Thanks for the helpful info, Dennis. The Progressive Dynamics PD9130
looks like a good way to go, but that purchase will have to wait. In
the meantime, I will make sure that the battery being charged is
disconnected.

PS: Oops, I meant to write Schumacher, not Shcumaker

On May 10, 2009, at 4:16 PM, Dennis Haynes wrote:

> While the "Shcumaker SpeedCharger" is advertised as a smart charger,
> its
> smarts are limited and it definitely is not adaptive. This is also a
> somewhat unfiltered switching power supply and it is not right for
> your
> application. While it does have a "Boost" function to help get
> vehicles
> started, it is not intended to regularly be used to fully charge
> batteries
> while installed. It is not designed to charge batteries while loads
> are
> connected. The Progressive Dynamics unit would work much better here
> and the
> 1315 wouldn't chatter. You also wouldn't have to worry about blowing
> up your
> stereo and ECU. When using the Shcumaker you should disconnect the
> battery
> from everything, especially during equalize cycles. Also, you don't
> want to
> those very often.
>
> Dennis
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Keith Ovregaard [mailto:kovregaard@gmail.com]
> Sent: Sunday, May 10, 2009 12:48 PM
> To: Dennis Haynes
> Cc: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
> Subject: Re: Surepower 1315 test report
>
> From what I have learned about batteries, it is not recommended to
> charge dissimilar batteries or dissimilar states of charge. Deep cycle
> batteries require a different charge cycle than a start battery.
> Granted, most of the time there will be no problem, but when I want to
> run an equalizing charge on the deep cycle battery I can't do it with
> the current setup. In fact, yesterday my smart charger (Schumaker
> 2/10/30/60 SpeedCharger) went into error mode probably because the
> 1315 was switching back and forth as the charger was trying to do it's
> thing. I don't really know, but once the ground on the start battery
> was pulled, the charger was OK.
>
> Keith
>
> On May 10, 2009, at 9:10 AM, Dennis Haynes wrote:
>
>> Once you add or use the battery switches it is no longer automatic.
>> I also
>> see no problem letting the charger also top off the starting
>> battery. If the
>> charger is really large, having another battery connect during the
>> bulk
>> charge may actually give you better results. What size is your
>> charger and
>> house battery? My present and past RV used the bi-directional
>> combiner
>> concept and it has worked very well for nine years.
>>
>> Dennis
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Keith Ovregaard [mailto:kovregaard@gmail.com]
>> Sent: Sunday, May 10, 2009 12:04 PM
>> To: Dennis Haynes
>> Cc: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
>> Subject: Re: Surepower 1315 test report
>>
>> Certainly a relay would have worked for my setup, but since I already
>> have the separator installed, I might as well add the battery
>> switches
>> to isolate the batteries while hooked up to the high-amp charger.
>> Otherwise, this system works very well and I don't have to do a
>> thing.
>> It's totally automatic.
>>
>> Keith O.
>> 90 Westy Syncro "VikingWagen"
>>
>> On May 9, 2009, at 7:26 PM, Dennis Haynes wrote:
>>
>>> At that point what you really want is an ignition switch or
>>> alternator
>>> controlled relay. A lot cheaper than the combiner.
>>>
>>> Dennis
>>>
>>> -----Original Message-----
>>> From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On
>>> Behalf Of
>>> Keith Ovregaard
>>> Sent: Saturday, May 09, 2009 6:05 PM
>>> To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
>>> Subject: Surepower 1315 test report
>>>
>>> To answer the question of whether disconnecting the ground from the
>>> 1315 battery separator would force the battery banks to separate,
>>> the
>>> answer is no. The 1315 must be able to sense voltage between the
>>> batteries without being grounded. FYI, my 1315 is wired with a
>>> manual
>>> boost switch and LED indicator, for what that's worth. That
>>> shouldn't
>>> have anything to do with normal operation. I also isolated the 1315
>>> from the frame ground to see if that had any effect and it didn't.
>>> So,
>>> it looks like the installation of a main switch on each battery will
>>> do the trick to guarantee isolation of the batteries.
>>>
>>> Keith O.
>>> 90 Westy Syncro "VikingWagen"
>>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>
>