Tell me how to go about putting in a second battery

[RonRock]

My son's 97 Challenger. 1 engine, 14 foot boat.

He likes to set and listen to the radio. I want to install a second battery for safety. I know others have done it, but haven't seen a good explanation of exactly how to do it. I'm sure it will require a switch to go between the two. As well as a battery. But these boats are very limited in space, so looking for other peoples suggestions.

Also what size, and cranking amps battery do these boats take? Does the battery need to be a Marine type?

 

[El Toro 33809]

Stolen from "Adding an extra battery" in the Modify section:

"Here's some basic info I've gathered from some other posts...

-West Marine makes a great switch that allows you to run 2 batteries with positions for bank 1, 2, all or none. This allows you to connect 2 batteries to, one for starting bank 1, one for "gear" bank 2, and All so when you are running both batteries wilkl charge. This is a make-before-break switch so you can switch it without interuppting power. I think the switch is $35.

-Get a "deep cycle" marine battery. They hold up better to the elements, take a deeper charge and are built better for deep cranking. Usualy cost is about $100 or so I think.

-With the switch the connections are pretty straight forwrd. W/o the switch, run them in parallel like the previous post said. This way your "stuff" is only see 12V still but you'll have the capacity of 2 batteries to turn things over and run on. Both will also charge while running.

-Get a GOOD battery tray & strap. I purchased a battery keep from my locao Autozone that is make of rubber to provide a bit of flex and won't snap like plastic ones. Also, when securing the tray, suggestions include using a whole tube of RTV to secure it unless you can find some decent areas to bolt it to.

-Isolatros do work if you want to add one. And there's also some auto-sensing/auto-switching switches that will automatically switch between the 2 batteries for charging purposes when voltage drops to a certain level.

-Lastly, there's another component you can get that will kill power from the battery if the voltage drops below the necessary starting/cranking power. So you could run your head unit/amp right up until the boat will no longer start. Nice addtion but I'd prefer the new multi-position switch.
Hope that helps out some. "

http://www.seadooforum.com/showthread.php?16580-Adding-an-extra-battery

Hope this helps.

 

[Dr Honda]

Limited room?? Are you kidding? The single engine boats have a ton of room in the engine bay. Pick a spot, and build a mount.

One thing... since you only have a single "jet Ski" engine in that boat... the charging system is minimal. If you drain the batteries down... they may not recover on their own. So... I would recommend running an isolator, and hooking the radio to the second battery. That way, you will always have power to start. (but it will still charge across) Also, use a starting battery for your main battery, and a deep cycle for the second.

Regardless... you will want a good charger to be able to top off the battery between trips.

 

[RonRock]

Thank You El Toro, I will look in the Modify section as well as study your post.

I appreciate that you took the time to be helpful. So often in forums I see "Do a search" which is not always easy for some of us to know exactly what to search for.

Anyway Thanks again, now I have something to help.
Ron

Also thank you Tony. You guys are fast around here. Cool.

 

[El Toro 33809]

You are welcome Ron. Good luck.

Where in Iowa are you? We lived in CR from 1989 - 1995.

 

[RonRock]

We are on the west coast of Iowa. Overlooking the beautiful Missouri River. Just outside of Omaha, Nebraska.

 

[El Toro 33809]

I traveled the eastern 2/3rd of the state. The furthest west I went was Jefferson.