Two battery disconnect switches, or one?

LittleBill wrote:
those open bus bars scare the heck out of me, you don't worry about shorting? don't they make covers or something?

Unless you put some metal across them, why would they short?

those open bus bars scare the heck out of me, you don't worry about shorting? don't they make covers or something?

The answer to your question depends largely on how your battery bank is currently wired, and also on your personal preference. Do you have a wiring diagram for your Meridian?

If the two batteries are simply wired in parallel (I am assuming of course that they are the identical make/model/size and the same age) then you can choose to use leave them wired together and use one battery disconnect switch to isolate the bank from the 12V distribution panel. Alternatively you can use two battery disconnects (or one disconnect with 1-2-ALL functionality). This would allow you to isolate the batteries from one another, use either one individually, or pair them in parallel.

If by chance (as westend mentioned), there are devices wired independently to each of the batteries… and you choose not to remedy that situation… then you must use two battery disconnects.

In my TC I have a bank of three batteries and I have chosen to use three high-current battery disconnects (see photo below). This configuration allows for some flexability in how I manage charge and discharge and gives me the ability to isolate any one battery should it ever fail. It also means that I have the added task of manually setting (and remembering) which selection to use.



Cheers,
-Mark

One disconnect for the Chassis Battery Bank.

I have one for the house batteries and one for the chassis battery.
Make sure all batteries have clean tops to slow the discharge.

If the OP has devices wired independently to each of two paralleled 12v batteries positive posts, he'll need to either move the connections to one post of one battery and use one disconnect switch, use two disconnect switches, or use one disconnect switch on the common negative lead of the batteries. If the paralleled batteries have two negative leads to ground, he will need two disconnect switches if using an interruption of the negative leads.

"Permit me to be forward"

What are you intending to do with the "advice"?

Battery: Collection of cells

You have one battery, ,It may be split into two halves for ease in handling, but it is really one battery.

Though in the context we normally refer to more than one battery case teamed up together as a "Battery Bank" or "Bank of Batteries" to distinguish from say, what I spent some time installing today (one Group 78 heavy duty Deka).

Oh, when I was done.. Motor home fired right up (Well I rested a while to make sure the thing charged fully in case it was not already)

There should be two disconnects, one chassis and one coach.
Need to know model to know how they are wired.

You only need one.