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Adding an extra battery...

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My second battery is a blue top gel filled.... i cant remeber the brand name, but they are supposed to be the best available.


The way this system is installed you would never kill the first battery because the first battery only operates the normal factory functions of the boat (eg. starting,bilge ect ectect), SeaDoo builds quality machines and I have never had any charging issues with my boat.

Now the second battery is strictly for the amp, light bars and aftermarket things you install, I've had this battery die before, but it was because I had a faulty connection on my power line and it wasnt getting a proper charge.

I took my boat out everyday last week and I like cold beer, hot women and loud music.... so in otherwords I use soo much electricity the whole time im out, and as long as you drive it a little bit it should give you all day with good tunes.
 
Zonic2001 said:
Oso... Is your second battery a deep cycle one? Or just a regular crancking type battery? when you grounded the second battery, where you grounded to? to Motor mount bolts? or an easier place?
Click to expand...

I grounded my second battery to the same bolt that the first battery is grounded too.

Have fun with that one, that was the hardest part of the whole install
 
I plan on just hooking it to the top of the negative post on the first battery. Anyone see a problem with that?
 
Completed my installation! And the boat survived! Yeeeppeeee!!!!! No fires too!!!! LOL

Seriously, it was easier than expected. The worst thing was to create a flat foundation in the engine compartment for the extra battery. Used marine wood and created a platform. Looks great, thanks for the great advice in here!!!

What do I do next? LOL
 
Parallel wiring a deep cyle to a starting?

Could you have a marine cranking and a marine deep cycle wired in parallel with no switch, or isolator? Just a question.. Thanks
 
Greg,

I dont really see a problem with that. It would totally defeat the purpose though. The reason you want to add the 2nd battery is so you can sit somewhere and jam out to the radio and know that when it is time to leave the boat will start. With them wired in parallel, you are draining both batteries. Yeah you have a lot more juice stored up, but you could possibly drain down both batteries and still be stranded.

With the switch, I use both batteries to start the boat. Then I leave it on both and they are always charging. When I want to sit anchored, I switch it to just the deep cycle. It can drain it as much as it wants and I still have the good fully charged starting battery to get me going again. The perko switch is a direct replacement and was like $30. Worth the money in my mind.
 
Gotcha.. makes perfect sense.. I was just trying to avoid the confusion of wiring everything to the switch, and then I saw where Darthspeed said he had his two batteries wired with no switch and never had any problems..and he's got two amps, plus tons of speakers pulling on his batts. Just looking at all the options.. If the switch isn't a PTA to wire i would go that way for sure...i understand completely what your theory is though..Thanks
 
Thanks that will be really really helpful...The switch I am looking at is red..is that the same perko switch you have?
 
As far as anyone knows, there will be no damage from coupling a deep - cycle battery to a cranking battery in parallel?
 
"Anyone, Anyone"

This reminds me of Ben Stein in Ferris Bueler's Day Off....Does any one know if you can couple a starting battery in parallel with a deep cycle... " Anyone, Anyone " ?:rofl:
 

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I dont see any reason why you couldn't. I just think it is a better choice to spend the $30 so it isn't even possibly a problem and then you gain the ability to isolate which one you are using.
 
yeah you are right, but I'm thinking the elec. system would see them both as parallel when you are running the boat and have the switch on both, even though they would be charging...what do you think?
 
Thinking about it that way, you are correct. There would be no difference. When I turn the switch to "both", it is combining the current together. When you just wire them in parallel, it sees the same thing. The switch would just add a way for you to isolate them. It will work fine with a cranking and a deep cycle battery, but like I said before, it kinda defeats the purpose.
 
Yeah.. I am going to use the switch most defiantely.. just wanted to make sure there were no probs. with hooking it up that way ( deep, and starting )..
 
Zonic, could you post some pic on how you mounted the the battery tray to the hull? Thats where I would have a problem. Don't want to drill through the hull.
 
I just bought the plastic battery tray. Found a nice flat spot on the hull and took like half a tube of liquid nail and squirted it all down and put the tray down. Sat the battery in there to weigh it down. Came back 2 days later and it was hard as a rock. Lasted all summer so far.
 
Two batteries of different types

I have been studying a little on hooking the deep cycle to the starting and found its not a good idea according to these articles. My concern even with the switch is that both batteries would be charging simutaneously while the boat was running presenting the following problem...

When connecting batteries in parallel be sure to use the same type of battery, for example; two deep cycle batteries. The age of the batteries should be the same. A new battery connected in parallel to an older one will not get fully charged, and the older battery may get overcharged

If you connect two that are not the same type or capacity, you will either over charge the smaller of the two, or you will under charge the larger of the two.

I dont know...I' m all for the idea of having two batteries, just don't want to be sorry in the long run...
 
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