West Marine has the 150 amp battery combiner on sale for $99.99.
They also have the remote monitor panel for the Statpower 40 for
$20.
They also have the remote monitor panel for the Statpower 40 for
$20.
Battery Combiner
- Thread starter edgar t. kremer
- Start date
True to the way my luck runs... it goes on sale 3 weeks after I bought it
In case anyone is wondering how it works... GREAT. I installed a 150 to
combine Engine & House and a 50 amp to combine the boost/aux battery. I'm
looking forward to much fewer battery problems as they are now truly
"isolated".
Heinz
>West Marine has the 150 amp battery combiner on sale for $99.99.
>They also have the remote monitor panel for the Statpower 40 for
>$20.
>
>
In case anyone is wondering how it works... GREAT. I installed a 150 to
combine Engine & House and a 50 amp to combine the boost/aux battery. I'm
looking forward to much fewer battery problems as they are now truly
"isolated".
Heinz
>West Marine has the 150 amp battery combiner on sale for $99.99.
>They also have the remote monitor panel for the Statpower 40 for
>$20.
>
>
Heinz, in Maryland you generally have 30 days to return an item & get the
sale price. How about your location?
> True to the way my luck runs... it goes on sale 3 weeks after I bought it
>
>
> In case anyone is wondering how it works... GREAT. I installed a 150 to
> combine Engine & House and a 50 amp to combine the boost/aux battery. I'm
> looking forward to much fewer battery problems as they are now truly
> "isolated".
>
> Heinz
>
> >West Marine has the 150 amp battery combiner on sale for $99.99.
> >They also have the remote monitor panel for the Statpower 40 for
> >$20.
> >
> >
sale price. How about your location?
> True to the way my luck runs... it goes on sale 3 weeks after I bought it
>
>
> In case anyone is wondering how it works... GREAT. I installed a 150 to
> combine Engine & House and a 50 amp to combine the boost/aux battery. I'm
> looking forward to much fewer battery problems as they are now truly
> "isolated".
>
> Heinz
>
> >West Marine has the 150 amp battery combiner on sale for $99.99.
> >They also have the remote monitor panel for the Statpower 40 for
> >$20.
> >
> >
I'm going to call them tomorrow and find out.
Could be one of the pitfalls of mailorder shopping
Heinz
>Heinz, in Maryland you generally have 30 days to return an item & get the
>sale price. How about your location?
>
>
>> True to the way my luck runs... it goes on sale 3 weeks after I bought it
>>
>>
>> In case anyone is wondering how it works... GREAT. I installed a 150 to
>> combine Engine & House and a 50 amp to combine the boost/aux battery. I'm
>> looking forward to much fewer battery problems as they are now truly
>> "isolated".
>>
>> Heinz
>>
>> >West Marine has the 150 amp battery combiner on sale for $99.99.
>> >They also have the remote monitor panel for the Statpower 40 for
>> >$20.
>> >
>> >
>
>
Could be one of the pitfalls of mailorder shopping
Heinz
>Heinz, in Maryland you generally have 30 days to return an item & get the
>sale price. How about your location?
>
>
>> True to the way my luck runs... it goes on sale 3 weeks after I bought it
>>
>>
>> In case anyone is wondering how it works... GREAT. I installed a 150 to
>> combine Engine & House and a 50 amp to combine the boost/aux battery. I'm
>> looking forward to much fewer battery problems as they are now truly
>> "isolated".
>>
>> Heinz
>>
>> >West Marine has the 150 amp battery combiner on sale for $99.99.
>> >They also have the remote monitor panel for the Statpower 40 for
>> >$20.
>> >
>> >
>
>
The part number for the battery combiner is 128293, 2 bank 150 amp rating.
J.R. Wright
>
> West Marine has the 150 amp battery combiner on sale for $99.99.
> They also have the remote monitor panel for the Statpower 40 for
> $20.
> ED
> What is the West Marine part number for the Item?
> Thanks
>
> ____________________________________________________________________
> Get your own FREE, personal Netscape WebMail account today at http://webmail.netscape.com.
J.R. Wright
>
> West Marine has the 150 amp battery combiner on sale for $99.99.
> They also have the remote monitor panel for the Statpower 40 for
> $20.
> ED
> What is the West Marine part number for the Item?
> Thanks
>
> ____________________________________________________________________
> Get your own FREE, personal Netscape WebMail account today at http://webmail.netscape.com.
So what benefit(s) do you see for using the combiner vs. the original
isolator?
Paul Bartz
From: John Wright [mailto
owerjon]
Sent: Tuesday, June 08, 1999 9:17 PM
Subject: Re: GMC: [Battery Combiner]
The part number for the battery combiner is 128293, 2 bank 150 amp rating.
West Marine has the 150 amp battery combiner on sale for $99.99. They also
have the remote monitor panel for the Statpower 40 for $20.
isolator?
Paul Bartz
From: John Wright [mailto
owerjon]Sent: Tuesday, June 08, 1999 9:17 PM
Subject: Re: GMC: [Battery Combiner]
The part number for the battery combiner is 128293, 2 bank 150 amp rating.
West Marine has the 150 amp battery combiner on sale for $99.99. They also
have the remote monitor panel for the Statpower 40 for $20.
John,
Any chance you have a reference number?
Was the price in a catalog, flyer or store?
If on paper, there is usually a ref number.
If I can get them a ref number of the price change, etc. they'll give me
credit but I'm on my last day of the 30 days
Thanks in advance
Heinz
> The part number for the battery combiner is 128293, 2 bank 150 amp rating.
>
> J.R. Wright
>
> >
> > West Marine has the 150 amp battery combiner on sale for $99.99.
> > They also have the remote monitor panel for the Statpower 40 for
> > $20.
> > ED
> > What is the West Marine part number for the Item?
> > Thanks
> >
> > ____________________________________________________________________
> > Get your own FREE, personal Netscape WebMail account today at
http://webmail.netscape.com.
>
>
Any chance you have a reference number?
Was the price in a catalog, flyer or store?
If on paper, there is usually a ref number.
If I can get them a ref number of the price change, etc. they'll give me
credit but I'm on my last day of the 30 days
Thanks in advance
Heinz
> The part number for the battery combiner is 128293, 2 bank 150 amp rating.
>
> J.R. Wright
>
> >
> > West Marine has the 150 amp battery combiner on sale for $99.99.
> > They also have the remote monitor panel for the Statpower 40 for
> > $20.
> > ED
> > What is the West Marine part number for the Item?
> > Thanks
> >
> > ____________________________________________________________________
> > Get your own FREE, personal Netscape WebMail account today at
http://webmail.netscape.com.
>
>
Ref
J.R.
>
> John,
> Any chance you have a reference number?
> Was the price in a catalog, flyer or store?
> If on paper, there is usually a ref number.
>
> If I can get them a ref number of the price change, etc. they'll give me
> credit but I'm on my last day of the 30 days
>
> Thanks in advance
>
> Heinz
>
> > The part number for the battery combiner is 128293, 2 bank 150 amp rating.
> >
> > J.R. Wright
> >
> > >
> > > West Marine has the 150 amp battery combiner on sale for $99.99.
> > > They also have the remote monitor panel for the Statpower 40 for
> > > $20.
> > > ED
> > > What is the West Marine part number for the Item?
> > > Thanks
> > >
> > > ____________________________________________________________________
> > > Get your own FREE, personal Netscape WebMail account today at
> http://webmail.netscape.com.
> >
> >
J.R.
>
> John,
> Any chance you have a reference number?
> Was the price in a catalog, flyer or store?
> If on paper, there is usually a ref number.
>
> If I can get them a ref number of the price change, etc. they'll give me
> credit but I'm on my last day of the 30 days
>
> Thanks in advance
>
> Heinz
>
> > The part number for the battery combiner is 128293, 2 bank 150 amp rating.
> >
> > J.R. Wright
> >
> > >
> > > West Marine has the 150 amp battery combiner on sale for $99.99.
> > > They also have the remote monitor panel for the Statpower 40 for
> > > $20.
> > > ED
> > > What is the West Marine part number for the Item?
> > > Thanks
> > >
> > > ____________________________________________________________________
> > > Get your own FREE, personal Netscape WebMail account today at
> http://webmail.netscape.com.
> >
> >
Paul, I'm sure there will be arguments pro & con, but I don't see a significant
benefit. I have tested various configurations over the past 30 years & have
never found any thing better than an isolator. I have been running 2 6v deep
cycle batteries, in series of course, for the house & 1 12v starting battery. I
regularly obtain at least 5 years of service from each bank.
> So what benefit(s) do you see for using the combiner vs. the original
> isolator?
>
> Paul Bartz
benefit. I have tested various configurations over the past 30 years & have
never found any thing better than an isolator. I have been running 2 6v deep
cycle batteries, in series of course, for the house & 1 12v starting battery. I
regularly obtain at least 5 years of service from each bank.
> So what benefit(s) do you see for using the combiner vs. the original
> isolator?
>
> Paul Bartz
Paul, FWIW.... the combiner allows control and prioritization.
In automatic operation it will "fill up" the battery connected to the
charging source first and then at 13.3 volts it combines the other battery.
It's not real important on engine alternator as there are lots of amps
available but when the charging is from the house battery it makes sure the
house battery is full before connecting to the engine battery.
In my case it was real bad as my aux battery was connected to the house
battery, about as bad a mismatch as you can get for batteries connected in
parallel.
With the combiner I'm now assured that the house battery gets priority when
on shorepower and I still have control on whether to manually combine or not
as may be needed.
And no voltage drop from the diode.
I also used a second Combiner (50 amp) to combine aux battery to engine
batt. Much better than the contactor (solenoid) scheme I replaced.
Heinz
> So what benefit(s) do you see for using the combiner vs. the original
> isolator?
>
> Paul Bartz
>
> From: John Wright [mailtoowerjon]
> Sent: Tuesday, June 08, 1999 9:17 PM
> Subject: Re: GMC: [Battery Combiner]
>
> The part number for the battery combiner is 128293, 2 bank 150 amp rating.
> West Marine has the 150 amp battery combiner on sale for $99.99. They
also
> have the remote monitor panel for the Statpower 40 for $20.
>
>
In automatic operation it will "fill up" the battery connected to the
charging source first and then at 13.3 volts it combines the other battery.
It's not real important on engine alternator as there are lots of amps
available but when the charging is from the house battery it makes sure the
house battery is full before connecting to the engine battery.
In my case it was real bad as my aux battery was connected to the house
battery, about as bad a mismatch as you can get for batteries connected in
parallel.
With the combiner I'm now assured that the house battery gets priority when
on shorepower and I still have control on whether to manually combine or not
as may be needed.
And no voltage drop from the diode.
I also used a second Combiner (50 amp) to combine aux battery to engine
batt. Much better than the contactor (solenoid) scheme I replaced.
Heinz
> So what benefit(s) do you see for using the combiner vs. the original
> isolator?
>
> Paul Bartz
>
> From: John Wright [mailto
owerjon]> Sent: Tuesday, June 08, 1999 9:17 PM
> Subject: Re: GMC: [Battery Combiner]
>
> The part number for the battery combiner is 128293, 2 bank 150 amp rating.
> West Marine has the 150 amp battery combiner on sale for $99.99. They
also
> have the remote monitor panel for the Statpower 40 for $20.
>
>
Since I do Marine electrical design I may be able to shed a little light on
this combiner isolator subject.
The isolator which has been around for a long time has diodes to block
current flow in one direction and let it pass in the other. Many GMC were
fitted with an isolator where the alternator output went in and the house
and engine batteries came out on separate outputs. This meant when the
alternator was charging each battery bank received a charge but the battery
systems were always isolated.
Since there are times when the starting battery needs some help GMC's have
a battery boost solenoid which simply joins both banks together.
So why do anything different ?
1. The diode isolator has a voltage drop across it. This why you see the
big heat sink on it. This is wasteful in the extreme with low output
charging, such as solar panels. But more importantly to us it means that
the voltage the reulator seees is higher than the battery gets. This makes
it not possible to accuratly fully charge your batteries.
2. The diode isolator only works with a single input source. Your 110 to 12
vdc convertor just supplies the house bank, but doesn't keep the engine
battery up.
3. You end up using the battery boost switch or adding other switches to
combine banks together. Muphy's law takes over and all the batteries get
drained down when the AC input gets pulled out.
The combiner answers all of the problems with no worries. There are no
voltage drops across it, it will combine bsnkd whenever any bank has a
charging voltage avaiable and provides isolation when there is no charging
of any type going on. Some models also have 5 min overide switches whiuch
allow combinig such as at engine start. but then reset automatically so you
don't get stranded..
Finally a meticulous operator can do what a combiner does but if others
need to involved or if you can't be there all the time the combiner is
agreat device. If the GMC was designed today it would ue a combiner
eliminaying the isolator and the battery boost relay.
Bill Hubert
>Paul, I'm sure there will be arguments pro & con, but I don't see a
significant
>benefit. I have tested various configurations over the past 30 years & have
>never found any thing better than an isolator. I have been running 2 6v deep
>cycle batteries, in series of course, for the house & 1 12v starting
battery. I
>regularly obtain at least 5 years of service from each bank.
>
>
>> So what benefit(s) do you see for using the combiner vs. the original
>> isolator?
>>
>> Paul Bartz
>
>
this combiner isolator subject.
The isolator which has been around for a long time has diodes to block
current flow in one direction and let it pass in the other. Many GMC were
fitted with an isolator where the alternator output went in and the house
and engine batteries came out on separate outputs. This meant when the
alternator was charging each battery bank received a charge but the battery
systems were always isolated.
Since there are times when the starting battery needs some help GMC's have
a battery boost solenoid which simply joins both banks together.
So why do anything different ?
1. The diode isolator has a voltage drop across it. This why you see the
big heat sink on it. This is wasteful in the extreme with low output
charging, such as solar panels. But more importantly to us it means that
the voltage the reulator seees is higher than the battery gets. This makes
it not possible to accuratly fully charge your batteries.
2. The diode isolator only works with a single input source. Your 110 to 12
vdc convertor just supplies the house bank, but doesn't keep the engine
battery up.
3. You end up using the battery boost switch or adding other switches to
combine banks together. Muphy's law takes over and all the batteries get
drained down when the AC input gets pulled out.
The combiner answers all of the problems with no worries. There are no
voltage drops across it, it will combine bsnkd whenever any bank has a
charging voltage avaiable and provides isolation when there is no charging
of any type going on. Some models also have 5 min overide switches whiuch
allow combinig such as at engine start. but then reset automatically so you
don't get stranded..
Finally a meticulous operator can do what a combiner does but if others
need to involved or if you can't be there all the time the combiner is
agreat device. If the GMC was designed today it would ue a combiner
eliminaying the isolator and the battery boost relay.
Bill Hubert
>Paul, I'm sure there will be arguments pro & con, but I don't see a
significant
>benefit. I have tested various configurations over the past 30 years & have
>never found any thing better than an isolator. I have been running 2 6v deep
>cycle batteries, in series of course, for the house & 1 12v starting
battery. I
>regularly obtain at least 5 years of service from each bank.
>
>
>> So what benefit(s) do you see for using the combiner vs. the original
>> isolator?
>>
>> Paul Bartz
>
>
Bill, thanks for the explanation. It sounds like a winner, especially when using
solar cells.
One observation: Since the sense wire for the alternator regulator is attached to
the battery side & not the alternator side of the isolator, the regulator is
reading true battery voltage. This enables the alternator to output battery
voltage plus the .7v drop across the isolator.
> 1. The diode isolator has a voltage drop across it. This is why you see the
> big heat sink on it. This is wasteful in the extreme with low output
> charging, such as solar panels. But more importantly to us it means that
> the voltage the regulator sees is higher than the battery gets. This makes
> it not possible to accurately fully charge your batteries.
solar cells.
One observation: Since the sense wire for the alternator regulator is attached to
the battery side & not the alternator side of the isolator, the regulator is
reading true battery voltage. This enables the alternator to output battery
voltage plus the .7v drop across the isolator.
> 1. The diode isolator has a voltage drop across it. This is why you see the
> big heat sink on it. This is wasteful in the extreme with low output
> charging, such as solar panels. But more importantly to us it means that
> the voltage the regulator sees is higher than the battery gets. This makes
> it not possible to accurately fully charge your batteries.
Re Alternator Sense
There are many types of regulator systems for alternators. But the basic
system senses the voltage directly from the alternator. But even with an
external sense the only voltage of one bank is measured. If the combiner is
not used the voltage drop across the isolator still creates difficulties
for proper chargingon the other bank or banks.
Then if you use a more sophisticated charging system that is really
monitoring and varying voltage according to battery state, the isolator
really makes a shambles of all the good ideas.
>Bill, thanks for the explanation. It sounds like a winner, especially when
using
>solar cells.
>One observation: Since the sense wire for the alternator regulator is
attached to
>the battery side & not the alternator side of the isolator, the regulator is
>reading true battery voltage. This enables the alternator to output battery
>voltage plus the .7v drop across the isolator.
>
>> 1. The diode isolator has a voltage drop across it. This is why you see the
>> big heat sink on it. This is wasteful in the extreme with low output
>> charging, such as solar panels. But more importantly to us it means that
>> the voltage the regulator sees is higher than the battery gets. This makes
>> it not possible to accurately fully charge your batteries.
>
>
There are many types of regulator systems for alternators. But the basic
system senses the voltage directly from the alternator. But even with an
external sense the only voltage of one bank is measured. If the combiner is
not used the voltage drop across the isolator still creates difficulties
for proper chargingon the other bank or banks.
Then if you use a more sophisticated charging system that is really
monitoring and varying voltage according to battery state, the isolator
really makes a shambles of all the good ideas.
>Bill, thanks for the explanation. It sounds like a winner, especially when
using
>solar cells.
>One observation: Since the sense wire for the alternator regulator is
attached to
>the battery side & not the alternator side of the isolator, the regulator is
>reading true battery voltage. This enables the alternator to output battery
>voltage plus the .7v drop across the isolator.
>
>> 1. The diode isolator has a voltage drop across it. This is why you see the
>> big heat sink on it. This is wasteful in the extreme with low output
>> charging, such as solar panels. But more importantly to us it means that
>> the voltage the regulator sees is higher than the battery gets. This makes
>> it not possible to accurately fully charge your batteries.
>
>
Thanks very much John.
20 bucks going into the beer fund.
Heinz
>
>
> Ref
>
> J.R.
>
> >
> > John,
> > Any chance you have a reference number?
> > Was the price in a catalog, flyer or store?
> > If on paper, there is usually a ref number.
> >
> > If I can get them a ref number of the price change, etc. they'll give me
> > credit but I'm on my last day of the 30 days
> >
> > Thanks in advance
> >
> > Heinz
> >
> > > The part number for the battery combiner is 128293, 2 bank
> 150 amp rating.
> > >
> > > J.R. Wright
> > >
> > > >
> > > > West Marine has the 150 amp battery combiner on sale for $99.99.
> > > > They also have the remote monitor panel for the Statpower 40 for
> > > > $20.
> > > > ED
> > > > What is the West Marine part number for the Item?
> > > > Thanks
> > > >
> > > > ____________________________________________________________________
> > > > Get your own FREE, personal Netscape WebMail account today at
> > http://webmail.netscape.com.
> > >
> > >
>
>
20 bucks going into the beer fund.
Heinz
>
>
> Ref
>
> J.R.
>
> >
> > John,
> > Any chance you have a reference number?
> > Was the price in a catalog, flyer or store?
> > If on paper, there is usually a ref number.
> >
> > If I can get them a ref number of the price change, etc. they'll give me
> > credit but I'm on my last day of the 30 days
> >
> > Thanks in advance
> >
> > Heinz
> >
> > > The part number for the battery combiner is 128293, 2 bank
> 150 amp rating.
> > >
> > > J.R. Wright
> > >
> > > >
> > > > West Marine has the 150 amp battery combiner on sale for $99.99.
> > > > They also have the remote monitor panel for the Statpower 40 for
> > > > $20.
> > > > ED
> > > > What is the West Marine part number for the Item?
> > > > Thanks
> > > >
> > > > ____________________________________________________________________
> > > > Get your own FREE, personal Netscape WebMail account today at
> > http://webmail.netscape.com.
> > >
> > >
>
>
Gene:
Not to be critical, but where have you been lately??? I asked that same
question just last Thursday. Here are two of the responses:
From: Heinz Wittenbecher [mailto:heinz]
Sent: Thursday, June 10, 1999 2:08 AM
To: gmcmotorhome
Subject: Re: GMC: [Battery Combiner]
Paul, FWIW.... the combiner allows control and prioritization.
In automatic operation it will "fill up" the battery connected to the
charging source first and then at 13.3 volts it combines the other battery.
It's not real important on engine alternator as there are lots of amps
available but when the charging is from the house battery it makes sure the
house battery is full before connecting to the engine battery.
In my case it was real bad as my aux battery was connected to the house
battery, about as bad a mismatch as you can get for batteries connected in
parallel.
With the combiner I'm now assured that the house battery gets priority when
on shorepower and I still have control on whether to manually combine or not
as may be needed.
And no voltage drop from the diode.
I also used a second Combiner (50 amp) to combine aux battery to engine
batt. Much better than the contactor (solenoid) scheme I replaced.
So what benefit(s) do you see for using the combiner vs. the original
isolator?
Paul Bartz
From: John Wright [mailtoowerjon]
Sent: Tuesday, June 08, 1999 9:17 PM
Subject: Re: GMC: [Battery Combiner]
The part number for the battery combiner is 128293, 2 bank 150 amp rating.
"Edgar T. Kremer"
Not to be critical, but where have you been lately??? I asked that same
question just last Thursday. Here are two of the responses:
From: Heinz Wittenbecher [mailto:heinz]
Sent: Thursday, June 10, 1999 2:08 AM
To: gmcmotorhome
Subject: Re: GMC: [Battery Combiner]
Paul, FWIW.... the combiner allows control and prioritization.
In automatic operation it will "fill up" the battery connected to the
charging source first and then at 13.3 volts it combines the other battery.
It's not real important on engine alternator as there are lots of amps
available but when the charging is from the house battery it makes sure the
house battery is full before connecting to the engine battery.
In my case it was real bad as my aux battery was connected to the house
battery, about as bad a mismatch as you can get for batteries connected in
parallel.
With the combiner I'm now assured that the house battery gets priority when
on shorepower and I still have control on whether to manually combine or not
as may be needed.
And no voltage drop from the diode.
I also used a second Combiner (50 amp) to combine aux battery to engine
batt. Much better than the contactor (solenoid) scheme I replaced.
So what benefit(s) do you see for using the combiner vs. the original
isolator?
Paul Bartz
From: John Wright [mailto
owerjon]Sent: Tuesday, June 08, 1999 9:17 PM
Subject: Re: GMC: [Battery Combiner]
The part number for the battery combiner is 128293, 2 bank 150 amp rating.
"Edgar T. Kremer"
Scott:
I keep track of them in my mind and then go to the folder where I store
selected messages (have about 6600 so far) to recall as needed.
Paul Bartz
From: Adohen [mailto:Adohen]
Sent: Tuesday, June 15, 1999 12:53 PM
Subject: Re: GMC: Battery Combiner
In a message dated 6/15/99 12:37:47 PM Eastern Daylight Time,
> Here are two of the responses:
Hi Paul!
How do you keep track of all the responses and recall them?
Scott
I keep track of them in my mind and then go to the folder where I store
selected messages (have about 6600 so far) to recall as needed.
Paul Bartz
From: Adohen [mailto:Adohen]
Sent: Tuesday, June 15, 1999 12:53 PM
Subject: Re: GMC: Battery Combiner
In a message dated 6/15/99 12:37:47 PM Eastern Daylight Time,
> Here are two of the responses:
Hi Paul!
How do you keep track of all the responses and recall them?
Scott
