Electrical "Pass-thru" & disconnecting batteries

[ddenver]

Good day.

Hopefully somebody who knows more about the electrical setup of Ranger Tugs then me (that is likely EVERYBODY out there!) can help me understand how things work related to our 2011 R-27 Ranger Tug and my below question.

Anyway, we just sold our home and will be going "mobile" moving into a trailer and for the time being (as long as the wife can tolerate me in a small area!) following the sun and going south for the winter and heading back up to the Puget Sound area again in 2019 as the weather warms up. So I am trying to figure out "winter" storage for our Ranger R-27.

In previous years we kept the boat on the trailer on our property plugged in w/ West Marine air movers going inside and a Goldenrod unit in the engine compartment covered by a huge tarp which worked great. However; since we sold the place - losing the storage location - and will not be here locally to keep an eye on things I am trying to finalize an alternate plan to keep all well and avoid mold buildup, etc.

I believe we found a place to keep the boat stored outside where it can again be plugged in and tarped; however, since we will not be here locally - and it could be perhaps 7 months or so before we return to the area - I want to make sure we do not have problems.

Question: Can I disconnect the boat's batteries yet leave the boat plugged in w/ the A/C Main panel switch on to get electrical "pass-thru" to the 120 outlets onboard inside the cabin? And if so, to disconnect the batteries would merely disconnecting the negative terminals be sufficient?

I am concerned that since we will be gone so long the lead acid batteries - if left plugged in on the charger/inverter for so long - will run low on water. Therefore, the ideal scenario would be to disconnect the batteries (I assume they will be fine disconnected for up to 6-7 months and not be totally discharged by then) yet still be able to have shore power plugged in w/ the A/C panel switch ON so I can switch on the galley and head outlets where the West Marine air movers would be plugged in.

If the batteries are "in stream" to the electric flow from the shore power inlet to the A/C Main panel switch obviously this would be a no-go and I could not do this. But if - as I assume - the electrical setup goes direct to the A/C Main panel w/ the batteries not "directly" in between, then I would assume I can disconnect the batteries and still use the boat's internal wiring to get power to the inside cabin Head and Galley's 120V outlets to run the air movers.

I tried to eyeball the wiring schematics in my owner's manual to make some sense of this but had no luck understanding it. I am sure I could go to the boat and disconnect things randomly to ascertain the answer to this also but it is far easier to ask the "experts".

If I can disconnect the batteries and still get electrical "pass-thru" to the cabin's A/C outlets, would it be sufficient to just disconnect ONLY the battery's negative terminals to insure the batteries do not lose power nor need water added for the next 6-7 months?

We live out on the Olympic Peninsula which is fairly rural. I called some of the "Seattle side" indoor boat storage facilities but they are ALL invariably full w/ long waiting lists and would also cost a fortune assuming they did have any space available for our boat. There is plenty of nearby storage facilities where I can park the boat but finding one where I can also plug it in is a problem.

Thanks for any insights you can provide me on this subject.

Take care!

 

[BB marine]

Yes you can have your 120V system on and batteries disconnected. Your 120V panel has breakers for outlets, and all other accessories including battery charger. Just keep the Charger breaker off and turn only the outlet breakers on for 120V. I recommend only a Negative lead to battery terminal disconnect. I normally do one battery at a time. Remove leads from the terminal and run a tie strap though the eye of the leads to keep all removed leads together for each battery bank for easy installation in the spring. You may even want to mark the leads to make sure you install them to the correct battery bank in the spring.

 

[knotflying]

You will get power. For peace of mind I would disconnect positive and negetive leads to batteries and I would make sure you turn the switch off in the battery box that says inverter. This will prevent the charger from sending power back to the batteries.

 

[ddenver]

Thanks greatly for your input BB Marine and Knotflying. Always wonderful knowing there are folks like you out there w/ extensive knowledge and also willing to take the time to reach out and help others by your responding to such queries.

Thanks again!