Best Battery Switch?

[Gulf Comanche]

Greetings all, haven't been here for a while. I'm looking for opinions on battery switches, the 1,2,1+2 kind. My red one has died Perko I think. All ideas appreciated, thanks.
Mike

 

[High Wire]

Good news is you can buy identical battery switch. The Perko will have a model number. It might also be a substandard Perko knockoff. But before you buy anything, check the nuts on the back to see if they are loose.

 

[Blues]

I just installed a Blue Seas ‘Dual Circuit Plus’ which adds an element of mistake proofing to these complex machines. I have AGM on one circuit and liths on the other. It seems like a simple decision but there are many different considerations and you might want to give it some thought. Rod Collins has a detailed write up on just topic, sorry, no idea how to link it.

 

[Portage_Bay]

Rod Collins has a detailed write up on just topic, sorry, no idea how to link it.

1/2/BOTH Battery Switch Considerations Is this the Collins article you are thinking of?

 

[Blues]

1/2/BOTH Battery Switch Considerations Is this the Collins article you are thinking of?

Yeh, thanks. And be sure to tip generously, this guy is well worth it.

 

[ssobol]

I'd like a 1-2-both battery switch that had a feature that allowed remote indicators of the battery switch position. My battery switch is in a compartment at the aft of the boat. Having lights on the helm that showed which battery was on would be handy.

 

[Blues]

I'd like a 1-2-both battery switch that had a feature that allowed remote indicators of the battery switch position. My battery switch is in a compartment at the aft of the boat. Having lights on the helm that showed which battery was on would be handy.

Blue Sea has lots of options, I spent several hours on this decision, depend on what you’ve got, what you’re trying to do, and how you think your system might evolve. I did a complete electric make over, probably went through a dozen design iterations, not done yet but so far works as hoped.

 

[Comodave]

If the Blue Seas will fit they would be a good choice. I have bought tons of electrical equipment from them and never had a bad experience.

 

[JMcJ]

Are you sure it has died? Our 42 year old Perko (1,2, both and off) was not connecting to one bank. I was going to replace but spoke first to my electrician. Apparently with not a lot of switching, and I hadn’t been, the contacts can get corroded (if that’s the term) and just need to get shiny. Turn off all charging and rotate the switch a bunch of times. Worked for me, but my system is simple.

 

[Gulf Comanche]

I ended up buying the Blue Seas 3002 HD four position (off,1,2,1+2). This one is a bit bigger and heavier than the Blue Seas red one I have now. Problem was when you turned it off it wasn't off and it had become hard to turn. I had an electrician take a look at it, plus other electrical issues, and he said the switch had welded? 2 positions together and also showed the problem by being hard to turn. The 3002 HD costs more at $76+2 day shipping but there's a big difference in quality. Only thing I don't like is that it didn't come with the bottom standoff legs like the red one.

 

[Keysdisease]

Are you sure it has died? Our 42 year old Perko (1,2, both and off) was not connecting to one bank. I was going to replace but spoke first to my electrician. Apparently with not a lot of switching, and I hadn’t been, the contacts can get corroded (if that’s the term) and just need to get shiny. Turn off all charging and rotate the switch a bunch of times. Worked for me, but my system is simple.

This is a fairly common issue on old switches, and certainly easy enough to try

 

[Gulf Comanche]

Ill take it apart and see what the inside looks like after I replace it with the new one.

 

[Comodave]

Ill take it apart and see what the inside looks like after I replace it with the new one.

Be interesting to see what the inside looks like.

 

[slowgoesit]

If it just needs a little cleaning up, do so, and put it into "spares".

 

[Circumnavigator]

I, too, have a problem with Perko switch failures, so I now use only Blue Seas. And, yes, I know that the first thing to do is operate the switch multiple times. Switching DC is difficult and polishing the contacts sometimes helps.



Jim

 

[Comodave]

On a previous boat we had a Perko battery switch that wasn’t working. I pulled out the screws holding it to the bulkhead and it started working. I ordered another one of the same model. Put it in and it didn’t work. Unscrewed it and it worked. Every time I would tighten it up it would not work. Must be a design or manufacturing flaw.