Sydngoose, what I'm doing is way outside of normal and I very well may regret it after I've completed the last piece of the puzzle in this project which is adding an inverter. What you haven't picked up from the earlier post is the complete project on the electrical side. Last year I added a shore power system and also a Webasto FCF 5000 BTU AC/Heat system. This year I'm in the process of adding a battery charger and an Inverter. After conferring with Wart, I included changing out the standard battery switch a BEP cluster switch for automatic battery management/charging and isolation. So the chain of logic, if you can call it that, is I wanted a battery charger because mine sits in a barn and then when I'm in Beaufort it's out all day, sometimes running all day fishing but sometimes sitting at the cape hanging out with family. Then at night it's at the Beaufort docks on shore power, many times being used as overnight lodging when it's just me and or my son and I. We are running lights radio etc and I wanted to have a charger to keep the batteries topped off and supply power at the docks on the 12V side. In addition, I have the somewhat crazy idea of being able to run my AC while underway so hence the Inverter and I need a battery charger to make this system work. With my current F225 I should be able to run the AC between 3 to 4 hrs. Looking into the future, if I ever get around to repowering with a 4.2 F300, the larger capacity charging system on the new 4.2L will allow me to run the AC somewhere around 10 hrs with this set up. As to the weight, yes it's a big concern. I had 2 wet cell batteries in each jump seat(start & house), they were 56lbs each. In the starboard jump seat I'm moving the start battery all the way forward and inboard and I changed it out to an Optima AGM that weighs 43lbs. I'm eliminating the port jump seat house battery and adding the Vmaxtanks AGM 200AH (112lbs) to the shelf in the bilge. It will be mounted all the way over on the port side, not centered, and this shelf is about 4" more forward than the position in the jump seat. The Inverter will be mounted in the Port jump seat. Keep in mind that I added about 60lbs under the helm on the starboard side with the shore power and AC system. Back to the repower option, the new 4.2 weighs about 50lbs less than my current 3.3L. It's complicated but you can see what I'm chasing on the weight and distribution. As far as bright...maybe Wart but thanks for the compliment. I think I just enjoy the challenge and like to tinker. The best way to learn is by doing and making mistakes sometimes. I hope this project isn't the latter?
