Battery terminal connectors, second battery install

[Rascal]

My outboard is a 135 honda. Looking at the $85 kit on amazon, it says mini switch. You are saying that 65 amp is all I need for that size outboard? Just want to be sure before decide whether or not to go with it. I guess the word Mini scares me...

I have a 115 hp 2012 Honda. My Honda shop manual says the engine puts out 50 amps. the motor uses 10 amps for its self, that leaves 40 amps for charging batteries. I have the 7649 "Mini" Blue Sea sitting on my desk looking at me. Its is the same physical size as the higher amp Blue Sea switch. Its very hefty compared to the B.E.L. switch I installed on my Sea Cat last year. The B. E. L. switch worked very good on the Sea Cats two start/house batteries.

I am installing the B.S 7649 on my Premier to be able to charge the start battery in the stern and the two house batteries in my counsel that will power my Loan Star anchor winch. My rack storage does not have 110 plugs to power my built in charger. Without going into to much electrical detail. I am not using the B.E.L on this install as is not as heavy duty as the Blue Sea switch. I will be charging three (3) batteries this time. Two of them are heavy duty high amperage.

Kind regards,

Rascal

[fiddlebick]

After much reading on marine wire, battery installs etc., I wonder if I really need marine grade battery cable for my install. I am not a salt water environment, the boat is garaged unless on the water, and we are very weather aware, and stay close to the trailer on questionable days. My summer boating puts us on the water 10 to 15 times a season. Thats not to say it won't get wet, but I am just wondering if anybody out there ran regular battery cable with out any problems.

[fiddlebick]

Update on my install. I received the blue seas "mini add a battery kit" yesterday and began my install this morning. The kit had no mounting screws of any kind included, but I guess there is too much variety in where and how it could be mounted for them to accommodate every customer, so no big deal. I actually used a polypropylene cutting board as a backing plate to mount the switch and ACR units to. I purchased the board from Target and its a little thin but plenty solid for my purposes. I spent a lot of time on the forums searching installs of other boaters in the past week. After researching, I decided just how my install would go. My setup is located under the sundeck in the former privacy pop up/storage area, so I do not anticipate much moisture, as I am pretty watchful of the weather and stay close to the dock if rain is a threat. As I am not in a salt water environment, I chose not to use marine grade cables...instead I made my cable out of #2 welding cable lead, using regular copper lugs (instead of tinned copper), hammer and punch crimped then soldered, with standard shrink wrap instead of the adhesive lined shrink wrap. I don't know how long they will hold up but I keep a pretty close eye on my battery cable ends for corrosion as preventative maintenence measure.

I chose to omit the optional start isolation circuit.
I chose to omit the (high price) high amp fuses between the batteries and the automatic charging relay. Blue seas has them on their drawing, in keeping with AYBC requirements, but my positive cables are in no position to rub thru the insulation, and my battery posts are well protected inside the battery boxes.
I plan to show some pics when the install is done.

[fiddlebick]

Here are some pics of my battery switch and "automatic charging relay" installed and ready for the water. I am very happy that I completed this with help from my brother, and all the good information from this forum as well as other forums I browse. The last pic is actually my "before" and the others are the finished deal...

[TonyTwoToons]

I'm doing the same thing to mine in a couple of weeks. I hope my wire discipline is as good as yours. I'm glad I fund this thread. It probably saved me $100. The Mini Add-a-Battery Kit is perfect for my setup. What I was looking at was probably overkill and over cost.

Cheers,

Tony

[fiddlebick]

Tony, if I could give you any advice, feel free to ask via this forum or message me. I would recommend that you search some other forums as well, iboats, pontoonstuff, and especially one forum called The Hull Truth. There is a lot of information in their electronics section of the forum, and it is obvious that most of their members are owners of coastal ocean going fishing vessels, therefore the electronics are more complex, however there are many posts on the blue seas add a battery system...and guys who are using them for a single outboard. I also think you should go to blue seas web site to study the diagram ahead of time, if you are going to order their product, and learn the setup for an outboard motor setup vs. inboard that doesn't pertain to you. Another helpful tip....go to google images and type in "blue seas add a battery installation" for lots of pics and diagrams. If you plan to use only marine grade cable and connectors, (I did not) then you may have trouble finding that locally unless you go to a marine dealer, the auto stores won't have it. I will monitor my setup and see if I have any problem with corrosion at my connections, but as I said in earlier posts, we are not a salt water environment here in KY. I am not happy with my use of the plastic cutting board from Target as a mounting plate. It looks nice but the plastic is so soft, and the board so thin that I had to be careful not to over tighten the screws. That said it is solid and tight for now and I don't plan to change it. If you have room to place the batteries close together, that is the best and easiest way to go, try not to place your switches directly over the batteries, as the gases leached by the battery are corrosive. I had to space my batteries a few feet apart to make the best use of the storage compartment. I got my plastic cable keepers at Menards, they have a good selection, and Home Depot has a battery cable heat shrink, in black and red, if you make your own cables. It has a high shrink ratio and is not cheap, at 8 bucks for enough to do your entire job. I bought my #4 cable (for the ACR) from a local stereo shop, but you may find the length you need , already made up at Rural King or some other farm shop in the lawn mower section. Your biggest decision will be whether you power the ACR from the batteries, or directly from the battery switch, and whether or not to install the two high amperage fuses they have on the diagram going to the ACR. You will find much discussion on this topic on the Hull truth forum. I had a good time researching my install and glad I did it myself. Good luck. John

[curtiscapk]

Wow that looks fantastic! I need to think about doing this as well, somewhere down the line....

[tommyz]

Awesome battery setup.

I have recently toyed with adding a battery, and decided to leave it isolated from everything else considering my usage scenario.

But I thought I would share some things I learned along the way:
1) marine rated wire is a good idea to use because if you have a fire your insurance company won't cover it if they find the cause was electrical
2) marine safety wire is very convenient when running a power & ground to the same location because it is sheathed together and that sheath adds a nice additional barrier
3) a couple good sources for parts are defender.com and parts-express.com