Charging your batteries is a necessary evil while away from the dock. Most boats achieve the large portion of this via alternators, which have traditionally been less-than-optimal in terms of charge control. The Wakespeed WS-500 regulator changes all of that, and then some.
This article was super influential + helpful in my decision to get Wakespeed (installing it this week). They included ATC fuses + holders in your bundle? Dang. Not with mine, guess they’re no longer included. I think that explains why the manual says they recommend ATC fuses. I was scratching my head trying to figure out why I need to go specifically buy an ATC fuse/holder when I have tons of AGC glass fuses/holders on hand.
Interestingly, you note battery temp sensor is not needed because lithium batteries aren’t temperature compensated. That’s what I thought too but the Dragonfly sales/tech rep told me to get the battery temp sense too. He said it could still be used to shut down charging if the batteries were too hot or cold. (this may actually be useful because our home base is Alaska now and the batteries can’t charge below about 32F - although this is unlikely given the seawater influence on bilge temps).
That’s good to know! It doesn’t surprise me that some things have started to change since Dragonfly bought them. There were a few different harnesses you could choose from in the past, and they had some different options.
That’s a good point. The temperature sensor would help with extreme temp situations for sure. I know some folks have had issues with engine rooms and high temperatures with BMS shutdowns, so that makes sense! Thanks for providing updated info on Wakespeed via Dragonfly.
Hello,
I have to replace the Balmar MC-614 in my campervan due to corrosion. Would the WS-500 be an appropriate replacement? I like the fact that it has a cover since my Balmar is installed on top of the wheel well and is subject to water from rain or washing the van.
Thank you!
The WS-500 can definitely replace the MC-614 in terms of functionality, and it has a lot more features than the Balmar. It is in a waterproof case but I would check the specifications as to how waterproof it is.
Hey Steve, Thanks for sharing all this - I’ve been a lurker for quite a while reading your posts!
I’ve recently took the plunge to redesign and upgrade our boat’s existing Battleborn / Balmar 12V system to a 24V system. This involved going to Wakespeed WS-500 and a larger ATS alternator.
One issue still lingering is the engine tach (on analog engine instrument panel) cuts out now that Wakespeed completely shuts off the field signal as needed. Worse is that engine hours also die. Our engine doesn’t use a flywheel sensor, so everything comes from the alternator/Wakespeed.
Question: If Wakespeed can calculate its own engine RPM and transmit via NMEA (which is seems to do nicely and without interruption) then why can’t I get an uninterrupted tach signal? Is there any way to get a simulated field output back from NMEA or Wakespeed to keep my tach going?
Thanks so much!
Oooh that’s an interesting issue. I’ve not heard of that before. Quite annoying I can imagine! Have you engaged with Wakespeed technical support to see if they have any ideas? They may have a mode or option that could help here.
Alternatively, you could just switch to NMEA 2000 gauges / displays and abandon the analog gauges I suppose… 