2000 islandia batteries

[davidwjacob]

Hey All,

Do you all have 2 batteries, and have them both either on or off all the time? i was thinking of putting in a battery switch that has batt 1 and batt2 and both and off on it. has anyone done this?

Does the boat need both batteries to start or run?

maybe i should add a 3rd battery for my accessories then?

let me know your thoughts and experiences please.

Thanks
Dave

 

[nataliator]

I did it - the boat came with only 1 battery and an on/off switch behind the captains chair. We got a switch that allows battery on or combine, similar to this: http://shop.pkys.com/Blue-Sea-7650-Add-A-Battery-System-with-ACR-and-Battery-Switch_p_1616.html

The boat does not need two batteries to run. We set ours up so the second battery is the house/emergency cranking battery, but battery 1 is the one that cranks the motor. As far as charging, we installed something similar to this: https://www.walmart.com/ip/Pro-Mari...75035&wl11=online&wl12=22573694&wl13=&veh=sem

Mine is a smart charger that gives charge to whichever battery needs it as the engine is running, and when both are fully charged, it applies a trickle. Also put in an inverter to hook up an extension cord when at the dock if needed. So far so good, and while it a pain in the ass to wire it all up, it was worth the peace of mind for me!

 

[davidwjacob]

I think this is what i am going to do also, how does that charger hook up? can you send some pics of your setup?

Where is PA are you? if your local maybe i can stop by and check it out?
I am in Bensalem

thanks
Dave

 

[nataliator]

Plymouth Meeting area - so pretty close by actually!

The charger has to hook up to the charging circuit in order to send charge to either battery. It has a monitor in it to detect which battery has low voltage and applies a charge when the engine runs. It's nice because it also lets you if you have a ground fault somewhere or if the battery won't take charge anymore. I can take some pics tonight

 

[davidwjacob]

Thanks for the info, look forward to the pics.

you are pretty close,where do you go boating at? I live in bensalem, but i camp at www.fantasyislandcampground.com all summer, so my boat is up there on the susquhanna river. They are putting the DAM down early this year to do work on the dam so our boating ends aug 14th, so im thinking about bringing the boat home and either boat at pequa boat ramp on susquhanna or deleware river by my house. where do you take your boat?

Thanks
Dave

 

[nataliator]

way late on this, but here is my setup, the dual battery tray there, and we just used a piece of polymer to mount the battery charger to the hull. Neat little thing, allows for sharing the charge off the motor, or recharge at the dock/garage with an extension cord. Im usually riding at the Schuylkill river in Norristown, or down the shore. I have some buddies who have been going down the Delaware in Ridley Township, and ride up to the piers in Philly - haven't tried it yet but it sounds like a decent run.

 

[njrealtor55]

can you show a photo of where you wired the charger into the engine wiring harness? I've been thinking of doing this to our Challenger, but so far have been using a battery tender on our 2nd battery (which is only used for the stereo and the 12vdc cigarette & usb power ports).