T&T: 24V starter, 12V house bank - Ugh!

[Kevin Redden]

> -----Original Message-----
> ......... if you bank two 12 volt batteries to make the 24 volts all you
> need is a charger that can do both 12 volt batteries at one time, in
> other words, you get either a two bank 12 volt charger or 2 separate 12
> volt chargers.......

Look out with that!  Most "two bank" chargers are nothing more than a single
charger circuit, with all negative leads bonded to the same negative buss,
and two diode isolated posts from the same positive buss for the two
batteries. Since they use a common ground, if you connect that to two 12V
batteries in series, be prepared for instant and serious fireworks!

If you look at page 2-8 of the Xantrex Truecharge 40 battery charger
(http://www.xantrex.com/web/id/462/docserve.asp), you can clearly see the
common ground used for it three outputs.

Kevin