Hi Guys, <BR>This is my first boat with a Perko Switch so I just want to make sure I'm using this switch correctly. <BR>The starting battery is hooked to "1" and the stereo battery is hooked to "2". <BR>When I'm at a cove listening to tunes with the engine off, I have the switch set to "2". <BR>When I am wakeboarding I have the switch to "1". <BR>My question is, if I don't care to charge the stereo battery during the day (I hook it up to a charger at night), can I just leave the switch to "1" when I'm at the cove or will this drain my starting battery? I sometimes forget to turn it to "1" after leaving the cove. <BR>My main concern is to have the starting battery as fresh as possible. Also, I was told to NEVER turn the switch when the engine is on. I read that the Perko switch has a make-before-break feature...what does that mean? <BR>Thanks in advance.

Do not turn the switch to off when the engine is running, I'm not sure about going from 1 to 2 or to both (if it has both). <BR> <BR>Think of it this way, if both batteries are fresh and charged, you can always leave it on 1, and if you do drain it (1) to low to start, switch it to 2, and you have a fresh battery to get home with...

Just leave it switched on 1 all the time. All switching to 2 does for you is if yrou boat is runnign yoru alt will throw current to that batt. <BR> <BR>Make sure "EVERYTHING" stereo related is nly hooked to you 1 batt. Many times HU are still connected to 1. <BR> <BR>make before break means a connection is made before the previous connection is broken. you cna swtich while the engien is running...really no need to ever do that though.

make before break means that it makes the connection to the new battery before breaking the connection from the old, so there is never (theoretically) a situation where there is no voltage (essentially off). I think you can switch between batteries while running, just never go to off. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

I am under the impression that if you have the switch set at 2, then the battery on 1 is isolated from being used at all..... so it's being saved for starting the engine later. At least thats what I've been doing the last couple years &amp; not having any problem. <BR> <BR>When I am running the engine, I usually put it on ALL.... the idea being that the alternator should charge both batteries. Not sure why you'd not do that but there should not be a problem running the boat with the switch set at 1 &amp; not charging the stereo battery.

I'll just leave it in the "1" position and not worry about it. <BR>Thanks.

Bill, <BR>I was told that the alternator may not be strong enough to charge both batteries. I was told to leave switch to "1" so starting battery gets the most charge. <BR>Before I was told this, I just left it in the "ALL" position. But now I think about it, when it's in "ALL" doesn't the alternator have to do twice as much work to charge two batteries?

Actually I think the alternator has a set amount of amps that it's capable of putting out, ie; 55 or 90 amps. If the battery needs the charge, it goes to the battery. If the batteries don't need a charge, the voltage regulator switches off the alternator. So I think worst case scenario is that your alternator would be charging for longer. If both batteries were dead, there might be an issue. But under typical use you will probably have one battery that is pretty dead (stereo) and one battery that is almost fully charged (engine).

I have also heard that if one battery is low and the other is full, when switched to all, the lower battery will pull from the full battery, eventually making them even... but not sure how long that takes, 1 minute, 1 day, a few days???? <BR> <BR>I have also heard that if they are different types batteries, they could constantly play tug o war and drain both... <BR> <BR>Confusing, every time I read more about it, I hear different things... I went with a switch and just leave on 1 and go to 2 for backup, switching it up on every outing...

Ditto on that tailgate. I've heard the same thing about having similar batteries. But I am still running on the same two batteries I bought the boat with almost 2 yrs ago...... an Optima blue top &amp; a some off brand deep cycle battery. So far, so good. <BR> <BR>That said, when it comes time for me to replace one battery, I will probably replace them both with similar batteries.

I agree tailgate. The more I read about these switches the more confused I get.

agree thats the reason i got a relay

Here is what Correct Craft told dealers when they first started putting perko switches in boats in the mid 2000's <BR> <BR>Assuming a stock setup with 2 identical batteries and amps hooked up to both leads on the perko switch (meaning your amps will always have power from at least one of the batteries depending on the switch setting) <BR> <BR>You run the boat on batt. 1 for one week then switch it and run on batt. 2 the next week.....then alternate again. This keeps boat batteries fresh.... BUT the system was designed as a "backup" in case you ran one dead (listening to music). If you did run batt. 1 dead from music, switch to batt. 2 for starting the boat, then switch back to batt. 1 to charge that battery back to full once the boat is started. <BR> <BR>This is how I use my perko in my 2005 Super Air and it has never failed me. But then again I have stock amps and batteries. Once you start adding more batteries, lights, and amps it changes things. <BR> <BR>My $.02....Hope that helps