Not a game-changer project, but might be useful for others. I had a setup with 2 batteries under the passenger (observers) seat and another battery in the passenger compartment. We rarely lift the passenger seat for storage, so I decided to locate all of the batteries under there and update the system with an add-a-battery 2 bank switch and ACR to handle the charging, etc.
- Moved the 2 AGM Kinetic stereo batteries (about 90 amp hours a piece) so that I could fit a third. These Kinetics were already installed when I bought the boat. They are probably 6 years old but perform like champs and are always on a maintainer charger in storage. Hoping they last a long time.
- Replaced my aging lead acid starting battery with a Northstar AGM. Solid reputation but more importantly AGMs can be laid on their side to fit under seat.
- Built a battery box to hold all three batteries using 3/4" King Starboard HDPE walls, with a 3/8" lid. All the wiring is now out of sight, out of mind. I screwed the circuit breakers right to the walls. Almost everything came from the scrap pile at Tap Plastics.... 50% off.
- Could have gone many ways on this, but I chose to keep the "house" stock loads on the first battery (starting and house fuse panel), and then all the additional accessories and of course the 4 stereo amps, on a separate bank with the 2 Kinetic high amp hour batteries. Added a small fuse panel to this bank as well for additional loads beyond house... ie ballast pumps added, LEDs, etc. Also added a grounding bus bar.
- Wired so stock bilge pump is on original battery bank (will turn off with switch though), and then my additional bilge pump I added is wired directly to the second battery bank - which will protect boat even if switch is off. Basically there are now only two 24 hr (always on) circuits; 1 for bilge and 1 that feeds WS MC1 stereo so I don't lose all my settings when switch is off.
- All 3 batteries are wired to a large 36 amp onboard charger that I've had for years. This is technically a 4 bank charger / maintainer (overkill). So we just plug it in when the boat sits. I can not decide if and where I'd put an access port for charging, so for now I just reach under the seat to plug it in.
- Added a mini Off-On-Combine battery switch with the ACR.
- Added a switch access door. Cut out a hole in the wall, and installed a black acrylic door and switch box meant for a 2019 Moomba / Supra. Works perfectly. Thanks @freeheel4life for help on that. Thanks to @Wylie_Tunes as well for wiring tips on add-a-battery system.
All in all, we love the setup so far. Switch access is fast and easy. Wiring is out of sight, out of mind. And it REALLY opened up the passenger compartment by moving the batteries to the new location under the seat.
Hope this helps someone else.
** Might have moved some wires around from pics below. I did have to fix it at one point, but forgot what it was I did. lol
Edited by Rugger
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