Hi peeps
We have got to the bottom of the problem. One battery is not holding its charge.
It was the first battery in the bank. We have removed it and added two 100ah AGM's to the 2x Exide EK092's in the bank (in addition to feeding the power/discharge cables from opposite ends of the bank) giving us just under 400ah of domestic on the bank. Well within our projected 24 hour consumption at less than 50% discharge. Which the original back should have given us, there is now 40% OVER CAPACITY!!
The new NASA BM2 battery monitor and 200amp shunt gives us a good system to monitor the batteries.
We have now also added a "Battery Extra":
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/252120721226?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AITand two 100 watt Monocrystalline solar panels:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/282081265472?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AITWith a charge regulator.
Meanwhile last weekend in overcast conditions the panels were producing 4-6 ah. In bright sunlight they were producing 10-11 ah.
Cost was C.£220.00 UKS + £129.00 for the BM2 which we fitted some months ago.
Clipper marine said they have not had any issues with the AGM's fitted to other new 37 cruisers when I contacted them........... So perhaps we were just unlucky? We have written to Excide asking them to replace the defective battery under the 3 year warrantee............ Lets see what they say?
One thing is for sure, when building a domestic battery bank you really do need to look at how the system is fed and charged. Just wiring the batteries in parallel as Bavaria do on their new boats will not give you the best performance. (see other posts on this forum)
Disappointingly having paid extra for additional battery power in the form of AGM's and expecting to be able to have a night on the hook without turning the fridge off, running the engine for an hour or so, or being able to sail for 8-10 hours with the nav gear on without having to run the engine... We have had to add extra power, kit, and do a lot of research to get Impavidus up to our expectations.
I am planning to do an article on domestic battery power, Solar power, chargers, batteries, Auto Pulse Battery Desulfator's and battery monitors.
Hopefully I can pass on some good tips to the forum...........Watch this space.
Ant.