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Home > Battery layout: The dual circuit switch
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Battery layouts explained:
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The dual circuit battery switch and Automatic Charge Relay
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The Dual Circuit battery switch with Automatic Charge Relay (ACR) is designed to solve many of the problems of the 1-2-Both battery layout and in my opinion it does it wonderfully and economically for small and medium boats. It simplifies the operation of the system by removing user input and automating the battery charging process so that when the batteries are on charge the combiner combines and they all get charged and when they are being discharged they are automatically seperated to prevent running down the start battery. The elimination of user input greatly reduces the chance of error that is the principal problem with the 1-2-Both battery switch.
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Advantages of the dual circuit battery switch layout
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Simple and easy to understand
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Charging process is automated
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User error is reduced
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Manual override is possible in the event of an equipment failure
Disadvantages of the dual circuit battery switch layout
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On big systems the start and house batteries become too different in size and type to be usefully combined
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Charging systems with temperature compensation may end up with the temperature sensor on the wrong battery
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Charging is not automatically directed to the battery that needs it most
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If the automatic combiner fails then it is back to the old manual method
How it works
The switch in the picture is a double pole switch. One leg switches the start battery to the engine, the other leg switches the house battery to the other DC loads. The two battery banks are completely separate except that when either of them is on charge the combiner cuts in automatically and connects them together so they both get charged. As soon as they go off charge it cuts out and they go back to being seperate banks. There is a manual override position if the switch is turned to the yellow "Combine Batteries" setting.
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Tax and shipping info
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