Basic Battery systems Design
Madeye has evolved a bit as I've built and refined the system and the overall design. It suffered some setbacks, but those were taken as lessons and used to improve the system and design.
Madeye is a 1973 Ericson 46 monohull sailboat. The age of the boat means that she's... suffered from various refits and wiring misadventures of the previous owners. With that in mind, I've been replacing virtually all of the wiring and electrical systems on the boat. As part of this refitting, I've developed.
Battery Banks
Madeye currently features THREE battery banks. The Engine/Windlass bank, The Solar/Inverter bank and a House/Navigation bank. Both lithium and AGM battery technologies are used for a combination of capacity and reliability.
The Solar/Inverter bank is a 580 amp hour, 24 volt LifePO4 battery pack. It's managed by a REC Q BMS and delivers power for the inverter (120v power for cooking, laptops, appliances, etc). It's directly charged by three MPPT solar controllers, each with a dedicated panel supplying it. In addition, it supplies 12v power to the house and engine packs via a pair of 24/12 DC-DC converters. This pack CAN be fully depleted without impacting the engine or house systems. It is always charged via Solar, but shore power AND a DC generator can be used as charging sources.
The Engine/Windlass bank is a pair of AGM cells. These require little in the way of maintenance and are very reliable. It is charged from the main Solar/Inverter pack as well as the engine alternator.