ok.... now running two pumps do you need separate discharge lines through the hull? or can you put a Y in the line?
With a Y in the line and two pumps running you could use it as a fire hose!
Assuming, of course, that the pumps can stay ahead of the leak!
Regarding the two battery installation:
This is what we call a "two bank" system. "Bank" being the repository of energy stored in the battery.
Incorrect!
A battery bank is what is described in your next sentence.
A bank can be a single or multiple batteries all grouped to form one bank.
Usually these are divided into "Start" bank, and "House" bank, but you can have more banks depending on need (your 19 footer probably won't need more).
The important concept of separate banks is that you want your start battery bank to be fully charged and ready to start the engine at all times and never use it to run anything but the starter,
Yes, we refer to this as being held in "reserve".
while the house battery bank runs everything else...lights, pumps, electronics, etc.
When the house bank has been selected..... that is correct!
Another important factor is isolation. You don't want to be in a situation where the start bank is bleeding voltage into the house bank. Big no on that.
In the old days, a thing called a Battery Selector Switch was used. It's a big ol rotary switch that lets you select 1, 2, ALL or none. Totally steampunk. Its main drawbacks are; possible drainage of start bank when left in the ALL position.
No one should be selecting the ALL/BOTH mode.
That is to be used in an emergency scenario ONLY.
Possible destruction of the alternator if moved when engine is running (altho there is a type that's known as make-before-break that is supposed to minimize that risk),
You would be hard-pressed to find an MBSS today that was not "Make-before-Break".
What you DO NOT want to do, is to pass through the OFF position while the engine is running.
fire hazard, and shock risk if installed incorrectly. Nice, huh? At least they are shielded so they won't throw a spark and blow you and your boat to atoms if there's fuel vapor in the area.
Yes, these are Ignition Source Protected.
Even while they are, they should NEVER be mounted within an engine bay!
They should be in a location that offers easy and quick access.
On the other hand it's a pretty simple setup that works if you understand it.
The modern way is with something known as a voltage sensing relay (VSR). These are solid state electronic devices that do several jobs. First they maintain the full charge on the start bank. They isolate the start battery from the house battery. They maintain the house battery when the start battery has been filled.
They allow for emergency parallel of the house and start bank in case the batteries get too low.
The only style that will provide that feature, will be the Bluesea 7622ML ACR or one similar.
A standard VSR or ACR will not.
They eliminate human intervention.
There are many brands out there and they all offer this basic set of services along with other features such as optional manual switching (with a remote switch on the dash) interface with the electronics, blah blah blah.
Such as the Bluesea 500 amp 7622 ML with the remote switch.
Thanks for the detailed write up on multiple battery set ups....
I guess I’m totally steam punk....I can live with that. i have a couple large RV deep cycle batteries. No idea on amp hours or anything else. I guess I’ll see how they hold up over the long run, and keep a charger on hand where I have electricity.
Do that only if the charger is of today's Smart Charge technology.
Otherwise, you may damage them if left ON for too long.
I do shut things off when I’m done for the day, or when not in use.
I tried out a small solar panel to trickle charge my marine battery on my small fishing boat , and wasn’t impressed with it.
I'm not sure that's the way to go. When charging our battery banks, we need Amp Hours.
I had blown a fuse on my Honda outboard, and it wasn’t charging at all. It is a manual start and a sweetheart ....one pull wonder, first time , every time. But I had running lights and sonar I used the battery for. So I needed a small battery to run that. The solar charger was worthless IMO. Once I figured out the fuse issue that little 8 hp motor kept my battery up just trolling most the time.
Keep in mind that wet cell batteries prefer to be kept up to snuff.
A good rule of thumb, is to not allow them to become more than 50% depleted, and they should be charged sooner than later.
It's when they are left in a SOD (state of discharge) for any duration, that they begin to fail.
now considering how much time I spend fishing , and trolling in particular. I may hook up that charging system on the outboard to my auxiliary battery. I’ve got my sonar power lead hooked up to that battery now. This old boat doesn’t have a lot of battery operated amenities. I believe the running lights are hooked up to the main battery and require the engine ignition to be on to run them. But that’s fine. I won’t be using those unless I’m underway anyway. An anchor light might be better ran to an auxiliary battery though.... all other cabin lights and extra goodies I add will more than likely be self contained battery operated. These newer style LED lights are incredible, and pull very little juice.
Do yourself a favor (if not already existing), add a MBSS to your system.
You don't need anything fancy right now.
Run your start battery to the #1 terminal.
Run your House Load battery (preferably Deep Cycle batteries) to the #2 terminal.
The common terminal cable will run to your starter motor main lug.
Either bank selection will power things up.
If so inclined, add an ACR or VSR to the system.
This will allow the engine alternator to delegate a charge rate to either battery bank as needed.
im just now getting into the wiring on this old boat. Everything looks stock, and pretty clean, but I have several gages not working. Temp is my main priority, but my trim gage is dead too..... slowLy but surely I’ll check things out.
Hang in there..... you'll get it sorted out.
