13 June 2008

Merlin launches Powerbank – an all encompassing solution for Marine Battery Management

Until now, boat builders have usually had to rely on fitting three or four separate electrical and electronic modules (often from separate suppliers) to create their “battery management” solution. Alternatively, they have had to devote a huge amount of resources, time and money to develop their own bespoke systems, which inevitably end up requiring partial redesign when a new boat comes along!

Arguably, this problem has never really been addressed comprehensively, despite the fact that a boat’s electronic systems are only ever as good as the weakest link in the electrical system!

With this in mind, Merlin are pleased to announce the launch of Powerbank; possibly the most flexible, comprehensive system ever seen. Powerbank is designed from the ground up as a solution that a builder can use through their entire boat range; standardising on inventory and making it much easier for installation and test engineers to understand.

Powerbank consists of a single electronic hub controlling a number of heavy duty relays. The hub can be installed in virtually any location and connects (via data cable) to a range of optional control and monitoring panels. These can be conventional switch / indicator panels or touch-screen.

Powerbank controls up to four battery banks, providing voltage controlled split charging, remote battery isolation, flat battery protection and emergency parallel for engine starting.

With its extremely simple windows programming software, Powerbank can be plugged into any XP or Vista PC and configured for virtually any battery setup. For example on a smaller vessel it can be setup to control a single engine start battery and a bank for domestic use. Alternatively, on a catamaran, you may have to accommodate two independent batteries for engine starting and a single large domestic bank. Configuration in the software is all via drop down menus. There’s no additional “script” to write, so installers require no software programming skills!

Once the battery configuration has been decided, the specific voltages can be set for split charge connection and disconnection. Choice of voltages is crucial as the power usage of loads connected to either the engine or domestic batteries can effect the efficiency of the split charging setup. For example, Merlin has seen starter batteries so overloaded by the initial power drain from block heaters, that split charging very rarely connects! Time buffers can also be set for split charging and you can determine which batteries you want to parallel in an emergency for engine starting.

There are numerous battery isolation options. An installer can select to isolate any battery channel or combination of channels from remote switches on your panel. The battery isolation relays also double up to perform flat battery protection if you choose. The exact voltages can be set for where you want to protect your batteries from excessive discharge, how long the batteries have to be below that level before disconnection and ultimately how the system is reset afterwards! Accurate protection against excessive battery discharge from non-critical circuits is long overdue and could save boat builders a fortune in battery warranties!

In addition to all of the above, Powerbank has a wealth of different pre-programmable alarms to tell you exactly what is going on inside your system. There are also volt free relay outputs that can be assigned to alarms to achieve almost anything, such as starting a generator to help recharge the batteries. Conversely, Powerbank will accept analogue and digital inputs to react to other things going on within the boat. For example on some larger boats with bow thrusters, it’s sometimes necessary to isolate split charging while the thruster is being used to the protect engine management computers from potentially damaging voltage spikes.

The Powerbank programming software also has a diagnostics screen, so when the unit has been setup, you can run the boat with a PC still connected and see exactly what your system is doing and ultimately whether your settings are appropriate. Digitally smoothed battery voltages can also be viewed on screen via incredibly useful “heart monitor type” moving graphs. The system is simply a dream for test teams and maintenance engineers.

Merlin would welcome the opportunity to talk to any boat builder regarding how Powerbank could benefit them. They can be contacted on +44 (0)1202 697979 for more details or a demonstration at your location.

www.merlinequipment.com

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