal strip or directly to the batteries with another #6 wire.

I have been in discussion with Xantrex about the availability of the optional Remote Control Panel for the Truecharge2, and they should be available by mid-July of this year. It is quite handy in that you can program all there is to program on the new charger through it, and it actually provides useful information as well as easily allowing operational mode changes that can be very handy under specific situations.

The odd blue blob was not standard, and is not a Balmar Duo Charge. The #12 wire was at least several sizes too small for battery charging applications. It is probably a diode-type battery isolator, and you will want to get rid of it as it decreases the charging efficiency of the batteries substantially. See my questions on your later post about just it, here: http://c34.org/bbs/index.php/topic,5016.0.html

Regards,

John
1988 Hull 728
Otra Vez

[WTunnessen]

Thanks all for the advice / suggestions.

John this earlier post of yours that provides information on replacement circut breakers was also helpful: 
http://c34.org/bbs/index.php/topic,4182.0.html