Anyone use a battery brain with dual batteries?

[lancesaville]

I picked up a battery brain III off the inter-web. My LSV has two batteries, has anyone already put one of these on a dual battery setup that has any tips before I dive into this over the weekend? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

[Razzman]

I've seen these and never seen anyone use one on a boat. If you manually disconnect your batts via the breaker after each use then this would be unneccessary imo. You'll still have the issue of isolation unless you already have an isolation device.

[lancesaville]

glad your such an electronics/electric geek like me razzman (we use wiring, extra batteries, and sound system for extra ballast haha). Yeah after I posted I got to thinking, If I just keep it on battery one all the time, SHOULD i drain it on accident one day during a cove-stop, I could just switch over to battery 2 and start er up. Only thing is I'd have to be sure to keep battery 2 charged up since I think they'll only both charge by alternator if I have it on 1/2. does that sound right to you man, I think on 1/2 it charges both. But dealer told me to keep on one and put a trickle on 2 once a summer. hmmm. may need to call him back and get some clarification. As far as I know it's the regular moomba factory dual battery setup.

[mmandley]

Yea it only charges the batter selected. 1 charges 1 and 2 charges 2. 1/2 charges both.

Draining works the same way UNLESS you have things wired directly to your 2 battery.

My sub amp was wired directly to my 2 battery and i kept it swtch on 1 thinking i would be safe. 3 day weekend of rain and spending time in the garage working with the boat stereo on killed battery 2. Battery 1 was at 50% and the switch was on Battery 1

Now i rewired the system and all my stereo is on Battery 2 and only the boat is on Battery 1.

Cruise with 1/2 on to charge them both.

Stop to swim and party, switch on 2 to only run the stereo.

Battery goes dead from stereo jam. Switch to 1 and start boat. Then switch to 1/2 to charge both batteries.

Get home for the night and toss the computer controlled charger on battery 2 for the night.

[lancesaville]

Yea it only charges the batter selected. 1 charges 1 and 2 charges 2. 1/2 charges both.

Draining works the same way UNLESS you have things wired directly to your 2 battery.

My sub amp was wired directly to my 2 battery and i kept it swtch on 1 thinking i would be safe. 3 day weekend of rain and spending time in the garage working with the boat stereo on killed battery 2. Battery 1 was at 50% and the switch was on Battery 1

Now i rewired the system and all my stereo is on Battery 2 and only the boat is on Battery 1.

Cruise with 1/2 on to charge them both.

Stop to swim and party, switch on 2 to only run the stereo.

Battery goes dead from stereo jam. Switch to 1 and start boat. Then switch to 1/2 to charge both batteries.

Get home for the night and toss the computer controlled charger on battery 2 for the night.

Did you add your 2nd battery or is it factory? Can the boat be idling on battery one and switched to 1/2 without the boat dying ?

[mmandley]

Mine was upgraded by the Dealer at the time of purchase.

Yes once the boat is running you can switch from battery 1 to battery 2 with no issues.

The same applies of i drain battery 2 down when i start the boat and switch to battery 1/2 the stereo comes right back on and everything runs normal again.

[Razzman]

Sorry guys, actually had stuff to do!

Lance, i don't know what the dealer is telling you but trickling batt 2 periodically will result in a dead batt for sure. This is a prime example of why i hate these systems!

First off i've found the "factory" dual batt setup varies by dealer, it's how they "best" determine a dual batt setup should be! Unbelievable but true!

Second they all use that darn Perko switch which is such a pain to use! "Ooops! Excuse me but can you get your big butt off the seat? I have to switch batts!" Not a good scenario ten times a day or everytime you float and want to play your tunes! Add moving peeps to get to the cooler and your playing musical cushions all day!

Mine had it and i gutted it in favor of an ACR system or Automatic Charging Relay from Blue Sea Systems, Specifically their 7650 Add A Battery kit. There are many alternatives but this system has a switch that is OFF/ON/COMBINED and that's it! Turn to ON at beginning of day and OFF when you come off the water. COMBINED for emergency combining of both batts to start. Simple,Clean and Reliable. Period!

I will swear by this system all day long. I know there's other ways to do it but none are as easy as this imo. Your batts stay charged and you'll not worry about it anymore.

Oh yeah, you only have to move that person twice!

[lancesaville]

Right on about individual dealer setups, and this is the downside of storing my boat at the lake, can't go out to the garage and double-check how things are wired. I'll give my dealer a call in the morning and be sure I'm clear on how it's setup, then I'll let you know and see what you think. The system you have sounds sweet but I didn't hear about it in time before I had the factory 2nd battery and switch installed. So for this season at least, I've gotta stick with the switch for now and figure out the best way to utilize it/wire it.

[Razzman]

Lance here's the scenario with a Perko switch. Ideally and if done right, your start batt should be on 1 and your stereo should be on 2. So here's how it goes ...

1) Switch to 1 to start
2) After starting switch to ALL or 1/2 (depending on brand) so that both batts are charging.
3) When you float to play your tunes switch to 2.

Repeat 1&2 when you go to start and leave the float area.
Repeat 3 when you float again!
etc,
etc,
etc ....

Oh yeah don't forget to switch to OFF when done!

ARRGGGHHHHHHHHH!!! I HATE PERKOS!!! Forget any sequence and you can find yourself hosed!

[lancesaville]

the switch looks just like this one, does that look like the one moomba uses?