Charging house battery(s) (easy question)

MarkB

06Rinker,so if you are on 1 is power from battery 2 dead? And vice versa with switch on 2?

Chrisvr6

I have been using a battery tender hooked to one battery and leaving switch set to 1+2. Haven't had any problems. 

06Rinker270

MarkB said:

06Rinker,so if you are on 1 is power from battery 2 dead? And vice versa with switch on 2?

I don't know, but I'll try here soon.  Doesn't sound like it should be...

what do you leave yours on?

MarkB

My switch has off, 1 and combined.  I have 2 batteries, a crank and a house/deep cycle.  When it is on "1" it actually means both batteries are feeding power, but on separate circuits. The crank only feeds the engine, while the deep cycle only feeds the house. If the boat is not running, the crank battery is not being drained.  The only situation where I'd put it on combined is if for whatever reason my crank battery isn't working (it blows). I would then want to start my engine via the deep cycle (as a back up).  With everything off, I would switch over the battery switch to combined, and then try starting the battery. With the engine running, I would keep the switch on combined as moving the switch while the engine is running can blow the isolators.

Anyhow, it's a situation I hope I'm never in.

06Rinker270

Thank you Mark for the info.  Sounds like I need to keep it on 1.  Wonder at what point I would use just switch 2...

does shore power turn on the battery charger?

MarkB

Yes, with shore power the charger activates and charges both batteries independently. I can't remember if I have a breaker on the charger as well, on the switch board.

duane.mosley

i just purchased an '06 250 express cruiser, it has the switch with 4 positions. off, 1,2, or combined. does this style switch, which seems to be factory, stay in position 1 for cranking battery at all times? does it charge the house batteries in position 1?  another question while on topic, can i add a second house battery, wired parallel, without changing the switch? will the shore power battery charger need to be upgraded to a 3 bank charger? thanks in advance for any assistance

MarkB

This is what I can tell you with certainty:

- Normally, position 1 actually means both batteries are live, one independently powering the engine and the other independently powering the house circuit. My switch does not have a 2, but it has combined, which means it bridges the house and crank batteries together, which should be only used for emergencies (your crank is dead and you want to use the house battery to start the engine). But it does depend on how they wired the switch. The best thing is to play around with switch position while engine is OFF (important), and see what turns on. You can also physically disconnect the batteries one at a time and see what it turns off. You should be fully confident in what switch 1, 2 and combined do.

-   The charger should work independently of the switch, it should be wired to the batteries via the isolator. You can check this by looking at the charger and it should cycle through battery 1, 2 and 3, and tell you the amps it is pushing to each battery.

- You can add a second house battery in parallel, but there is a post somewhere in this forum on a really smart way to wire them up. Try and find that post!

Now here is my guess:

- I suspect in parallel the two house batteries will charge as 1 battery unit, which means you shouldn't need to install it in the charger as battery 3, but you should wait for someone with 3 batteries to chime in.

Clinton

I have been having charging issues myself. My switch has an off/1/2/both settings. all three of the on positions starts my boat. I don't really know which battery is for the engine. I think they are both "deep cycle" batteries though. Is that ok, or should I have a normal battery for starting the engine and a "deep cycle" for the house side. Nearly got stuck on the lack this weekend. Engine barely started the last time to get us home to the boat ramp. Never had a 2 battery system before.

Chrisvr6

Clinton said:

I have been having charging issues myself. My switch has an off/1/2/both settings. all three of the on positions starts my boat. I don't really know which battery is for the engine. I think they are both "deep cycle" batteries though. Is that ok, or should I have a normal battery for starting the engine and a "deep cycle" for the house side. Nearly got stuck on the lack this weekend. Engine barely started the last time to get us home to the boat ramp. Never had a 2 battery system before.

Mine is the same. I do have 1 deep cycle and 1 starting battery. Did you switch to "both" when it had a weak start? Was it switched to both while parked in the water? That could be the reason. Never switch to both unless your starting battery needs help from the house battery. They should both be charging though regardless of position. Disconnect a battery to pinpoint position. 

MarkB

And never operate the switch while the engine is running.

DanD2

duane.mosley said:

..... another question while on topic, can i add a second house battery, wired parallel, without changing the switch? will the shore power battery charger need to be upgraded to a 3 bank charger? thanks in advance for any assistance

Yes you can and you don't need a 3 bank charger as its still on the same bank.....positive feed in on the first battery, bridge to the positive on the second. Negative feed goes on the second battery with the bridge to the first.