See full version: Wiring a Perko Battery Switch
Perko battery switches are designed for surface mounting. Standard duty disconnect switches have bright red polycarbonate reinforced housings for safety with large easy-to-turn black knobs. The housing of the heavy duty switches are red fiber-reinforced polycarbonate.
High conductivity studs are long enough to handle more than 1 cable and strong enough for torque needed for secure connections. Optional spacer ring (PN 0462DP0RED) allows for the use of larger cables. more
Models with an “Alternator Field Disconnect” feature offer protection for Non-Unitized Alternators should the switch accidentally be turned to the “OFF” position with the engine running. more
The allows both engines to be used to charge Lighting Batteries. Port switch indicates which battery (port only, port lighting only) is connected to the port engine and the starboard switch indicates which battery (starboard only, starboard lighting only) is connected to starboard engine. here
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If your boat does not have a switch in place, but you feel that you are running too many gadgets on your single battery or consistently find yourself replacing batteries that no longer stay charged; it may be time to have a switch put into place. Doing so will save you a lot of trouble, money, and preserve your sanity. Below are a few options of some of the most popular boat battery switches available. more
Many people enjoy spending summers on their boat and a lot of boats come equipped with battery switches. However, not everyone completely understands what the purpose of these switches are. They do not see the value behind them, and even if your boat does not have one, you may want to consider installing one.
Therefore, many boats, especially house boats, now have two batteries in place at all times and they have a switch that runs between them. Some items may be controlled off of both batteries at one time, but others can be used separately based on what you need. This switch allows you to use one battery over another for running your boat, while another battery may run electronics while the boat is not running.
I have an excellent first impression with this switch. When I first received this battery master disconnect switch, I immediately noticed its sturdy and high-quality ABS plastic material casing. There’s nothing flimsy about it, and I know that it won’t break even after many years. I also like that they included rear cover insulators, ensuring that moisture won’t creep inside it and prevent shorts and other electrical faults.
The Ampper side post battery disconnect switch is another excellent example of simple battery isolation switches. It installs quickly and works simply by physically cutting off the battery from the vehicle’s electrical system. This preserves the battery over long storage periods and ensures that it’s ready when needed.
Like with any other item, a battery disconnect switch could fail. However, barring manufacturer errors or problems, this is a rare occurrence. The most common problem that I’ve encountered so far is the lever breaking. This is usually caused by inferior quality materials from the manufacturer – that’s why I prefer the brands above.
The screen shot above summarizes the averages. Despite a 640A+ peak in-rush the averaged cranking current, from loaded to unloaded starter motor, was just 286A and the total cranking duration was just 0.765 seconds or 765 mS. For what it is worth, this particular bank is protected by a 300A fuse and has done well in excess of 1200 starts, over a 12 year period, and never once nuisance tripped the fuse. Why? Because the duration of a starting event is very short, this one 3/4 of a second, and this does not even come close to the trip-delay curve of the fuse. more
2- Cross-Connection Use – The ability to use either on-board battery bank as the sole use bank, meaning it serves as starting and house load bank in an emergency, This design criteria should always include #1. more
An expensive scenario is that happens all too often, is when an owner has forgotten to switch off of BOTH and killed both banks. Doing this leaves no second / reserve battery to start the motor with. You’d be surprised how many calls we get each year for this exact issue.
Mishaps and human error creep in when an owner forgets to manually switch & charge bank #2 and now bank #2 never gets charged. Far too often an owner will leave it on BOTH, and then run both the banks completely dead. If this happens, and it does, you’re $hit out o-luck…. We call this the Human Error Factor or HEF. more
For owners that understand how to use a 1/2/B, in a more simple manner, this means they only use position #1 (HOUSE) and OFF. The only time to do anything different is when there is an emergency or to occasionally test the reserve-bank to ensure it is still performing well. The 1/2/B works really well as a USE SWITCH, but it can be tweaked to be better. more