Another Dual Battery Installation

I wanted to contribute my dual battery, switch and charging system installation for your consideration and as an example of what or what not to do.

My 2002 Outback LSV came with one battery located in the spotter’s locker and no battery switch. After much consideration I decided that in my application I should relocate my battery to the port aft ski locker and add the second battery to the starboard aft ski locker. The location of the batteries simplified the installation of my main switch, breaker and charging equipment.

I didn’t keep an exact list of materials, but these are the major parts I used for the installation:
Blue Sea Add A Battery Plus Kit - 65A
Eaton’s Bussmann Series 285100P-121-S Panel Mount Circuit Breaker, Type III Reset, 100A, 48V
Eaton’s Bussmann Series B156-7003-J Flange Panel Mount Gasket
Blue Sea Systems ST Blade Fuse Block - 12 Circuites with Negative Bus & Cover
Atwood Marine Battery Box

The circuit breaker is to protect the long cable run back up to the spotter’s locker where the fuse panel will be located.

Along with those major components I used solder-on cable terminals, terminal covers, battery cables and solder-on battery post clamps. Your materials list will vary depending on what loads you intend to carry and where you put your fuse box and accessories.

With my batteries in the aft lockers my battery switch and charging equipment could be installed in the engine compartment. The ski pylon frame made a handy mounting location for my equipment. This is what my frame looked like before I started. My battery switch was able to just fit inside the frame.
http://i.imgur.com/ZkNYVmi.jpg

I was able to pull the existing positive battery cable through the bilge and back into the engine compartment. Before I pulled it I connected a smaller gauge cable to the end and used the original large gauge cable to pull it through. The end result was the original “cranking” battery cable in the engine bay and a new, smaller “accessory” battery cable in its place, also terminating in the engine compartment. I brought both cables up along the frame and into the space where the switch and breaker will be located.
http://i.imgur.com/4v5Pbox.jpg

I found a sheet of aluminum at the local recycling yard and cut it, rounded the corners and drilled out mounting holes. If you’re not familiar with cutting and trimming aluminum, its easy if you have wood saws. I have a portable table saw that I put a hardwood blade in (more teeth) and it made quick work of the aluminum sheets. I backed the sheets with a piece of scrap plywood to make sure nothing started dancing or warping in the saw since the material is relatively thin. I used a jig saw to cut the opening for the circuit breaker and a regular wood whole saw to cut the opening for the battery switch. I think they turned out ok, the major scratches that are visible on the aluminum were there from the recycling yard.
http://i.imgur.com/loQ7y2N.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/OcnOsQj.jpg

I did the same for the panel that holds the battery link and the shore power plug. The notch below the shore power socket is for the remote oil filter bracket mount. All the holes next to the battery link are for battery link ground, sensor and trigger wires. I didn’t do a good job of making sure the holes were perfectly straight. After I put grommets in them they looked a little straighter and wires make them look even more so. But if you’re repeating my work, I’d recommend lining your punch holes with a straight edge. I just eyeballed it.
http://i.imgur.com/zHv7pha.jpg

I’m pretty particular about wiring connections, especially in a marine environment. I removed the plastic insulators from the crimp on terminals and soldered them to the wires and covered them with heat shrink tubing.
http://i.imgur.com/7OomGpi.jpg

One obstacle I ran into as I was assembling everything was that the battery switch was very close to the breaker. This was because the breaker and the cables that were going to attach to it had to clear the frame supports. They were too close to make a short cable with the solder terminals I had so I got a little creative.
http://i.imgur.com/qeFZNFu.jpg

I got a stick of 3/8” copper tubing from the plumbing department at Home Depot and cut off a length that would fit between my two target terminals on the switch and the breaker. I then squeezed it down flat inside the vise. Once flattened I marked where the wholes needed to be and rounded the edges.
http://i.imgur.com/IZO9c6U.jpg

For neatness and safety’s sake I put a length of heat shrink tubing over it. I also had to bend it slightly because the switch and the breaker were at different depths from the panel.
http://i.imgur.com/IevyRRa.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/hwtSic2.jpg

(Just an aside here, if you want to solder terminals onto large cables you want to do it without burning the insulation off. Lots of videos on YouTube about this, but here’s the quick version: strip the cable to the desired depth, lock the terminal in a vise and heat it with a torch, melt solder and resin into the terminal until cable side is more than half filled with liquid solder then stick the cable into it. It will stop before it hits full depth, hit the terminal again with the torch and it will immediately let the cable sink the rest of the way in. Let it cool and pull it out of the vise. Viola, soldered heavy cable without burnt insulation!)

Here is the equipment finally installed on the frame. In this picture you can see some of my cable management as well as where I still had management left to do. Below the battery switch you can see I attached PVC conduit strap to the aluminum frame and ran cables through it. I did the same up under the frame and down the other side. What is not pictured is that I used generic radiator hose to protect the cables that were running horizontally under the frame above the transmission. There is a large nut attached to the bottom of the ski pylon. I was afraid it would rub on the battery cables there and cause wear on the insulation.
http://i.imgur.com/oR1psxr.jpg

I installed the fuse panel inside the spotter’s locker under the glove box. Right now I only have the stereo and the charging plugs I’ve installed in the glove box powered from this panel.
http://i.imgur.com/zTC24s7.jpg

I also used car audio power distribution blocks to go from the larger gauge wire to the smaller gauge that the fuse panel takes. These are nice because there is another tee off on each of them that can be used to power audio amplifiers with inline fuses or breakers in the future. Oh, and the whole in the floor where the battery was originally strapped is now home to my ammo box tool box. I can even strap it down in the cavity.
http://i.imgur.com/CY4M6Ue.jpg

Nice job on the project, I wish I was more competent with electrical work. Definitely not my strong point.

Like some of your creative solutions with the aluminum and the copper tubing. Good stuff!