ACR Battery Selector Switch - WHY???

I don't see a problem putting a battery in the bottom of a boat like the C D 22 (the battery goes into a box. If you have 11 inches of water in the boat, you are going to have a lot of problems, and placement of the batteries may not be the most important. Batteries down low, keep the weight low. However, in the 22, I did have one battery in a lazarette and the second, was under the sink.

If the battery switch is make before break or has a field disconnect, you can safely switch the battery from #1 to both. You have to have the ouput of the alternator going to a load/resistance, or cut alternator output (field disconnect). Double check the switch--most of the combine switches are make before break, so they are safe.

There is a potential problem with the battery switch on "both" when you have unequal batteries. The assumption is that one battery will have a lower capacity than the other. The lower capacity battery can be overcharged and thus boil off water. It would be better to have a dual output battery charger, which isolates the two batteries with diodes.
 
Hi Folks,

Knowing ALMA's ONLY, I have to agree with him.

I am a firm believer in the KISS Principle, Kep It Simple Sir (or stupid). I some times forget which it is.

I believe that we sometimes get caught up with all the new gadgets and have to have them, when our boats are really very simple machines. I like to keep it as simple as I can, and add a new gadget when I see that it can really make my boating simpler. A windless was added after I had to raise an anchor when both current and wind going the same way, and I found that it was a tough job, and that maybe I am not as young as I was.

Fred
 
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