Why would I Need Power Management

Consider these 2 situations:

Out Whale Watching for the day in beautiful Hervey Bay
Out fishing for the day on Coopers Creek in far Western Queensland

In each case, on return, you find your battery flat

The first case would be inconvenient but help is nearby, on the other hand, the second case could be disastrous

A guiding principle is that there should never be any drain on the main start battery when the vehicle is switched off.

An unintentional drain on the start battery when the vehicle is switched off is called a current drain and should be investigated.

Any auxiliary device connected to the main battery should be wired through the ignition switch so that it turns off when the vehicle is turned off In both cases above the start battery would be fine but the cold beer in the fridge may not be cold.

The answer is a dual battery system with or without battery management

Auxiliary or Dual Batteries

Start Battery Isolator

These work by automatically disconnecting the auxiliary battery when the voltage from the start battery drops lower than a preset value.

Battery Isolators work well when the vehicles alternator is not managed by the Electronic Control Unit

Battery Charger - Direct Charger BCDC

The start battery in many recent vehicles is managed by the ECU The output from the alternator is reduced or turned off when the electrical requiremnts of the vehicle have been met An Isolator is NOT suitable for these systems as the Battery Voltage may be less than the trigger voltage of the Battery Isolator which results in the Auxiliary Battery not being fully charged In addition, a BCDC provides for multiple inputs, solar/wind/alternator, and various charging voltages to cater for differing battery chemistries

Battery Management

Battery Management System - BMS

Never find yourself with a flat battery ever again with REDARC’s state-of-the-art battery management system, the Manager30. Designed to charge and maintain the auxiliary batteries used in recreational automotive and marine applications, these battery chargers incorporate AC, DC and solar inputs to achieve the best charge.