We recently bought a 1991 Arima Sea Chaser with a 90 HP Johson and a 15 HP Johnson kicker, and it has a single battery set-up. I'm looking at buying a couple of electric downriggers, an electric heater, new FF, etc. I don't think a single battery set-up can safely handle that much so I'm interested in converting to a duel battery set-up. Basically a set-up that uses one battery for the motor and a second for the electronics, yet both are continuously charged while running.

Can someone point me to a good boat how-to site that will show how to convert to a duel battery setup? Or even a real good book on the subject? It would be a nice bonus if it also had good info on setting up electronics, (especially the downriggers), replacing bilge pumps, rewiring gauges, etc.


Thanks!

Stop by a West Marine store and grab a catalog. They have great diagrams showing just how to wire a dual battery set up. It really is simple. Get a dual battery switch and some battery cables. West Marine or Boaters World will make up custom battery cables to the length you need too.

It's nice to have a battery isolator/combiner instead of a switch. You don't have to worry about remembering to swith from your starting/running battery to your load battery, and they both get charged automagically.

Dan

The West Marine set up is the way to go. Use the battery switch and the combiner, just leave the battery switch on "1", the boat will always start, and both batteries will charge.

Better yet, use the new dual-battery setup that West Marine recommends... it's in their diagrams in their catalog. It uses three single-pole switches about $10 each, instead of the usual off-one-both switch... you use a shutoff switch for each battery, and a switch between both batteries to isolate them or switch them into parallel in an emergency.

I wired my boat up this way this past spring, and it works great...

Battery #1 has its own shutoff switch #1, is used to start the main motor and is charged from the main motor, and that's it.
Battery #2 has its own shutoff switch #2, is used to start the kicker motor and run all of the electronics and that's it.
If either battery becomes drained or has a problem, you turn switch #3 into the "on" position and it puts both batteries in parallel so you can start the motors or run the electronics... pretty cool.

Remember, battery isolators are diodes and as such, have about a 1v voltage drop across them...

-N.

....and before you buy an electric 12V heater, check how many amps it's going to draw to see if it will be practical. You will probably find that it will drain a battery in no time.

Although 12V hair dryers are practical to use briefly as a window defogger.

I have a 16 ft arima Sea Chaser, I put a second battery next to the original, I used optimas, and an isolator between them, just a switch. One can jump the other that way. One (orig) runs big engine, other is charged by the kicker, and runs the electronics and the down riggers/pot puller. Alternators are still available for the later Johnsons, and its pretty easy to set up with wires and switches and a battery tray from westmarine. My yamaha with a 6 amp alt keeps up easily with the radio and etc. while trolling.

How do you like those optimas?Those are the the rounded sealed units?

I have had good results so far, 2 yrs and no trouble. I had an interstate go bad in the first year I had the boat. I really like interstates fro the truck/car and was surprised when the one in the boat went that quick. One battery with the little kicker runs the riggers, sounders, lights and radios with no problem. I liked the smaller/lighter for same capacity. These new ones have been good, but expensive. They are rounded, sealed and supposedly about vibration proof, when you run them down they charge quick, and sitting doesn't hurt them (according to the literature).