12V system 2 batteries Parallel?
I have a 12V trolling motor on my 17' Xpress but I have put three batteries in the back. 1 cranking and depthfinders, 1 for everything else including the trolling motor. Sometimes I switch to the third/backup battery on windy days as the trolling motor battery winds down. I was thinking about going to a 24V trolling motor... but in the meantime, are there any downsides to running the two trolling motor batteries in parallel? That way I wouldn't be switching from one battery to the other on them windy days, and I wouldn't have to rewire the whole freakin' boat.
What about my onboard 3 bank charger, would running parallel batteries mess with it?
IF you run parallel batteries, is it important that they be the same type and size? I've got an Interstate Deep Cycle as the primary and a big ole Walmart Everstart Marine as the backup...I'm not even sure it is a deep cycle. I guess I shouldn't hook these two up parallel, until both are dead and I buy two new identical batteries.
thoughts?
Joe
