House Battery vs Cranking battery

dmnolan

Active Member
Apr 11, 2017
147
Massachusetts/ Rhode Island
Boat Info
1976 Sea Ray SRV240 Weekender
Engines
Currently 351Windsor 233 HP
Working on plans to rewire my 1976 SRV 240 Weekender.
What should be on the house battery vs the cranking battery?
Thoughts!?
 
IMO the house battery should be a deep cycle group 27, and the crank battery should be a regular group 27.
 
WOW quick response! Thanks JimG.
I agree on the battery choices. Also planning to go with Blue Seas ON/Off/ combine swith and ACR so loads are seperate during use but combined while charging.
Trying to determine all loads and which battery each should be on?
My Starting thought is Engine and Instrument panel on Cranking battery. Everything else on House?

Looking to refine my thoughts on this!
 
WOW quick response! Thanks JimG.
I agree on the battery choices. Also planning to go with Blue Seas ON/Off/ combine swith and ACR so loads are seperate during use but combined while charging.
Trying to determine all loads and which battery each should be on?
My Starting thought is Engine and Instrument panel on Cranking battery. Everything else on House?

Looking to refine my thoughts on this!
I agree to a point. Do you plan on overnighting on the boat? If yes, I would look at a small 1800 watt Xantrex inverter like the Freedom series and a couple of 6 volt golf cart batteries wired in series.
 
Thanks NorCal. interesting thought. Will look into it!
Not sure how much planned overnight though!
If I run to Block Island or the Vineyard and dont want to (or shouldnt) drive back I might be spending the night!
 
WylieTunes, thanks!
Starter, Instrumentation, Outdrive Tilt Pump, Trim Tabs= CRANKING
Nav Lights, Cabin and Cockpit lights, GPS, VHF, Music, Charging Ports (USB), Bilge, blower, horn, wipers= HOUSE
 
Hate to say it, but you asked a question that will have almost as many answers as there are boats on the water. In 28 years of boat ownership, my wife and I are on our 13th boat. Most have been a restoration project of some sort. Not ONE of them came wired from the factory the way I wanted them regarding the house/starting circuits. I even re-wired major portions of some of these and still wasn't 100% satisfied when done (wife calls it OCD or something like that). My preference is anything that i might be required to use while underway comes from starting batts. All else ( I consider these camping or luxury items) runs from the house. IE: navigation and all operational electronics (radar, lights, trim, bilge, GPS, VHF) come from start, all other electronics are luxury and belong on the house (radio, TV, satellite, refer, etc). Bilge pumps are dedicated to start batteries, but I have a secondary line (switchable) from the house if needed. I also run combiner switches (which you should have from the factory) that allow emergency starting by combining both circuits. Don't skimp on that one in your re-wire project. Good luck sorting through all of the answers you will get here.
 
gdavis67.
Thanks for your input. I suspected I would get a variety of responses! But that is good, I can read , process and make the decision that fits me and my boat!
 
"make the decision that fits me and my boat!"

The best plan! It's yours, make it work for you. Good luck.
 
I bought new batteries at the beginning of the year I kept it simple and sourced 3 of the same AGM type deep cycle batteries rated for everything I need them to do. Just make sure when you do all this work that the onboard battery charger has the proper setting for the type of battery you choose and if it's still old technology...... change it out to a new smart charger.

At the price of some batteries buying 2 to 3 batteries at a pop is an investment.
 
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WylieTunes, thanks!
Starter, Instrumentation, Outdrive Tilt Pump, Trim Tabs= CRANKING
Nav Lights, Cabin and Cockpit lights, GPS, VHF, Music, Charging Ports (USB), Bilge, blower, horn, wipers= HOUSE

To run many newer music systems another battery for that alone may be a nice upgrade.

MM
 
Our boat is trailered with no shore power/charging system. We run everything off of our common post on Perko switch including bilge pumps. Bank one is a 27 start and bank 2 is a couple 27 deep cycles. We run on both banks day one and switch to bank 2 when the hook drops. Usually just leave it there for the rest of the trip and know we have the the start batt fully charged in reserve for a buck up in the event there is any problems.
When the boat goes back on the trailer, everything gets isolated.
 
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Love all the feedback. Thank you!
Thornton69, boat when I received it had two batteries (one large deep cycle and one cranking) Entire boat is fed through the line of the selector switch, 1,2 or both.
The boat does ot have alot of fancy stuff to run! And I dont really even plan on using Fridge (may remove along with stove and sink and make some storage in that area.

SO another thought is leave it wired as is. Upgrade to a newer switch and ACR set up so both batteries charge while running, and just switch to "House " battery on hook.

Not saying this is what I will do! But I love the input to my thought process!! Thanks All.
 
Another question!
When I got this boat the cranking battery was located aft and port side as shown by red circle.
The house battery was located in the center storage area.
Storage area is well ventilated as it only is covered by a teak grid.
Would you put both batteries in the RED location?
What would be the best use of the storage location? It is open to the weather.

Or put both batteries in the center storage and mount switch ACR and charger in here??
 

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and just switch to "House " battery on hook.
With the Dual Circuit Plus switch, which is the preferred switch to pair with the ACR, there no moving the switch when you drop anchor. Thats the cool thing about the setup. Its passive/manual.

Now, there is some re-configuring when transitioning from a 1/2/BOTH to the DCP switch.
 
How I rewired my 76 Sea Ray was as follows:

Most everything is wired to a fuse block. The fuse blocks are connected to the Perko switch. The perko switch is run to the starting battery (1) and house batteries (2).
Start engine with switch on 1, and then switch to 2 the remainder of the day.

I only run my auto bilge pump straight to the house battery, nothing else. I also have a 2k/4k inverter and that is run to a switch that connects to the house batteries.

My wiring is fairly simple compared to yours because of the outboard, but that's what works for me.
 
How I rewired my 76 Sea Ray was as follows:

Most everything is wired to a fuse block. The fuse blocks are connected to the Perko switch. The perko switch is run to the starting battery (1) and house batteries (2).
Start engine with switch on 1, and then switch to 2 the remainder of the day.

I only run my auto bilge pump straight to the house battery, nothing else. I also have a 2k/4k inverter and that is run to a switch that connects to the house batteries.

My wiring is fairly simple compared to yours because of the outboard, but that's what works for me.
Thank you!!
 
With the Dual Circuit Plus switch, which is the preferred switch to pair with the ACR, there no moving the switch when you drop anchor. Thats the cool thing about the setup. Its passive/manual.

Now, there is some re-configuring when transitioning from a 1/2/BOTH to the DCP switch.
This definitely looks like a better way to do it.. Going to have to add it to my winter to do's.
 

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