Mike
Assuming all the  8V battereis are identical, you have a house bank twice
as big as the start bank.

With regards  to your concern that the "house bank" might be up and thus
will be  over charged  while you bring up the  start bank.
That isn't likely provided you only use the start bank for starting and no
other appliances are connected  to them.

These start batteris will finish a days run fully charged from the engine
alternator. As you indicated.
The house bank is the one that gets depleted  overnight as you use lights
inverter etc. This is only true if you do not have  shore power connected,
or run the genset.
If you are connected to an AC source of power, the Heart will keep the
house bank topped up and supply the  loads  straight from the charger.
Only if you  have a sustained load  that exceeds the charger output  ( 130A
)  will the batteries get drained.
If you do not have the battery cross over switch closed, the start bank
will not get depleted from the house loads.
Therefore you do not need to add a fancy combiner switch. The cross over
switch is sufficient for  the occasional time when  you do run the start
bank flat  while  cranking  a stubborn engine or bleeding the fuel system.

I'm wondering why you feel  the start bank need constant charging with the
engines shut down.
Are you finding the batteries are not  holding a charge?
How long does it take for the batteries to get low?
How old are the batteries?
Have you  tested the  batteries for sulfation, physical damage or other
signs of  weakness?
Do you have some sort of load connectede to the start battery?  - other
than the start solonoid.

If  you have a need to trickle charge the  start battery this can be done
using the echo charger.
Unless your model is very old it should have one included inside from the
factory.

Regards
Arild

At 06:12 PM 09/07/2001 EDT, SobreElMar@aol.com wrote:

these are then parralleled to another 4 so that I have 8 batteries to
produce a 32 volt bank on the starboard side of the boat.  Should I be
using some sort of battery combiner unit to help with charging?  I have a
3,000 watt Heart inverter/charger hooked to this bank for the primary
charging system.  Also use this same system to charge when generator is
running.

dedicated starting bank.  The only way to charge all 12 batteries is to
close the cross over switch.  Again, wondering if I should be using some
sort of newer combiner unit to charge that set.  The only way to charge the
port bank is to close the cross over switch.  Seems to me if the starboard
bank is "up" then I might be over charging them in order to charge the port
bank which might be low.

the port bank and the starboard engine charges the starboard bank.

don't want to miss your response.

At 06:12 PM 09/07/2001 EDT, SobreElMar@aol.com wrote:

dedicated starting bank.  The only way to charge all 12 batteries is to
close the cross over switch.  Again, wondering if I should be using some
sort of newer combiner unit to charge that set.  The only way to charge the
port bank is to close the cross over switch.  Seems to me if the starboard
bank is "up" then I might be over charging them in order to charge the port
bank which might be low.

Something I'v always wondered about:  If you close a switch between a
"dead" battery bank and a fully charged one wouldn't you get a really large
current surge through the switch, and would this high current do any damage
to either bank?. (or to your boat?)....jd
Joe DellaFera / Margaret Murray
36' Prairie  DC "Prairie Star"
Pompano Beach, Fl.

---========================
WOULD BE A GREAT TIME TO HAVE "DIE--HARDS" on board", throw the bad one
over and and keep on trucking.
.

At 09:49 PM 9/7/01 -0400, you wrote:

Captain Al Pilvinis

"M/V Driftwood"--Prairie 47
2630 N.E. 41st Street
Lighthouse Point, Fl 33064-8064
Voice 954-941-2556 Fax 954 788-2666
Email  yourcaptain@earthlink.net
Website http://home.earthlink.net/~yourcaptain