Carver Owners Forum

Good old fashion lead acid 6v units, can't go wrong. As for monitoring SOC, another great option is Blue Sea
https://www.bluesea.com/products/1830/M ... r_with_SoC

bud37 wrote:Qr Bbpost .....the display from pro mariner only works when connected to 120 shore power......

Yes this display is to monitor charger function only. For me, it's more about observing the charger status; voltage, current, temp, alarm, and what cycle the charger is in.

Viper wrote:Qr Bbpost For me, it's more about observing the charger status; voltage, current, temp, alarm, and what cycle the charger is in.

Viper....you can see the 12vdc/amp info on units like the BMV Victron all the time and it is fairly accurate if wired/programmed correctly....the only thing I am not sure of that is different, and you can tell me, can you adjust the charger from the display ? ....now that is the only thing that would be handy, but my experience is once it is set that is it.

I'll 2nd the victron bvm battery monitor

bud37 wrote:Qr Bbpost....
Viper....you can see the 12vdc/amp info on units like the BMV Victron all the time and it is fairly accurate if wired/programmed correctly....the only thing I am not sure of that is different, and you can tell me, can you adjust the charger from the display ? ....now that is the only thing that would be handy, but my experience is once it is set that is it.

To be honest I can't remember how much can be controlled from the remote, I don't think it's much but frankly I haven't had the need to change anything since it's been installed anyway. I'm aware you can get that info from the Victron but it doesn't actually tell you what phase the charge cycle is in and I like seeing that. And I haven't given it much thought but I don't know that the Victron would show charge amperage. I know it picks up load amperage but not charge. Would have to look into that. Can't remember if the Victron has a temp probe but it's good to see a temp reading too. I like putting the probe on the house bank as it's likely to be the bank that gets worked over by myself and the charger more than the others.

BTW, tested the batteries on the weekend and they were at 90% charge. Better than I expected after a winter on batteries that are over 5 years old now. Seriously thinking of swapping the 8Ds for 6 volt units this year. They're just getting too heavy to handle so I can relate to you bvclic!! Been wanting to do this for a few years but figured I'd wait until the 8Ds needed to be replaced. I'm reconfiguring the battery setup anyway this year so now's the time I guess. I just have to sell it to the Admiral

Viper, considering you are upgrading ( maybe ),then getting a battery monitor with a shunt would be wise.....have a look at a few manuals, I think you will be pleasantly surprised by all the data available. The charge cycle is obvious as long as you know the float voltage etc....the shunt measures all power going to ground, so as long as your system ground is wired correctly ( takes some planning ) then you will see everything you need. I have installed one on the last two boats and would not be without one.

If I really had to redo my battery setup from scratch, I'd probably go with some Lithiums for starting batteries (light, small and tons of cranking power) and use a bank of 6V lead-acid or AGM for house. Separate the charging into two dedicated systems for the different battery types and uses, because the starting batteries just need a 'maintenance' charge while you'd want a really capable high-amp charger for the house bank. Not sure what I'd do with the genset battery... maybe the same type as the house, but a Group 27 or 29, so you still have lots of cranking time in case the genset has issues starting, but not the weight, cost, and size of a 31 or 8d.