zmk1962

Music to my beers ! Hahaha Zoran

Say no more ... you can’t argue with an unbiased test ! Cheers Zoran

Not sure if I am overthinking this. I'm just sharing based on my experiences and requirements. As you describe it @Formosan the VSR set up simplifies keeping both batteries charged. Also if its wired up as per your diagram, then you also have isolation of the circuits so essentially you are less likely to drain your start motor - another positive. However, as @dmck and I have highlighted the problem with this set up is that the switch provides: Off (both batteries switched out of their respective circuits), On (Start battery online to motor and House battery online to other electronics) and Combined (both batteries are online to the motor and other electronics.) Note: There is no built in way to isolate a bad battery. So if the house battery dies (eg drops a plate and has internal short circuit), you will be able to use the Start battery for the motor but will be running without radio, GPS, lights etc. If you Combine batteries then you are draining your good Start battery with the faulty House battery. Similarly if the Start battery dies, if you Combine you are draining the House battery. Combining batteries could be dangerous depending on the nature of the battery failure. The only way out of this would be to manually isolate the bad battery (ie detach the battery terminal) and then put the switch into Combine so that everything runs off one battery. OR as I said in my earlier post, install and isolation switch at each battery so that you have a built in way to isolate and don't have to do the manual isolation on the water. People should be aware of this exposure - and hence that is why I said a VSR set us is not all "set and forget". .. otherwise without understanding this limitation, you may be lulled into a false sense of security without a fallback plan. From memory of the earlier posts I referenced, Dave ( @Sigma ) carries a third battery, ready to wire in if required as his fall back. Jon you have had a phenomenal amount of boating experience and I am sure in your bag of tricks you would have a way out of any situation. Personally, I've had one battery failure on the water in 20+yrs of boating. A battery dropped a plate, creating an internal short circuit - we were underway at 4000rpm, the engine stopped and all electronics died. It turns out some motors cannot run without a working battery attached and even if you do get them started and run without a battery attached you a risking frying the charging circuit voltage regulators (VRs) or even the ECM. This was news to me - but confirmed by several Mercury mechs. So that's another thing to consider and check with your motor manufacturer if you plan to run with just one battery on board. In my case, when we lost the battery I isolated the bad battery and switched to a good one and we were on our way in less then 30sec. We were in safe calm water so were never in danger but even if this had happened trolling next to the rocks we would have been out of there with minimal risk because I just had to flick two switches to get power online. Jump starter packs are an alternative, but you need to factor the time it takes to undo battery boxes and connect the jump starter and whether that length of time meets your boating requirements (in addition to if your motor can run without a working battery). BTW, when I inspected the damaged battery back at home, I found it had swelled like a puffer fish (we were lucky it did not explode). In the short time before the motor died, the charging circuit from the motor was basically boiling off hydrogen in the shorted battery. You would not want to connect a good battery to a damaged one like this one. Well I'm definitely over 40 -- closer to 60.... and I fish mostly offshore, have all electronics running whether I'm trolling or anchored up. Keeping track of the batteries comes down to routine. I have a digital Voltage readout on the dash. Motor off: >12V all is good. Motor cranking: voltage stays above 11V all is good. Motor running >14V all is good (batteries are being charged). I have three batteries on board and the they are isolated "off" when at home. Packing the boat, I have to tilt the motor up, so I switch any two online and run that way all day - a) because of what I had learnt about my motor always needing a working battery and, b) because the anchor winch manufacturer recommended to spread the winch load across two batteries. So I have the third battery offline as backup. When home, I plug in a charging cable that hooks up all three batteries to a trickle charger. I could wire in a VSR to keep all my batteries topped up while underway but I can't justify it at present given the little additional benefit it would buy me. If I was setting up a smaller boat, I'd pretty much do the same with just two batteries (everything runs off one or the other battery) with a switch that gave me: Off, 1,2, Both..... I'd carry a jump pack as @JonD suggests in the unlikely case both batteries are run flat. Cheers Zoran

Hahaha. Now that’s what I call really North given it’s their summer now. Nice report ... the flatties are delish Cheers Zoran

Doesn’t get much better than that: fishing instead of work, bagged out instead of zero in bag, got to play hero .... and back home before 5pm. What’s planned for tomorrow Superman? cheers Zoran

Hahaha.... but I think Geoff has lost spark on this topic ... it no longer “sparks joy”. Cheers Z

Top fish. Bet he learnt more on this trip than the missed day of school. I often took my daughters on extra curricular adventures. Top effort! Cheers Zoran

Hi Geoff ( @garfield28 ) .... how did all this end .... did you get it sorted? Cheers Z

Great job... and nice feed. Not a good weekend forecast for rock fishing....

Fully appreciate what your saying @Formosan especially if the main objective is to keep both batteries fully charged with minimum manual intervention. But there are several types of VSRs out there, some just manage keeping both batteries charged, others also allow you to isolate your circuits so the electronics and motor run off different batteries. Also VSRs can be installed with or without isolation switches and you may actually need to add isolation switches in your VSR set up to protect your self from certain failures. So I don't feel comfortable to say the answer is VSR without fully understanding what the problem is. In the end it all comes down to requirements - what electrical devices you plan to run, when and for how long, and what redundancy you need (ie. from what failures you are trying to protect your self). Your power requirements will help determine the optimum choice of battery type and quantity: Start or Deepcycle or Hybrid battery. So list all the devices you plan to run and when they will be running (motors, radio, lights, sounder, anchor winch, bilge, bait pump, deck wash, minn kota etc) Your redundancy requirements will help determine the optimum wiring configuration (with or without VSR). So list out the key electrical issues you are trying to protect yourself from (flat battery, dead battery, etc) and how quickly you need to recover from that issue. Your understanding of the limitations of your wiring set up will drive you to decide if you are comfortable with a manual set up or want to invest in an automated set up. I can see @dmck is happy with a manual set up as I am - it meets all our requirements. All these considerations were discussed in the previous post I mentioned. Cheers Zoran

Hey @Rhys Rowlo and @dmck, You'll probably find this post from 2017 of interest - please read start to end - a few of us covered just about everything there was to discuss regarding dual batteries and VSRs .... Cheers Zoran

Another guitarist - ola! I'll keep an ear out for anyone that's looking Frank. Personally I have more than a dozen so really can't justify another at this time....although my heart is already trying to.... But seriously mate, are you sure you want to part with it? Get that 6string out - nothing better then to kick back on the veranda with the guitar and a scotch & ice after a days fishing. Also, thanks for the tip re the straps - I viewed it to be the same as how the trailer frame sits on the angle iron that ubolts the twin bogey wheel chassis to the frame. I wash that area with copious quantity of low pressure fresh water to dissolve the salt away. I'll just do the same with the xmember straps. Theres a bit of a gap and weep holes as well to help with the water egress. Cheers Z

Sure is great ! ... and one day it will be FANTASTIC when I actually get up to Port Stephens to catch a real fish! Maybe you can teach me a thing or three .....Hahaha. Cheers Z

SURE ... especially if you could explain "Aorangi" ! hybrid - extended single loop paternoster - accredited to Sam ( @GoingFishing ) .... Cheers Z

Couldn't agree more Jason .... they were even better for me after a 3mth dry spell ! Hey Antony - yeah likewise we need to do a session out soon. Re Gummy, I haven't had a chew as yet, but all the reports are they they are excellent flake. Two fillets (990g each) came of that gummy. So my buddy and I each have about a kilo to play with and try in various ways. Will let you know. Thanks so much Donna ! Cheers Z