Wayne,

I agree that jumper cables can be dangerous if not used properly. The worst
example I've seen was when attempting to start a 24 volt equipped bulldozer.
In our shop we had a jumping cart with four large 12 volt batteries set up
to provide 24 volts of starting power.

When the mechanic was hooking up the cart batteries the four bulldozer
starting batteries exploded. Made a hell of a mess. Luck was with the
mechanic and he was wearing safety goggles per the shop SOP. Got him under
the shower and he was uninjured.

My jumper battery pack is designed to be hooked up while at zero potential.
When ready to start the outboard the battery pack must be switched on. As
my batteries are in the center console I can turn the pack switch on from
the helm.

Like anything else in boating it's useful to exercise care when jump
starting.

Of course my dual battery setup includes the 1, 2, Off, Both switch. But,
I've seen two dead batteries on boats with the same switch. Murphy don't
you know?

Butch
"Wayne.B" wrote in message
news
On Tue, 20 Dec 2005 14:50:17 GMT, "Butch Davis"
wrote:

The ability to switch between and/or parallel battery banks is extremely
useful. But, two banks are required for redundancy. As I'm a belt and
suspenders kind of guy I run twin Optimas for my small outboard and carry
a
12 volt jumper package for additional backup.

========================================

Be careful with the jumper cables. I know a guy who started a nasty
electrical fire on his sailboat by getting something crossed up in the
heat of battle. I'd much rather have a paralleling solenoid, no
sparks, no mistakes.