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| Help me understand boat batteries. Posted by VanRIch So I'm about to get a boat (maybe) and I'm a newb, and the one thing that always has made me a little nervous about owning a boat, is getting stranded because of a dead battery.  on 4/23 at 4:15 pm1) Do you typically have a deep cycle and a 'house' battery(i think they're called) if you want to do a lot of trolling motor, lights for night fishing, listening to the radio while anchored out, etc 2)If you only have one battery, how long can you run the above accessories before getting concerned about running out of juice. 3)Trickle chargers, is that all you need? How exactly do you use them? Just keep them plugged in? Will this charge a depleted battery overnight? 4)On board charger? Jump box for emergencies? TIA Reply • Back to Top |
| Some boats come with 3 batteries and 1 starting battery. Reply • Back to Top |
| Typically 2 batteries. (can add more depending on needs) 1) Starter - just like a car battery - used for a high load for short period of time (cranking). Most setups this battery will be recharged by the motor as you run. 2) Deep cycle - used for running trolling motor, lights, radio, depth finders, bilge pump or any other accessory that uses low loads for longer periods of time. Typically, these are NOT charged by the motor, meaning you have to re-charge them when you get back. You need to get a Deep Cycle specific charger with auto cut-off. 2amp trickle chargers arent always enough to re-charge a drained battery. They are only to keep a full or almost full battery topped off. Run time will vary greatly depending on size of battery and use. You should get a good day of fishing out of a trolling battery though. Jump box is nice. I sometimes have one, usually not. Reply • Back to Top |
| When comparing batteries - for Starting batteries look at cranking Amps. For Deep Cycle - Look at Amp hours. Reply • Back to Top |
| Keys to long battery life: Have dedicated starting battery and never run troll off it, even in a 36 volt system. Have a shut off switch or quick disconnect for starting battery. Always charge troll batteries as soon as you finish using. Never let water stay low for long. Don't use trickle chargers. Reply • Back to Top |
quote: Ive never heard this before. Why is this a problem? Reply • Back to Top |
quote:I've never seen a boat set up this way. Those batteries have done nothing but trolling motor on every setup I've ever seen. Reply • Back to Top |
| Depends on the boat. Most small Bass Tracker type boats have two batteries. One for cranking and the accessories (lights, live well, bilge) and one for the trolling motor. The bigger bass boats usually have three; 2 for the trolling motor (24v), and one for accessories and cranking. Some even have 36v trolling motors (3 batteries) and one accessory batter and one cranking battery. If your cranking battery dies you can easily switch the wires to the trolling battery and have enough juice for it to crank the engine. I have a battery charger that I use for everything (lawn mower, atv, and boat). I put it on the cranking battery in the evening (about 6) and charge it until I'm ready to go to bed. Then I switch it to my trolling battery and let it charge overnight. Reply • Back to Top |
quote:commonly called a "kickuh battree" by us folks in the boating industry.. Reply • Back to Top |
quote: That is all I use. What is the alternative? On-board? Reply • Back to Top |
quote: same here. I need to know why this is bad. Reply • Back to Top |
quote:+1 Reply • Back to Top |
quote: Most ideal setup would be dual group size 27 gel cells for the trolling motor and a group size 24 or 27 AGM (think Optima or Odyssey) for cranking. But that'll set you back about 600+ just in batteries. quote: Trolling motor + lights + radio + cranking the motor on one battery? Probably not too long. Trolling motor would eat it up if you use it a lot. It's hard to give exact numbers when you don't know the draw on those devices and how long you will use each. quote: Trickle charger is for maintaining and reviving/reconditioning batteries. The lower the amperage the better it is for charging, but the longer it will take to charge. A 10 amp charger is what most use. If you get a trickle charger like a battery tender, you can leave it hooked up as long as you want with no ill consequence. quote: Always a good idea. Reply • Back to Top |
quote:Are you sure? On-board seems out of contect here. Reply • Back to Top |
| Thanks for the replies everyone. So really if you don't start with a trolling motor, the one battery will be enough? Reply • Back to Top |
| Deep cycle(s) for trolling motor, and a seperate standard cranking battery for the motor and your electronics. If you have an assload of electronics a deep cycle is a good idea. Deep cycles are good for continuous load, cranking batteries are good at dumping a buncha juice at once. Keep jumper cables in your boat. You need at least two batteries. You don't want to be running a trolling motor all day on the battery you use to crank the big motor. A hard day of fishing in the wind will kill your trolling motor batteries. An on board battery maintainer is a good thing to have, but definitely not necessary. Reply • Back to Top |
Posted by weagle99 on 4/23 at 9:48 pm to DownshiftAndFloorIt Have any of you ever used one of the solar powered chargers when out on the water? I have been toying with the idea of getting one for my sneak boat to use when fishing but don't have any experience with them.Reply • Back to Top |
| If you have regualar lead acid type batteries they often go bad. Usually drop to 9 volts. This isn't from over use but instead happens when you transport the batteries from the lake/river to the house. What happens is that bumps and rattles break a cell or two inside the battery. So the battery drops to about 9 volts instead of 12. Boat trailers don't have as good of a suspension system as you car/truck has. Those railroad tracks are battery killers. Best advice I can suggest is to get the glassmat batteries of the gel type batteries to prevent this. Reply • Back to Top |
quote: you must have one dedicated to starting the boat and running bilge, etc...but nothing else... if you want trolling motor, lights, radio, or any other non-cricital system, you will need at least one additional battery for that...the number will depend on the power requirements of whatever you have connected to it... if you are planning to power lights for night fishing or something that draws a lot of power, I would consider a small generator instead of batteries.... Reply • Back to Top |
quote: it takes a long time to charge a battery with a regular solar setup. this is a slow trickle charge Reply • Back to Top • Refresh |
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