need assistance with battery layout for sound system

[RacingSims]

Upgrading a 2008 210 SANTE

I am reading through many posts regarding adding additional batteries, using an ACR, or a pro-mariner sport 2 and 3 bank charger. There is even talk of golf-cart batteries doing the trick. I have the factory battery setup with the obvious battery selector (battery1,battery2,both). I plan on running 3 amps and for the most part running the system for multiple hours without having the boat running. As I read I see one battery is for starting the boat and the other is assigned to the accessories or in most cases the stereo load. Is there an issue with having the selector at "both"

Can someone suggest a simple solution to powering a 3 amp system? All help is appreciated.

[core-rider]

The simple answer is have a starting battery and separate house battery/battery bank for the stereo and accessories. Depending on how much power the stereo will draw, playing times etc. will help to determine how large the house battery bank needs to be. I keep my starting and house batteries separated by a Perko switch, but if needed I can switch it to "All" and my 3 batteries will all be paralleled together. This would only be if my starting battery died and I needed to use the house batteries to run the engine. This way my starting battery only gets used when the engine is running and the alternator only charges it. The house batteries (and starting battery) are charged whenever I'm near shore power and plug in the on-board charger. If the stereo dies, big deal! I can still make it home safely.

[RacingSims]

Perko switch being the one in the port side rear locker?
Then for example you have the selector on the start battery to start the boat (the sound system can run as the motor is on) however you decide to park the boat and listen to the stereo, you manually select Perko to the house batteries ( in your case you have 2 paralleled together). The on board charger is for charging when AC is available.

[core-rider]

Our boats are not the same, but that doesn't matter... My switch is wired as such: "1" starting battey, "2" house batteries, "All" all 3 batteries are wired parallel, "Off" self explainatory.

I wired all 3 batteries to the Perko switch. I have 2 house batteries hard-wired in parallel to the stereo system with a disconnect switch in case of emergencies or servicing. The only way these 2 batteries can power anything other than the stereo is if the Perko switch is set to "2" or "All". The starting battery powers the engine and all factory wired components. The only way it could power the stereo is if the Perko switch is set to "All". Under normal operating conditions the Perko switch is set on "1". This keeps the starting and house batteries completely separate from one another. If the starting battery were to die I can switch the Perko to "2" or "All" and start the boat (assuming the house batteries have voltage). If the house batteries are dead I could switch the Perko to "All" and run the stereo. This would also allow me to use the alternator to charge the house batteries, but I don't want to put undue stress on the boat charing system which is why i added an on-board charger.

I have a Pro Mariner ProSport 20+. It is a 3 bank charger, but I could have used a 2 bank as well. The charger is used to charge/maintain all 3 batteries when on shore power. Under normal conditions this is the only way the house batteries are charged.

Here is my setup not quite finished... On the left you can see the Perko switch by the single starting battery. On the right are the house batteries before I added the disconnect switch tho them.

Here is when I added the disconnect to the house batteries. This allows me to service the amps or disconnect power to them in an emergency.

[RacingSims]

Thank you for the clarification. Is the onboard charging station only there for ease of charging? Meaning a standard battery charger in the garage would provide the same service?

[core-rider]

Thank you for the clarification. Is the onboard charging station only there for ease of charging? Meaning a standard battery charger in the garage would provide the same service?

Depending on the capacity the charger in your garage might be fine. I chose on-board because I frequently take my boat on overnight trips and carrying a charger would be a pain to keep up with. This way I just pull an extension cord to the boat and plug it in.

[MLA]

Thank you for the clarification. Is the onboard charging station only there for ease of charging? Meaning a standard battery charger in the garage would provide the same service?

A standard battery charger commonly found at auto parts stores may not provide the same benefits as marine on-board multi-stage smart charger.