2016 Ranger R25SC Charging question

[2016R25]

Hello all! My wife and I just bought a 2016 Ranger R25sc. We are long-time sailors but are having to "relearn" everything with this amazing vessel. I had a quick question about charging. We currently have three banks. One for the House, one for the thrusters, and one for the starting battery. If everything is on except the parallel switch, does the engine alternator charge all three banks or just the starter/ starter and thrusters? I looked at the wiring diagram but could not find the answer. Additionally, if the parallel switch is on, would the alternator then charge the house bank as well? I assume not as the strain on the alternator would not be good.
Lastly, does anyone know the size of the solar panel installed in the 2016 Ranger R25SC? I'm trying to do some calculations but I can't seem to find the size of it.

A few things to note. We do not have a generator and the boat does not have an inverter installed.

My assumption is that the motor alternator charges the starter and thrusters only but I'm just not sure without getting on the boat with an ohm meter. Thought I would ask first.

Thanks a ton for any help/advoice.

Best,

Derek

 

[Red Raven]

Unless modified there are two Automatic Charging Relays (ACRs) that will connect the battery banks together once a charge voltage is sensed. It does not matter what position the battery switches are in. To verify, check the battery voltage of each bank when underway, they should be 13.5 volts or better with the engine running. You should only turn the parallel switch on for an emergency start if the start battery alone is insufficient, otherwise leave it off.

Curt

 

[2016R25]

Thanks Curt! So it sounds like the alternator will charge all three banks underway. That would be great! I'll check the volts next time I'm out. On the sailboat, we isolated our house from the starter and the parallel switch had to be on for the engine to charge the house bank underway. It was not ideal but the only way to do it as we were tapping into old electrical.

Thanks again and I appreciate this forum being so active!

Regards,

 

[scross]

There is a spec sheet for the 2016 R25SC at the Ranger Tugs website under “Past Models”. Per the spec sheet, the solar panel is 145 watts. I’m pretty sure, but not positive, that it was a Kyocera panel with a Morningstar solar controller.
BTW, I’m also pretty sure the charging method Curt described is exactly what happens when the boat is plugged into shore power with the battery charger turned on. The charger charges one of the three banks (house?) first then the ACRs do their magic and enable charging of the other banks.

 

[Ralf H]

Hi Derek,

Curt is right. If nothing has been modified, the charging will happen as he states. However I did want to throw in the fact that the parallel switch is intended to be used in emergencies if the engine start battery is ever short on power, and extra energy is needed from the house bank to be able to start the engine. When that switch is off, the house and engine banks are totally separate and cannot drain each other down, but the charging still remains the same and is not depended on the position of the parallel switch. Hope this helps.

Ralf

 

[2016R25]

Awesome. So it sounds like if the engine is running, then all the batteries will get a charge from the alternator. That is the most ideal situation. I.can check online but I was wondering how much power the bow and stern thruster use up along with the windlass. I'll figure all this out over time but I'm assuming dropping the anchor and spinning around with the thrusters with the motor off is a good way to drain the batteries quickly 🙂

Thanks a ton for all the answers. One of the reasons we went with a Ranger was bc of this active group. You all rock 😀