I personally would wire that bus, after the Perko battery switch! J
The boats we are talking about here are designed to run everything off ONE battery, including downriggers. The second battery needs to separated and kept as a backup reserve, specifically for starting engines when the main battery runs down!
You have two different thought processes going on here about wiring directly to the battery and I have done both! Both can be considered correct, but I actuall prefer the way Kelly is discribing! J
We have Scott, who fishs out of Oak Harbour. He goes fishing for a day or so, returns plugs into a shore power source and recharges his battery(s) when needed. Nothing at all wrong with that! A downrigger wired directly to a “good” deep cycle battery not being charged will still provide ample reserve for up to about three days, depending on draw! In the case shore power is available, You can wire the downriggers to the battery that the engines are charging. Who cares - Just plug the batteries into a charger and forget about it! That's fine, UNLESS, you plan on going to a spot where you don’t have shore power!
That is where Kelly’s thought process comes to play, which btw is similar to how I am wired. I also have three batteries, my wiring a little different as I run twins; however, end result is the same. I have two batteries (in a bank) being charged by my starboard engine. I use that bank to run everything. The third battery charged by my port engine, which is also my reserve battery for starting runs nothing. You don’t even want to ask how many times on WCVI, I have had to use that reserve battery to start my engines. Then guess what, after the start… everything goes back being ran off my starboard bank, keeping that port battery in reserve. BTW… those are group 27 batteries, but most boats on here can use group 24 without any problems..
Here is the difference. Kelly docks at Port Renfrew for weeks and/or months at a time – there is NO SHORE POWER on the docks available. The only way to get those batteries charged,other than the boats engine is to pull the batteries and take them to the office, which if needed you can do!
While running electronics and downriggers, the“kicker’s” charging system cannot and will NOT put adequate charge to one battery, let alone two! A kicker will only slow the discharge rate – at best! If you run that switch in “both” (or “all”) the batteries will equalize and you will eventually end up with TWO discharged batteries, to the point neither will start your engine. If you wire those downriggers to one battery, and run everything else off the other the battery you are draining both batteries. You need to ask yourself - How and when are those batteries being charged and by what?
Most kickers provide 6 amps charge going directly into one battery. That may or may NOT be enough amps to even keep onr battery charged depending on what is running and the draw. A kicker can NOT provide enough amps to keep one battery charged, let alone two, now add everything else running with those downriggers. End result – I hope you have a “pull start,” “battery booster,” "spare battery,” or good tow; as eventually, about the end of the third day, without shore power, you will be needing something to start those engines or get towed in!
My downriggers and everything else, as Kelly’s is wired to a bus, after my Perko switches. I have two Perko switches one for each engine. Each switch can power everything off the individual batteries. All batteries can be charged by one or both of the selected engines. In my case the main I have selected, which each main engine charges one (or bank) of the selected. My battery selector switches never see “both”– ever! The batteries are separated and they stay that way! I don’t care if you have two or three batteries. If you are fishing any area without shore power - One battery needs isolated and separated from everything else, and used as that backup starting battery!
