www.iFourWinns.com

Hi,

Relatively new here and want to know what Perko switch to install?

There is a few options out there and I want to add the correct one to my setup.

Looking for adding an another battery for entirely stereo use, then be able to switch it to my starting battery and have enough juice to start the boat, then underway I want to have the stereo battery being charged.


FYI my boat is a 2012 H210SS

Thanks

If you are doing a dual battery system, you want one that gives the selections 1, 2, both, off. Get a heavy duty one and while you are at it, replace the factory battery cables with tinned marine cables, properly terminated. I hope the factory is not still using automotive junk on these boats. Do they use clamps on the cable ends, or are they still using wingnuts? If wingnuts, then get a good set of marine quality automotive style battery clamps and bolt those onto the cable ends. They will make better contact and not work loose like wing nuts.
I have a Cole Hersee switch, its one of the better ones. Blue Seas and Guest are good tool. Perko, I hear makes some cheap ones but the HD ones are supposed to be good. So get a good one, the better ones have better contacts and terminals inside.

_________________
88 Four Winns 200 Horizon
4.3 OMC Cobra-4bbl
2002 Walker Bay 10/2012 Suzuki 2.5
2008 Walker Bay 8

1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4.0/Selectrac
2007 Jeep Grand Cherokee 5.7 Hemi/Quadradrive II

Personally, I like the Blue Sea brand switch over the Perko. Small studs, short studs, only a single entry/exit for cables, shallow area behind the switch on the perko and the plastic is brittle. The Blue sea is much better in every way.

The traditional dual battery switch will do what your seek, but its all manual. Stepping up to Blue Sea Dual Circuit Plus switch and ACR will make the system more passive, but still some manual control. Both systems work well, but have some differences.

The standard battery cables on my 2009 Vista were untinned. The clamps were attached to the cables using wingnuts on the clamps that bolted on to the battery posts ( talk about introducing an unnecessary weak link!). The actual cables did not seem to have suffered from any corrosion (the crimped section was covered with heat shrink tubing, which will have kept some moisture out). The (tinned) copper terminals were corroded though ! Wingnuts gone, corroded terminals gone ( and various cables shortened and rerouted).