Distance between batteries in one bank?

[Juniper]

Could the start battery go in the odd place, then all 3 house batteries will be together?

[ontherocks83]

Originally Posted by Juniper

Could the start battery go in the odd place, then all 3 house batteries will be together?

The start battery is a good distance away already. Where it is not connected to any other battery I'm not worried about the cable length, as it is just going to the starter

[ontherocks83]

Originally Posted by SteveSails

Just don't turn the switch off when the alternator is running, alternator diodes don't like that.

I was thinking of either finding away to "lock" the switch (so you have to think about why your turning it before you do) or putting a sign on it saying stop do not turn off while engine is running with arrows and flashing lights.....you know so the wife doesn't do it wrong, ya that's it to keep the wife from making the mistake

[ranger58sb]

Originally Posted by ontherocks83

Currently I have a 2 battery house bank and a 1 battery reserve bank. I want to add a 3rd battery to the house bank but the nearest location to put it is approximately 10 feet away via the route the cable would take from the other 2 batteries. Is it ok / effective to have a battery hooked up in parallel in the same bank that far away?

Perhaps creative changes in battery orientation could help stuff another battery into the original space? AGMs usually allow that...

-Chris

[sv.antea]

And my two cents' worth: The voltage drop over 10 ft of say #4 wire will be significant if charging hard or drawing a lot of current (cranking the engine, using windlass or microwave via inverter), but when the current is low, which is most of the time, (topping off the batteries, float charging or small loads like autopilot, lights etc.) the voltage drop will be very small. Over all, the batteries probably will not know the difference. I think there is no need to go overboard on the cable size. The capacity will still be there.