I just launched a new to me 1991 Hunter 28. I have shore power connected, a good charging system and two good batteries. I am wondering what to leave on (or to be sure and shut off) when I am away from the boat. Do I leave the battery switch in the "All" position or what? Do I leave the DC main on so that I can leave the bilge pump switch in the on position? What do you folks recommend?
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This is a good question, but probably cannot be answered in any detail without knowing how your boat is wired. What electrical devices need power on your boat when left in its slip. None do on my H28.5, so I never leave the shore power connected as I see no need to do so and really don't trust the marina's shore power. My two batteries remain fully charged, either by the alternator when the engine is running, or by a small solar panel I connect to them when I leave the boat. As such, I turn the main switch to "off" as well all the switches on the panel, when I leave the boat. Some Hunters in this size/age class have a manual switch on the main panel for the bilge pump, together with an automatic float switch in the bilge. If your boat is wired in this manner, you would have to leave the main battery switch on "1," "2," or "All" for the bilge pump to work. Not a good idea. It would be better to wire your bilge pump directly to one of your batteries bypassing both the panel and the main switch, IMHO. If you do so, put a fuse in the hot wire.
I have always, albeit reluctantly, left the shorepower connected. I have no other way to keep the batteries charged. . .yet. All switches are off because my bilge pump float switch is wired directly to the batteries. And yes, through a fuse.
No expert but this is what I do. I turn the engine and house batteries and DC switch OFF. I connect the 110 v shore power and turn on the AC to operate the refrigerator and battery charger while I am away. The automatic bilge float switch is hard wired to the battery through a fuse. Hope that helps.
I leave the shore power connected and the battery charger switch on. The battery switches are in the off position. My bilge pump float switches bypass the main panel. On the rare chance the boat fills up with water, the bilge pump won't drain the batteries. Just conservative I guess. I did this (left shore power plugged in) with my previous boat and noticed that after a few months my zinc was completely gone. This boat did not have a galvanic isolator or isolation transformer so I thought this may be due to galvanic current running through the ground wire. I stopped plugging the boat into shore power and the zincs lasted more than a year.
Power Supply
I recently added a 12V DC power supply and a master DC switch. When I'm on shore power I switch all DC circuits off the battery and onto the power supply. I did this because too often I returned to find I left something on and the battery was dead. Also because all my sleep overs are always when shore power is available.
The battery charger is AC. I leave shore power connected to allow the battery to be charged.
I recently added a 12V DC power supply and a master DC switch. When I'm on shore power I switch all DC circuits off the battery and onto the power supply. I did this because too often I returned to find I left something on and the battery was dead. Also because all my sleep overs are always when shore power is available.
The battery charger is AC. I leave shore power connected to allow the battery to be charged.
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