2008 226 Seafarer - Battery question

[Pop]

Hi all, my new to me 2008 226 Seafarer is loaded with electronics (lights, winless, radar, GPS, etc.). it has a 2 battery system but no deep cycle (was suprised to see that). I want to replace the current house battery with a deep cycle. how can I tell which battery is the house battery?
Thank you in advance with any guidance.
Steve

 

[Hookup1]

Start at the battery switches. You can do it by turning one off at a time. See which one affects engine and which one turns the electronics off.

I’m using Duracell AGM Marine batteries from Sam’s Club. Worth the price of membership. They are combo starting/deep cycle.

 

[seasick]

The factor that matters most is not the amount of loads per se but how much of a load is drawn when the motor is not running. For example, you anchor and leave the stereo and other higher current devices on for a decent amount of time.
Hookup is right about how to determine which battery is the 'house' if you have 2 or more battery switches but if you have a single motor and a single switch, both or either battery is the house as well as the starting.
In that case if you select Batt 1 on the switch then it is starting and house. Similar scenario if you select Batt 2. If you select BOTH, then battery 1 and 2 are wired in parallel and both will be drained/charged.
If you have one battery switch, normally both batteries should be the same type and age. Typically folks with a one motor, one switch will select a single battery, one or two and operate on that. The other battery is backup. If battery 1 runs down, you can switch to Batt 2 . I usually select a single battery randomly for the beginning of a trip and on the way back, select BOTH to top off both batteries.

 

[Pop]

The factor that matters most is not the amount of loads per se but how much of a load is drawn when the motor is not running. For example, you anchor and leave the stereo and other higher current devices on for a decent amount of time.
Hookup is right about how to determine which battery is the 'house' if you have 2 or more battery switches but if you have a single motor and a single switch, both or either battery is the house as well as the starting.
In that case if you select Batt 1 on the switch then it is starting and house. Similar scenario if you select Batt 2. If you select BOTH, then battery 1 and 2 are wired in parallel and both will be drained/charged.
If you have one battery switch, normally both batteries should be the same type and age. Typically folks with a one motor, one switch will select a single battery, one or two and operate on that. The other battery is backup. If battery 1 runs down, you can switch to Batt 2 . I usually select a single battery randomly for the beginning of a trip and on the way back, select BOTH to top off both batteries.

Thank you for the response! for more information, I have one motor and one battery switch with 2 batteries. Below is the wiring diagram from the owners manual. What I think you are saying is that both batteries should be the same type?

 

[DennisG01]

Since your batteries are not wired in parallel (creating one "bank") they do not have to be the same type. In your case you have two "banks".

Whether they are both starting batteries or (1) starting and (1) DC depends SOLELY on the owner of the boat and how he/she uses the boat and accessories. The previous owner of the boat may never have used much accessories with the engine off - hence why there were two starting batteries. Now that it's your boat, YOU get to decide.

Either of your batteries can be used for the house or starting. When you need to determine (assuming this is how you want to designate your battery use) is which one do you want to be the "house" battery... #1 or #2 on your switch.

Either follow the battery cable to the switch and note which post the cable is hooked up to on the switch or...

Put the switch on #1. Remove one of the battery's negative leads (or positive if the neg's are tied together). If things still work then that battery is #2. And, of course, the opposite would be true.

 

[Hookup1]

Based on the diagram engine and house are wired to the common of the switch (top connections). Each battery is wired to switch positions 1 and 2 (side connections). Bilge pumps and a +12 volt constant lead (not sure what this powers) are wired to either battery (bottom connections).

The switch will select which battery the engine and the house load are on. The running engine will charge whatever battery is selected. The un-selected battery is almost not used (one bilge pump). It serves as a backup.

Verify that the boat matches the wiring diagram. I would test this by disconnecting the positive of one of the batteries and see if you have both house and engine power from the other battery..

What type batteries do you have (Group 24/34/27)? Both same capacity?
Do you have a battery charger? 2-bank? Should be wired directly to each battery.

 

[Hookup1]

This switch setup will work but it's not my preference. The unselected battery is there as a spare and only used when switched. Also it's only charging the battery that is being used.

Use the boat and if you start to get low voltage warnings dig into the battery health and chargers. I'll locate a post or two and send them over.

The ideal setup would be two A/B/Both switches - one for the house and one for engine. Also install a auxiliary charging shunt on the engine that can charge the second battery. This would allow you to put the engine or house on either or both batteries

 

[Hookup1]

To check your battery charger and engine charging system...

This is a basic system test that can be done with a voltmeter. A Harbor Freight voltmeter is good enough. Start here and others can help going forward.

At the dock turns all your electronics on and disconnect the boat from shore power.

Put a volt meter on the starting battery and check voltage. Should be somewhere around 12.8 volts.
Check house battery. Should be around 12.8 volts. This is normal fully charged battery voltage.

Start the motor up. Check starting battery voltage. Should be around 13.1 volts.
Check house battery. Should be around 13.1 volts. This is normal voltage while engine is charging batteries.

Turn the engine off and reconnect shore power. Turn charger on. Both batteries should be around 13.1 volts indicating the charger is working. If you don't get charger voltage check infuse from charger at battery if your charger has one - common problem - sometimes they melt fuse holder.

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[Pop]

Based on the diagram engine and house are wired to the common of the switch (top connections). Each battery is wired to switch positions 1 and 2 (side connections). Bilge pumps and a +12 volt constant lead (not sure what this powers) are wired to either battery (bottom connections).

The switch will select which battery the engine and the house load are on. The running engine will charge whatever battery is selected. The un-selected battery is almost not used (one bilge pump). It serves as a backup.

Verify that the boat matches the wiring diagram. I would test this by disconnecting the positive of one of the batteries and see if you have both house and engine power from the other battery..

What type batteries do you have (Group 24/34/27)? Both same capacity?
Do you have a battery charger? 2-bank? Should be wired directly to each battery.

They are group 24 batteries , exactly the same. there was a battery charger with 2 banks but it was not working

 

[Hookup1]

They are group 24 batteries , exactly the same. there was a battery charger with 2 banks but it was not working

I have been using ProMariner ProSportHD charger. I have use various models over the years but this latest one is the only one I would use. Available in 8, 12 and 20 amp 2-bank models.

 

[SkunkBoat]

As Hookup said. You don't have a dedicated House battery. The house is connected to the Feed post along with the motor. The battery switch chooses which battery is connected to the motor and the house. This is the standard setup from Grady.
To change that you need to separate the House from the motor and provide switching and connections to charge the #2 battery and allow turning on/off the House.
You also need the switching to allow you to use the House battery as the start and vice versa in an emergency.
There are a lot of ways to do this. Take a look at the Blue Seas site. I would use a pair of grp27DP batteries.

 

[Hookup1]

POP: You are fine. Relax and enjoy the boat. Current setup has a hot spare battery. Use the boat and if you start to get low voltage warnings dig into the battery health and chargers.You have options to make changes outlined above to use both batteries and switch or parallel them if needed.

 

[Pop]

Thank you for all the help. I plan on fist splash this Sunday and will be bringing my voltmeter. I will do a couple of measurements with the switch in different positions and see what I get. I may be back if I have concerns about what I discover

 

[coctober1]

I am a year late, but have the same 'new to me' 2008 GW 226 boat, bought a week ago, w/ the same battery setup questions (2 starting, but unlikely to convert), and solar charger (for mooring days) and Promariner charger (powered dock evenings) questions. My old Robalo had a promariner 20 preinstalled and i LOVED it for the dock. Listened to music for hours w/o a care. So at the least, a promariner is coming at some point...

 

[Fishtales]

Group will determine the size of the case for you. As stated, dual purpose is the way to go. Withe 2 or 4 batteries, 1 or 2 banks is the std wiring. No house battery. Mine are group 27s.

 

[Mustang65fbk]

I've got a 2004 Grady White 228 Seafarer that came with what sounds like the same setup as the OP's, in that it had/has dual Group 24 starting batteries. Last fall, I went out to start the boat on the mooring buoy the very last day of the fishing season and it wouldn't start. I'd purchased the boat back in October of 2021, of which one battery had a date sticker of "3" on it and the other had nothing on it at all. So, I have no idea how old the batteries actually were or how long they lasted. Anyway, I called up my local GW dealership when I noticed both batteries were in fact starting batteries and figured that as mentioned above, it would be a house or deep cycle battery and then a starting battery. My local GW dealership said to just replace everything with the same thing that was on there before, so I bought two Group 24 starting batteries from Interstate. They're 24M-XHD batteries and as the OP mentioned, I've got a battery switch that per the purchasing dealership is supposed to always be in the 12 o'clock position which I believe is "Both" or "All"... I forget which. Besides replacing the two batteries that were of an unknown age, I haven't had any issues with the boat at all, especially in regards to the electrical/starting system. For those that are suggesting going up in size to a Group 27 battery, one consideration and/or potential issue could be the size of the larger battery in that at least for the Interstate brand... a Group 24 24M-XHD is 11" long whereas the Group 27 27M-XHD is 12 3/4" long. I believe, though it was almost a year ago when I looked into it and don't remember for sure, that the Group 27 batteries were going to be too long to both fit in the same battery compartment where they're currently located. As well as they'd have to be separated one per each side if I did decide to go with them. I was replacing the batteries out on my mooring buoy and went out there with my kayak, so I didn't want to change anything up like that at the time, and honestly I don't see the need to increase Group sizes on batteries, at least for my particular setup. The only difference I can see with the Interstate brand of batteries is that they have a longer reserve capacity (RC), but the cold cranking amps (CCA) as well as the cranking amps (CA) are both still the same at 800 CCA/1,000 CA. But hey, it's your boat so do what you want to do, though I'd maybe make a call to your local GW dealership to see if it's even needed in the first place before starting a project like that.