JimH wrote:
wrote in message
ups.com...

Brian Cleveland wrote:
" JimH" jimh_osudad@yahooDOT comREMOVETHIS wrote in message
. ..
I am putting in a 2nd battery on my boat and will need an A/B switch.

Is the field disconnect one (such as this one
http://tinyurl.com/pa9hn )
always the way to go, or is the one that is $10 cheaper but lack field
disconnect a better option? I do not switch to the other battery while
under power.....never have and do not plan to now. The switch will not
be
out in the open for anyone to fool with.

So save the $10 bucks or get the higher priced one?


The Field Disconnect does require 2 extra wires but would probably be
worth
it to keep from frying the alternator by accidently switching to off with
engine running. Scroll down to page 11 in following link

http://tinyurl.com/8ffe7

brian c
m/v canwegonow


See there? Something new under the sun all the time. This "Field
Disconnect" feature is a recent introduction, AFAIK. Ed was right about
the couple of extra wires, and you're right about the 15 minutes and
$15 in wire being worth doing.

The heart of a pwerboat is the engine, and the batteries are the
"pacemaker"for that heart.
If a guy wants to go second class on something, (IMO), the place to go
cheap is the galley stove, the number of superflous bells and whistles
in the electro-nav system, or some other area that isn't going to stop
the boat from running.


The switches I was originally choosing between were both manufactured by the
same company and were identical in every way except for the field disconnect
feature on the more expensive one. I was not about to go "cheap" or "2nd
class" Chuck. ;-)

Belt *and* suspenders is very good policy aboard a boat.

One of the abstract things that I believe boaters find appealing is the
very self-contained and self-reliant environment we assume the
responsibility to create and/or manage as we make choices about
equipment and policies aboard our boats and as we make decisions
underway. We are more disconnected from the "system" aboard a boat than
almost anywhere else in our lives, unless we backpack up into the
mountains someplace (and I have this negative attitude about walking
mile after mile up very steep trails with a 70-pound pack on my back).
We risk our financial fortunes, our vacation or weekend happiness, and
once in a while maybe even our lives with the choices we make about and
aboard our boats.

My policy is to go for the best available stuff whenever safety or
mechanical reliability is an issue, but I often choose less than
top-of-the-line for stereos or other toys that aren't critical
to reliability or safety.