Carver Owners Forum

I am winter-exploring my so-far-not-used-by-me Riv and I am a little mystified:
Back in the aft cabin, beside the battery box, is a NOCO Genius Gen2 Mini 2 bank charger that I plug in for an overnight every once in a while as the boat sits wrapped in my yard awaiting spring. So far so good.
Now I dig around under the forward lounge where I find a Guest 2610 10 amp 2-output charger, no idea what it is charging and how it is doing it from so far away from the batteries.
Any ideas or clarifications welcome.

And while I have your attention, and maybe off-topic but maybe on topic, depending on the answer:
I also found the very odd little metal push-button alongside the very odd input/output thingy located at the stbd passenger seat, pictures below.
I need to know what these are for!! The manual as usual is not helpful. Ideas?

And Happy New Year Carverites!

A charger can really be mounted anywhere. It does not have to be right near the batteries. As the charger output goes up, it makes sense to locate it closer because the wiring will get more expensive due to the larger size.

They may have tied that charger into the main panel or the battery switch. What is your battery setup like? Do you have separate start batteries and a separate house battery? You may end up having to trace the output wires from that charger to see where they lead.

Not sure on that button. Probably need a better pic. Is it just a momentary push button or does it click when you depress it? Is it possible it's a cigarette lighter - did you try and pull it?

I will try to chase the wiring for it. I just cant see how 2 chargers would work. The NOCO charger plugs into an onboard 110V outlet, and the Guest seems to be hard wired.
My battery setup is pretty basic - one house and one start. see pics. Dock Queen style. I intend to beef up the battery situation.

The button is 1/4 in. in diameter and is a momentary push. I'll remove the plate and see what's inside.

Re the button....looks like something plugs in there......is the button a release, name on it ?.....if there is wiring attached then check continuity from there to the guest charger. Thing with old boats, they have had years of interesting up grades we have to pick thru to ensure safety....good luck man.

I have spent countless hours with a dvm in a new boat....ya find all sorts ...

Confirmed with the previous owner that he had replaced the OEM Guest with the (superior) NOCO charger when the Guest pooched. Mystery solved.
Pushed the mystery button up top and a little light came on. Whoopee.
Still no deck wash, no dock water inlet.

Reviving this to avoid reposting the battery pics for this question.
To those familiar with the physiognomy (!) of the Riv 28: These 2 batteries, with a standard 1-2-all-off switch seem to me to be, generally speaking, inadequate and designed for intended use as a dock queen day-tripper. I would like to upgrade to a decent house bank (6V) and separate starter, but how many and where to locate them? The batteries are currently located in a box below the aft-cabin steps, but that won't accommodate a starter plus a 6V bank. What have others done? I know that some very knowledgeable folks drop the starter and use the larger house bank as a starter as well. I have to admit that appeals but I don't know if that makes sense with 2 V8s. Or maybe it makes MORE sense with 2 V8s?

I’m on my 3rd larger boat, all way bigger than a Riviera with big block V-8’s. All 3 were set up the same...2 decent size deep cell batteries that acted as both house and starter batteries and one smaller starting battery dedicated to the genset. Never had an issue starting my big blocks with deep cell batteries.

That's the typical OEM setup in older vintages, and still remains in some current builds. This saves the OEM production costs. The ideal setup however is one start battery for port engine, one start battery for starb engine, one start battery for the genny if applicable, and a separate bank of deep cycle batteries for house loads. All these banks should be kept isolated at all times with no way of paralleling them together except for a momentary system used to parallel an engine bank in case an engine battery fails to start an engine. There's several ways to do that but the key is that if it's a system you trigger manually, it reverts back to isolation once you let go of the switch. No 1/2/BOTH/OFF switch, just an ON/OFF switch for each bank. All this needs to be charged by the house charger and engine alternators while maintaining isolation between all the banks. That's the ideal and safest setup IMO, it's pretty much a must especially with today's newer engines and desirable if you have sensitive electronics.