Batteries on 242

[dcamt 0]

I am new to boating & have what may be a dumb question.

I have a 2002 242 monterey. It has a perko battery switch and 2 deka starting batteries. Question - if I want to go and anchor somewhere for the day and /or night and use lights and radio, should I leave the selector switch on 'All' or switch to 1 or 2 and try and save one battery as a starting battery. My concern is because both batteries are 'starting' batteries and not 'deep cycle'

 

Tks

Cam

[Ian 0]

I am new to boating & have what may be a dumb question.

I have a 2002 242 monterey. It has a perko battery switch and 2 deka starting batteries. Question - if I want to go and anchor somewhere for the day and /or night and use lights and radio, should I leave the selector switch on 'All' or switch to 1 or 2 and try and save one battery as a starting battery. My concern is because both batteries are 'starting' batteries and not 'deep cycle'

 

Tks

Cam

 

Hi,

 

Firstly, I'm assuming you only have 1 motor, the switch / 2nd battery is your house battery, and you have a battery charger

 

It really depends on what sort of current drain you want to pull out the battery, the rate at which you drain it and how often you do this (once a week, once a month?)

 

If all you will ever do is a few lights and your stereo then you shouldn't have any problems running a "start" battery as your house battery.

 

If you started running some big loads - inverters, refrigerators, tv etc. then you might need to re-consider using a "deep-cycle" battery with increased capacity for the house battery.

 

With the dual switch you describe, there shouldn't be any proplems using a "start" battery for battery1 and a "deep cycle" battery for battery 2 (if you want). The only important thing is they must both be the same "construction" i.e both lead-acid OR both AGM.

 

Generally, you should only use battery 1 as a start battery and battery 2 as your house battery. The "both" position should be used when you want to recharge both batteries whilst your engine is running. When anchored, keep the switch in battery 2 position. If you find your house battery is always running flat, consider changing it to a bigger capacity and /or adding a second house battery (connected in parallel) with battery 2.

 

Using a "deep-cycle" battery wont increase any power, it just means it is designed to be discharged / recharged more often AND 'recover better' from a deeper discharge than a "start" battery

 

Finally, if/when you change-out your house battery, yes replace it with a deep-cycle type but unless you are having troubles, the current setup should work fine

 

Hope this helps some

[RSUMRTOY2 0]

I have a 282 and I changed over ll the batteries...I have two starting batteries and 4 house batteries. All are Interstate 31's(?) the biggest and all are deep cycle. I have a differet switch then yours, so I can't comment. I can run fridge, radio, tv/dvd and inverter for 3+ days. All my light bulbs have been switched to leds. I even run underwater lights at night. I would go to 6 volt next time for my house batteries, 6 of them, they are longer lasting, longer holding and take more of a beating, especially those designed and used for golf carts. I saw a guy the other day who had two 12volt for starting batteries both non deep cycle but big cranking amps I think over 1,000 amps, and he used 8 L17 (17) BIg tall 6 volt batteries that weigh about 120 pounds each. He ran two fridges etc...and could be out for 4-5 days in his 40' house boat. Remeber, there are many different ways to accomplish what you want to do. I found interesting info. on the website the12voltsideof life (I believe that is the site) very interesting. Good luck.

[Rip5 0]

I would just use one battery while on the hook. So you have at least one battery in reserve for starting.

It's also a good idea to have a battery jump pack on board in case both batteries are low.