How Do I Add a Two-Bank Charger to My Boat Batteries Without Interfering With the Battery Combiner?

A fellow boater wrote to ask us, "I just watched your video, “Wiring An ACR or Battery Combiner on Your Boat.” If I wire an ACR correctly, how do I add a two-bank charger to the batteries without interfering with the ACR? Blueseas says if you install it on the load side, you can attach your battery charging lead straight to the batteries. Please help!"
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[@arnoldpadilla6471]

Thanks for the video Jeff. Excellent topic.

[@Electronzap]

Sounds good.

[@nwmi493]

id like to see more chargers with a ground output that becomes live when the charger is off and goes dead when the charger is on. preventing the ACR from operating during battery charging operation.
I use an ignition wire to trigger the 86 terminal on a relay to pass ground from 30 t0 87 which will activate the ACR only when the engine is running.
Engine off, combiner off and the battery charger when on shore power can then do its thing as designed.

[@royblackburn1163]

You can put a switch on the acr negative to turn it off, you can also put a thermostatic switch on your alternator to switch the acr off to protect your alternator from overheating.

[@ericraslich-noaaaffiliate6030]

Blue Seas officially acknowledges wiring the ACR to the load side of switches rather than just to the batteries. Not sure how it would fit into your diagram, but in a boat that has a dual switching on/off switch (such as turning on the house and engine batteries at the same time, but on different circuits), you'd wire the battery charger to the batteries, and put the ACR on the load side of the switch.
So when you're at the dock with the switch off, the charger charges the batteries (assuming dual, independent leads here) and the ACR is totally uninvolved in the situation. Then once you're underway and switch is on and the ACR is back in the picture, if it senses a charging voltage it can connect the batteries.

[@davidncw4613]

Again thank you very much for sharing your expertise in this insanely complicated subject. Do you have any associates farther south, say Southern US or Mexico? Your company will engineer and install the electrical system in my next boat.

[@MrRobertfield76]

Help? I have a 99 seadoo jet boat. 2 batteries. A Perko switch with Batt 1, Batt2, Both, Off and an arc battery isolator. I believe i have it all wired correctly. If I need to charge both batteries, do I just connect the charger up to the Batt1 posts to charge both batteries? I assume the isolator will kick in and switch to Batt2 when it determines Batt1 is full or does an isolator not do that? Does the Perko switch need to be set to Both in order for both batteries to get charged off of the charger connected to Batt1 or should it be set to off? Or should I just disconnect both batteries and just charge them separately? I was hoping to just put the charger on one battery (Batt1) and have it charge both. I assume it should charge both batteries since they are connected to each other by the isolator. AND they are technically connected together at the Perko switch if it is set to both. This leads me to my last question, if have boat ignition and stereo on Perko Batt switch 1 and the stereo amplifier on Batt switch 2, is it OK to drive with the Perko Switch set to Both? I keep hearing conflicting answers. I don't park and listen to the stereo so that's not a worrie for me. I just don't want to mess up the batteries or system if Im driving in the Both settings. Any help is greatly appreciated. And sorry if this is sloppy

[@Art-jw8ho]

Jeff what is your opinion on something like the bluesea batterylink charger? That is a charger and acr in one. Better to have 2 separate systems or is that acceptable?

[@boltnbrew]

Seems like you ended with the conclusion that nuisance tripping of the BC is common. Then why not eliminate and go with just the CI and buy quality? Sorry if I missed something. Love your clips- thanks.