Boat electricals/VSR question
Hi gang
Wondering if fellow members can assist or advise the following;
I'm thinking of adding 2 additional batteries to my boat. The current ones are Century Marine Pro 720, on an isolator switch (1,2, All, Off). The two new batteries will be 100AH deep cycles. What I want to do is keep the existing batteries/switch in place for starting purposes and use the 2 new batteries (in parallel) for all the boats electricals & electronics. I plan to install a VSR to isolate the 2 battery "banks". Is that an ideal configuration?
Also, I would like to mount the 2 new batteries further up the boat, eg; in the seat boxes, instead of at the rear. Is it ok to run long battery cabling back to the VSR which will be mounted at the back?
Thanks in advance!
A fish in the hand is worth 10 in the water!
treefrog
Posts: 50
Date Joined: 17/12/12
depends on what the setup of
depends on what the setup of the boat is mate, we are having some major issues with this at the moment,
however that is because the drives are volvo d6 with IPS and they shit it when you draw from the engine batteries
what are you running at the back of it? outboards?
Ashen
Posts: 1042
Date Joined: 22/03/13
Im running a Johnson
Im running a Johnson OceanPro 150hp outboard
A fish in the hand is worth 10 in the water!
treefrog
Posts: 50
Date Joined: 17/12/12
should be fine then,what i
should be fine then,
what i would suggest is an annual test of the VSRs in your scheduled maintenance using a variable voltage adaptor (dick smith/altech supply) all you need is a multimeter and a couple of feed cables.
that way you know they arent hanging open and leaving you exposed.
I would still make sure that you can physically isolate the two banks dont just rely on the VSR. ive used all BEP gear and found it to be really reliable.
no problems with distance as long as your are using the appropriate size cabling to handle the highest current(cranking) at that distance. terminate everything properly and give the terminations a squirt with some soft seal to finish it off
you know how to draw a line diagram? would help if you knocked one out with everything in it so you can make a call on what you do/dont need. (also helps fault finding later...)
cheers
paddy
Pete D
Posts: 1681
Date Joined: 07/06/07
BEP Marine
I did exactly what you want in my Trophy. Remove your old 3 way and install;
http://www.biasboating.com.au/BEP_Square_Battery_Distribution_Cluster_with_VSR_p/2335.htm
I’d keep my crank battery close to the engine and house batteries forward in your case.
You can email BEP directly. They were very helpful confirming my wiring requirements.
Cheers Pete
treefrog
Posts: 50
Date Joined: 17/12/12
hadnt seen that product
hadnt seen that product pete
the whole package rolled into one..
nice work
Ashen
Posts: 1042
Date Joined: 22/03/13
Awesome! I just need to make
Awesome! I just need to make sure that BEP cluster fits under the gunnel where the existing isolator is located.
Many thanks for the advices!
Line diagrams? Haha! I'm not that good with computers but will try my best at drawing the wiring plan and post it up for input.
A fish in the hand is worth 10 in the water!
Pete D
Posts: 1681
Date Joined: 07/06/07
Bit of paper and pencil is
Bit of paper and pencil is all you need. I could do a 3d model...but that would be over the top!
The cluster can be a straight line and VSR separate. Check their site out.
http://www.marinco.com/en/products/distribution-clusters/single-engine
Cheers Pete