Battery Switch in glove box?

[RightStuff]

Has anyone mounted a battery shut-off switch (Blue Sea, Perko, etc) in their glove box?

I was calculating the wire I needed to install a Blue Sea Add-a-battery kit (w/ ACR) this weekend and wanted to relocate the on/off switch to somewhere more convenient since I'm ditching the stock switch anyway.

I came up with the idea (from the pic below) to drill a hole and mount it from behind on the left side of the box. If this works this would be a lot easier to get to, and you could lock it up as well. I think the only down side to this is the extra wire needed, but I'm planning on moving the batteries to the front of the rear port side compartment, so that saves a few feet. I was planning on keeping the ACR closer to the batteries, so it would just be the switch in the box.

Thoughts? Other things I should consider in doing this?

Here was my inspiration:

I posted this in the 21' forum, but I guess it could be generic to most if not all models...

 

[__ScottyDont]

You could save yourself some power loss (and probably money) and use a relay solution

 

[maboat]

The battery master switch is primarily a SAFETY item, not a convenience item. In case of a hazardous electrical malfunction, you need a quick method to disconnect all electrical power at (or near) the batteries.

Thus, the battery master switch should be mounted very near the battery so all non-switched cables are fairly short.

 

[Big Shasta]

I'm with these guys. The last thing you want are high amp cables running half the length of your boat. You could use a relay solution but I would worry that murphys law would kick in and it would fail (stick) at the one time I really needed the circuit to break.

Not sure this is a good idea. Even moving them forward in the compartment puts them further away from the engines and will cause amperage loss. They should be as close to the high amp drain as possible and with as little high amperage cable as possible. That's pretty much why they put them where they are.

 

[RightStuff]

Ok, all good things to consider, thanks for the replies...

How about moving the switch into the engine compartment just on the other side? That would still make it easier to get to so you don't have to deal with that rear cushion (which is a pain to take out/put in. Or would it get too hot in there for the switch on the other side of that divider wall the stock one is on?

 

[kthrash]

why not just mount it though the interior of the boat like the picture above..

 

[RightStuff]

Too easy for the little hands (aka my kids) that frequent our boat. Also wanted to keep it out of sight as well, but I did think about putting it under the front cushion as well thru to the inside, but didn't like that option much either.