Have you emailed or even better yet called xantrex? 1-800-670-0707
- Either this is how the charger is supposed to work and they will explain why... or maybe your unit is goofy. I completely agree this is not how what you purchased is supposed to work. And please post an update!
***
Semi-related, Professional Boat Builder published a "Task Sheet: Battery Combiner Installation (page 52, April/May 2021)" which left me more confused than before reading it:
https://www.proboat.com/professional-boatbuilder-issue-no-196/- I was hoping to get an explanation on the merits of an ACR versus just a manual battery switch, plus some nuggets on wire gauge, etc. but instead it reads like an advertisement?
- My feelings are that the battery is so critical that I prefer to keep everything analogue... one deep cycle and one starting, with a simple battery selector switch. Everything but the engine fused at the rocker switches. When the engine is on, both batteries are always selected.
- If I turn off the engine but leave the fishfinder on or have the squid lights going, then I select just the house battery (e.g. isolate the starter battery). I have scared myself a few times by trying to start without switching back to both batteries (e.g. starting with just the deep cycle after it has been running without charging for a bit).
- No ACR for me... just the volt meter on the merc monitor. If I were to run high amps with the engine off for long periods, e.g. trolling motor or a sailboat, I might revisit the topic, but the benefits of simplicity outweigh the benefits of ACR, at least how I use my boat.
(PBB is great magazine! I look forward to every issue, so much good stuff in there... and I am not at all biased by the fact that my seacraft once appeared on its pages! On page 69 of Issue 78 - Aug-Sep 2000, all decked out for bluefin tuna:
http://backissues.proboat.com)
