Blue Seas Add a battery kit Questions

[marcham]

I'm bumping this thread as I am about to add a second battery to my AR190. I am planning to use a Duracell 27 series deep cycle as the house battery. I have purchased a Clarion 1410 amp to add a little boost to the speakers and don't anticipate adding any subwoofers or additional amps. The second battery may be overkill, but I don't want to worry if we're parked for a while and listening to music. An ounce of prevention, right?

I have a few questions. The first is whether or not I should just add the second battery on the same side or move it to the starboard side? Is list really a big deal? It would obviously be easier and cheaper to keep it on the same side, but I don't want any regrets later.

Next, depending on what side of the boat I place the battery, I need to know exactly what to get in addition to the kit and battery. Here's what I think I need:

1. Blue Seas kit
2. Battery
3. Tray
4. Cables: what length, gauge, fittings, how many, where to buy? This is the biggest question.
5. Busbar? I think I can get away without this since I'm not adding a bunch of accessories, is this right?

Thanks in advance for the help!

Here's what I did:

https://jetboaters.net/threads/ar195-dual-battery-install.25694/

 

[watdog]

From what I am reading here, people using the Blue Sea Add-A-Battery are using the 120A kit correct?

 

[Saleen190]

I'm bumping this thread as I am about to add a second battery to my AR190. I am planning to use a Duracell 27 series deep cycle as the house battery. I have purchased a Clarion 1410 amp to add a little boost to the speakers and don't anticipate adding any subwoofers or additional amps. The second battery may be overkill, but I don't want to worry if we're parked for a while and listening to music. An ounce of prevention, right?

I have a few questions. The first is whether or not I should just add the second battery on the same side or move it to the starboard side? Is list really a big deal? It would obviously be easier and cheaper to keep it on the same side, but I don't want any regrets later.

Next, depending on what side of the boat I place the battery, I need to know exactly what to get in addition to the kit and battery. Here's what I think I need:

1. Blue Seas kit
2. Battery
3. Tray
4. Cables: what length, gauge, fittings, how many, where to buy? This is the biggest question.
5. Busbar? I think I can get away without this since I'm not adding a bunch of accessories, is this right?

Thanks in advance for the help!

Im in the same boat as you. Im installing a 2nd battery for piece of mind after installing a small amp (400x4) to our speakers. I thought this Blue sea add a battery switch was fairly simple and all I needed to recharge my house battery while under way and not draining the start battery while anchored/swimming but after reading through all these posts Im beginning to think it will not do what I thought it does. Evidently you have to have charger to go along with the kit? I thought the ACR was the charger?

 

[marcham]

If all you want is the acr, there is a different part number for that. The acr only kit will charge both banks underway.

 

[tdonoughue]

I used the whole kit you describe to add an ACR to my 2-battery setup. I love it and would not hesitate to do that again in an instant. The kit has the on/off switch and the ACR -- all just as you need -- along with the wiring diagrams and instructions to set it all up. The ACR is the box that detects when your engine is running and switches from drawing from one battery to charging two of them (an oversimplification, I admit). I found it was worth it. If you were on a budget, I can see you going for just the ACR (but probably, then you have a 1+2 switch), but I think eventually you will wind up with what is in the kit.

Install was a breeze and operational simplicity cannot be beat. If you have not already, do it.

 

[Jerlane]

Question about wiring. Do you need connectors on the ends of the cables at the ACR and switch, or just the raw cable?

 

[marcham]

You'll need to crimp on some lugs.

 

[Jerlane]

You'll need to crimp on some lugs.

Thanks, do you know what size the posts are? I’m planning to order the cables pre-crimped.

 

[marcham]

For Blue Seas, it depends on the size of the switch and the ACR. Their instruction documentation is very good (much better than BEP) and provides terminal lug sizes and torque values. I recall the 120 A ACR is 3/8" and the THe 65A m-ARC is most likely 1/4"

Read the instructions sheets for the switch and ACR before you order and you'll know.

 

[Jerlane]

For Blue Seas, it depends on the size of the switch and the ACR. Their instruction documentation is very good (much better than BEP) and provides terminal lug sizes and torque values. I recall the 120 A ACR is 3/8" and the THe 65A m-ARC is most likely 1/4"

Read the instructions sheets for the switch and ACR before you order and you'll know.

Awesome, thanks! I don’t have the switch yet, but I’ll look for the manual online.

 

[Chewiem16]

Do we need the 65a or 120a for our boats? Have you guys seen this one from blue seas?

Mini Add-A-Battery Plus Kit - 65A (North America) - Blue Sea Systems

Simplifies switching and automates charging for a complete two battery bank solution.

www.bluesea.com

 

[tdonoughue]

65 amp is sufficient. That said, I put mine in before I knew that and have a 120 (theory being that more capacity never hurt). I have since learned the draws, etc.

 

[Chewiem16]

65 amp is sufficient. That said, I put mine in before I knew that and have a 120 (theory being that more capacity never hurt). I have since learned the draws, etc.

Sounds good. I like the idea of a charger built right into the system. this setup looks simple and relatively “idiot proof” lol

 

[tdonoughue]

"Make a system only an idiot can use and only an idiot will use it."
- unknown

Lol! I did a double take when I saw it had a charger. Pretty sweet setup. And that brand tends to make good stuff.

 

[Chewiem16]

All the diagrams at the beginning of this thread (and the tension between them) are confusing . . . . and I am not sure a consensus is easily discernible.

If you hook up the ACR to the LOAD side and NOT between the batteries as shown in the Blue Seas diagram wouldn't the battery switch have to be on "COMBINE" for the ACR to have any impact and allow charging to the house battery? (unless I am missing something). Does this not defeat the purpose of the ACR?

Trying to lay out my cables using this thread as a reference and I am more confused then when I started. Can anyone chime in here?

How did you secure those brackets to the floor? I was looking in the video, I couldn’t see. I’m worried about the heads sticking up and catching the poly board. Also, how did you attach the latch to prevent it from sliding forward?

 

[Chewiem16]

Another question. How big should those bus bars be? With 10ga for ground, would at least 50amp be enough? And then the bar for the house / accessories? Also, is there room to mount both engine positive cables to the switch on the post?

 

[tdonoughue]

Bus bar side will depend on what you are planning to hook to it, of course. A good guide would be to look at the amperage of the fuses that are on that circuit. For example, if you want to put all of the house/accessories onto one bar, look to the sizes of all of the house/accessory fuses in the fuse box (on mine, behind the engines, next to the ECU--round cover). Add those all up. Note if you added extra things (like an amp, radio, lights, etc.) outside of those things and added extra fuses to each (as you should have), add those in too. You will get to 50A pretty quickly, but it may be enough if you do not have many things (or have one bar for up by the helm and another bar for the back). I want to say mine is like a 100A or 200A back by the batteries; I have a smaller one up by the helm.

As to mounting both engine batteries to the ACR post--yes, plenty of room. No issues.

 

[Theryan]

I'm going to bump this thread quickly.

Was there a consensus on which way to install the kit if you have a dual bank battery charger?

I'm seeing posts saying both ways. I already have a dual bank charger, so it would be wired for that.