battery upgrades - 2012 RZ2

[JTs-rz2]

I am working a battery upgrade project. I have been destroying deep cycle 24M house - have to replace almost every year as i mainly relied on the alternator for charge. lately i have been taking the battery out and doing a 2amp charge overnight. we are running ballast pumps and cranking 2 amps, sub, and 4 rev10's - stock set up. my crank battery is still the original interstate battery - no issues.

Here is my plan please provide any advice.

First - I am replacing my fried Battcomm with a blue sea ACR. No more switching to combine to charge my house battery.... Do I need a inline fuse to the ACR? - 100amp inline?

Second - NOCO Genius GENM2 8 Amp 2-Band for the house and crank. I usually can plug in nightly. No draw while charging.

Third - i need to select a new house battery and that is where i get lost. What I am looking for? AGM/AH/Lead/Group/size. it would be nice if any better battery would fit in my current dual tray. Every battery i have researched has mixed opinions.

Thanks!

[chpthril]

No on the fuses for circuit protection, period. If the ACR can be located close to the switch, no circuit protection is not needed on the B+ cables, just a 10A on the control ground.

Go with the 20 2 bank for just a little more investment. It will charge faster and work less.

This really depends on usage. Do you spend any length of time at anchor playing the system? A group-24 size is the best you can do without a new tray and moving them a round a little. This would give you in the 65-80 Ah range. Going with a group-29/31 size gets you up over 100Ah. There are pros and cons to battery type, but the nest battery is the one not cycled below 12V and recharged as soon as the boat is back home.

[JTs-rz2]

We anchor and crank it until the battery is too dead to crank it anymore.....i know that is below 12 most likely all the time.
i have been getting over 4 hrs anchored with duracell 75 AH but getting shorter and shorter now. that's after doing a lot of ballast pump work too. This battery i got last year and it took me a 1/2 a season to realize my alternator was not charging it due to a shot battcom.

i am thinking if i had the ACR and charger going another cheap battery could be maintained. i think i need more AH or need to do more surfing in the afternoon!

[chpthril]

More Ah will give you same or more play time without cycling the battery as deep. This really helps it recover to a near full state after each use. Shallower cycles will prolong a battery, especially a typical wet cell. AGM and 6V golf carts take it better.

[freeheel4life]

It is my understanding that an AGM can handle more deep cycles than a lead acid, but I have no real proof beyond manufacturers claim. Can tell you that we have customers get anywhere from 6-10 years out of interstate group 24s with regular tending. For the cost it seams like a better investment than buying shut Duracell every couple years

[JTs-rz2]

Here is my plan...... please critique
1. install bluesea ACR si in place of the battcomm currently installed. Do I keep the existing circuit breakers?
2. install 2 house group 24 batteries in parallel with connected to a NOCO 2-band 20amp to maintain charge nightly.
- The only room i have is the on the stern opposite of my current batteries 6'+/- away - 4ga wire for parallel is the plan
3. keep the crank battery maintained with alternator charge - never had issues with this.


Sidebar -
i noticed my Batcomm is protected by a what looks to be a surface mount thermal circuit breaker equal to a 285 series. i m not familiar on how these work. it is not tripped. Do i need to keep these for my Bluesea ACR?