T&T: 4D Battery Bank

[Peter Bennett]

Wednesday, March 19, 2008, 7:57:33 AM, Robin wrote:

<snippage>

RB> Combining start and house capacity in a single large bank is ok if you are
RB> willing to risk the possible loss of start capability due to a dead or weak
RB> bank. You'd likely want a monitoring device. If a frig door gets left open and
RB> the frig runs steadily draining your power...or a 12 volt device malfunctions
RB> and draws steady current, you could have trouble.

Another possible problem with using a single battery for house and
start is that the system voltage will drop when you crank the engine,
and this drop may be enough to turn off or reset many of your
navigation instruments, particularly those with electronic power
switches.

-- 
Peter Bennett, VE7CEI    Vancouver, B.C., Canada
Ennos 31 "Honeycomb"
GPS and NMEA info: http://vancouver-webpages.com/peter 
Vancouver Power Squadron: http://vancouver.powersquadron.ca