I am installing an Orion-Tr 12/12 -30 charger to charge a Bow Thruster/ Windlass Battery from my house bank. As you can see in the drawing I would like to connect the charger using two short 6 ga runs to 60A breakers to the back of a 1/2 battery select switch. The current cables at the switch are 2/0ga. Is this an acceptable / safe way to install this charger.
6AWG = 16mm2 so should be ok up to a few meters.
So you intend to use the switch as a busbar? I am guessing the switch is to allow the house bank to be used to power the thruster in an emergency? If so, it is likely already rated for high A but double check the amp rating on the switch to be sure. If you are not sure, BlueSea makes some nice small busbars you could add to the system.
What do you intend to do for the negative returns?
I should have mentioned this originally, this is a 12 volt system. Page 11 of the manual shows 6awg (16mm2) as what is suggested for up to a 5M run. My connections to the switch will be like 1 foot long. The ground run will terminate to the ground buss bar next to the battery (max distance = 8 foot) so my total run lengths are like 10 feet max (3M)
Yes my intent is to use the switch as a Buss bar for the connections. I want to feed the charger from the house side of the switch and send current to the bow battery on the bow side. The switch is a Blue Seas Systems 9001E - rated at 350A continuous 600 intermittent.
The location is under the master bed but there is a whole open cavity to allow for adequate ventilation. of the system. But is away from the battery for safety.
You are correct that the #1 feed on the switch is for the Bow battery and the #2 feed is for emergency use using the house bank if the #1 bow bank were to fail.
I suspect bad thing will happen if you use the switch to combine both batteries while the Orion is active.
I agree with @klim8skeptic. Given your switch also has the option to combine 1&2 (& b/c the switch can, at some point in the future someone will.....), you should not use it as a busbar. I suggest you add small busbars on either side of the switch and make your wiring intent explicit.
Your original diagram is not explicit but your negative returns to each battery should also be 6 AWG or larger. Depending on when & how your boat was built, you might have both negative (black or yellow) return wiring and ground (yellow-green) bonding wiring. From the way you describe it, I think you mean DC negative returns but for clarity, don't rely on the boat's ground wires for this purpose.
Take note of the requirement for a non-flammable mounting surface under the bed (metal backing plate?). It should not be in a compartment where ship's stores could get randomly stored in close proximity at some future date
@varigging Also note that there should be suitable fuses at each battery, to protect the 2/0 gauge cabling.
As for the space, it is an enclosed space is 6 foot wide x 2.5 foot deep, with venting but is not readily accessible. There is no way that any store will come in contact with the unit. I was going to mount it to a fiberglass wall in the compartment or use a G10 backing plate, but can mount a stainless plate for safety. I didn't realize the units temps would get hot enough to burn fiberglass, but will take that precaution. Thanks
