I'm not surprised at all that you are doing it wrong.

 

:shh: I have a reputation to keep up!

 

I have been hooking up my 12 volt powermax's 12 volt in 24 volt systems for years. The way i see it, As far as the converter knows the battery its hooked up to drains and it needs to charge it again. If the converter is hooked up 12 volt...then how/why would it matter that the batteries are draining from a 36 volt power source?
Also I have been pushing my converters for years with dirty power (3500 watt champion)
I like running converters but they are starting to become a pain with all the bull$hit.

Just to put into perspective if you want to run your 101 troller with converters that is roughly 2250 watts on your genny which apparently needs to be an inverter. About the cheapest ones that push that kind of power are champion 2800 running watts for about 800 bucks. Better get leds if you want to run only one generator.

Never thought i'd say this but sometimes i consider jumping off the converter band wagon.

 

I had called the MinnKota service line last week and they told me the same thing. You have eloquently written it down here for all. Thank you

 

could someone post a drawing of exactly what is described?Thanks!! I have been running mine pos to pos neg to neg on my 24 v system for years but my batteries have not last like I would expect...maybe this is why

 

And of course for a 24V system just delete the middle converter and battery. I want to reiterate that the gentleman from PowerMax stated that while their converters are able to be used in series he could not speak to other brands.

 

thanks sir...I am a "sight",guy

 

Dealing with burnt up trollers batteries ,and converters finally became enough and I built a fan 6 yrs ago . Its the best thing I ever did . I occasionally use a troller during the day but overall I'd say for continuous use at night a kicker or fan is the way to go .

 

man Carpn your sig hurts my feeling?

 

So if I am running 36 volt and running a 12 volt Powermax converter to each batt I have them hooked wrong?

si this is how I'm hooked up is this wrong according to powermax

 

So if I am running 36 volt and running a 12 volt Powermax converter to each batt I have them hooked wrong? View attachment 139033 si this is how I'm hooked up is this wrong according to powermax

That's what he's saying
And the whole time I've been on BFC that's how everyone has said to set them up....

 

Interesting. op:

 

and this is just another reason why a 36v/45-55A converter would be so much better!

Seeing how my current setup is my first 36v and I've been trying to decide/figure out my battery/genny/converter options.....
Kicker is seeming more and more like the way to go.
Hell by the time you buy the troller, 3 big arse batteries, 3 converters and then a ginormous genny that can run it all plus lights. Then on top of that the 3 big arse batteries will have to be replace every couple of years! If you wanna run a quiet genny, one that size (I run six 400w HPS) that can power it all is $$$$!!!!
A nice kicker setup and smaller genny to run the lights would be cheaper.

 

I hear you loud and clear. I am currently going through the same thing...I got two champion 4000s strapped on the back of my boat. Thats to push my 101 maxxum and 4 400's... When are they going come up with a troller i can plug directly into my troller?

 

Well Chit, I just got the 4 anderson plugs to finish up my converter box and now you're telling me I'm only gonna need 2 of them?! And all that extra wire isn't needed either?! :headbang:

 

I've read all this and I'm trying to wrap my brain around WHY it's better to run the convertors in series.

Also I run my lights 24v and everything else 12v, would this effect that?

I haven't had any issues hooking one convertor to to each Battery.

 

This topic came up a month or two ago on facebook. Comes down to it I dont believe it matters but powermaxx does recommend running the converters in series

 

Okay, just got off the phone with WFCO, Iota, and PowerMax.

WFCO converters do not have have a "data bank" (if I'm quoting him correctly) in the units that would protect the units if we were to try and use them in series. WFCO says it is perfectly acceptable to charge 24V or 36V banks with one of their 12V converters hooked to each individual battery.

Iota says that not only can we connect their 12V converters in series but we could also connect their 24V converters in parallel to double the amperage. They did not seem to have a preference or recommendation as to which method would be best.

Graham of PowerMax also says that their 24V converters can be connected in parallel to double the amperage. He also claimed PowerMax to be the only brand that could be hooked up both in series and parallel. I did not try to correct him even having just spoken to Iota moments before.

It gonna guess there's actually 3 acceptable ways to hook these things up.

a) one 12V converter to each 12V battery matching pos and neg terminals and outputs (Iota, PowerMax, WFCO) (12V, 24V, 36V systems)
b) one 12V converters to each 12V battery with both converters and batteries wired in series with neg output and terminal of the 1st battery and converter of the series connected and the pos output and terminal of the last battery in the series connected. (Iota, PowerMax) (24 & 36V systems)
c) two 24V converters wired in parallel connected to a 24V bank of batteries with neg terminal of the 1st battery connected to the negative output of the 2nd converter and the pos terminal of the 2nd battery in the series connected to the pos output of the 2nd 24V converter. (Iota, PowerMax) (24V systems only)

There may be brands that you guys are familiar with or have converters from that you might call about.

The biggest benefit I can see to using a 24V charging system is so it can be paired with a 24V marine alternator to simplify switching between charging sources. I can't help but wonder if it's easier on the electronics of the converters since it need only monitor the single 24V bank rather than two 12V batteries in series. A couple of the charging tutorial websites like the one converter on one battery scenario especially if one battery within the 24v source is being used for the 12V house battery. If the amp draw of the 12V is higher than just a few amps all the sites suggest using a dc to dc converter because of the unbalanced battery bank issue that supposedly can harm electronics and the life of the batteries.

I suppose if my company's product could be used in series where most other brands couldn't then that might be my recommendation as well if it meant I would sell more.

P.S. Just found a real interesting ready by Iota: http://www.iotaengineering.com/pplib/Series_and_Parallel_Charging.pdf

 

I am just going to build my own 12 volt hi amp generator... Forget all that converter nonsense.

 

Skippy how has the testing # looking. It looks simple and smart

 

I have not built one yet... but Rambo uses one on his fan motor and we can run the LEDS and troller all night with no issues... I am not sure how much all his lights pull ... but its quite a bit. maybe he will chime in.

 

simple indeed, I have 2 powermax sitting for last 1.5 yrs. I run a cheap 100 amp summit racing alternator to a optima battery and my 24 LEDs drew 900w and 75 amps last year. im upping it this week to cover 1100 watts. the single wire alt makes power as needed. my volt meter for the set up reads 12.5- 15 volts throughout the night. im always more charged when I load the boat in the morning. no converter, no genny, no cords or switches to mess with. just power when i want it.

 

that's the way my fan is setup with 2 alts haven,t had any problems.

 

I have a chevy alternator I'd like to rig up with a predator motor like Skippy has pictured.

 

do it Gary. try to get a 3:1 pulley set up. you know you're gonna get a 2" pulley on any alt your gonna buy so get a 5-6" pulley for the motor. this will allow you to run the engine near idol and still make 2-3000 rpm on the alt. that way its quiet and always capable of making full power. add a cheap digital volt meter to the set up so you can always keep a eye on things. maybe get some rubber engine mounts to mount the motor on or the plate to the boat and it should be fairly quiet. think about it, a DC generator like this is cheap, light, quieter than a standard genny, and can be worked on cheap and easy too. plus there is no need to spend extra $ on converters, boxes, spare batteries, eat. for about $300 and 50lbs. to make 80-100 amps, its hard to beat DC power.

 

ok. So the alternator still needs to be hooked up to a battery tho am i right? And with 1 alternator is it possible to make 24-36 volt??

 

it does need to be hooked to a battery and i know they make 24 Volt alts but not sure about 36 volt

 

^^^ this^^^:tu::tu:

 

sorry didn't mean to hijack this thread. I find the hook up order very odd. not sure how it would increase battery life by putting power back in the battery opposite of draw. but anything is possible I guess.

 

So will this keep 3 12 volt batts charged like a converter would or would you have to run it all the time.

 

it would be better for your battery life and the life of the alternator to run it all the time.

 

I like it and it looks simple

 

One last question how big of a motor (hp) would you need?

 

I've seen them on prepper forums powered by those little tecumseh 3.5 hp motors.

I know for a fact those 89$ predator motors from harbor freight will turn them just fine.

 

we have twin bats on our tractors and one alt as long as the bats are good no problem but when one starts going bad will boil the water out of one of them usually the good one or that's the way it always seems.