tenting, boat battery....

nevercatchmuch · #1 07-07-2009, 07:49 PM

Here I go with another zinger.

I have a zodiac type boat and run a trolling motor with a boat battery which lasts about 6 hours or so. Problem is that I'm going tenting to a place with no services..... I've heard I'll wreck the battery if I don't recharge it promptly. Also, I want to fish for more than 6 hours so that would mean buying another heavy battery to lug around. Any suggestions for me?

Aug 09

Wondering about charging my deep cycle as there is a group of people who say to do it on 2a and another that say do it on 10 a. Thoughts?
Also, do your chargers misread how good your battery is on the 2a? Mine often says it is 80% full when I check on 2a but in reality, it is very low and outta juice (which 10a shows).

T-Bone · #2 07-07-2009, 08:00 PM

Try a solar panel. It may not solve your problem but then again...........

seahawkfisher · #3 07-07-2009, 08:02 PM

it all depends:
Where are you going camping? are there any power sites there, or bathrooms that have plugins? I know of a middle-of-nowhere, no srevices campground that has a payphone of all things - a payphone with a plugin on it's post.

i wouldn't worry about not charging your battery right away; most battery companies claim that you should recharge within a month of discharge but that wont help you on the water.

not that i would recommend it, but have heard of people hooking their battery up to their vehicle and using the alternator to charge it (there's a bit of a "trick" to doing it right but it's rather hard on the alternator).

what it boils down to is using your single battery judiciously or getting a second (I often bring 3 when going to places without power)
cheers andn good luck

Russ C · #4 07-07-2009, 08:03 PM

nevercatchmuch

Have you looked at any solar panels to recharge your boat battery, or you could look at getting a generator to recharge the battery. I picked up a solar panel ($90.00) at Canadian Tire to trickle charge my tent trailer battery. The generator would most likely serve you better as it would recharge over night after a hard day's fishing unless you have two batteries, one in the boat with you the other charging on the solar panel.

Good luck
Russ C

riderpride55 · #5 07-07-2009, 08:09 PM

use jumper cables from your truck. just make sure you start your truck first.

nevercatchmuch · #6 07-07-2009, 08:35 PM

the campground doesn't have any serviced sites but I can check out the payphone and hope no one lifts my charger!

I've heard the solar panels take days to give a minimal charge?

No room for a generator...still driving a little car! lol.

Thanks for the ideas.

Kingfisher · #7 07-08-2009, 02:00 AM

I also have an inflateable. I use a 46lb thrust Minn Kota Maxxum with the Maximizer feature. This enables me to use one battery for 2 days of continuous fishing. I also use a deep cycle Group 31 battery. They are not cheap. $250. But to me it's worth every penny. To me my fishing time is priceless. So I don't mind spending extra money on my fishing gear to keep me fishing.

Hope this helps.

Rob

Paul C · #8 07-08-2009, 11:13 AM

Solar panels bought at your local hardware store only produce power in millamperes or .oo of amps.It would only do a surface charge providing short term use. They do sell the large ones for rvs but are expensive.I bought a deep cycle marine battery from rockys for only $100 and will run on my boat for 14 hours. Rockys will also do load test to check the condition of the internal plates of the battery.
Happy Fishin

Shmag · #9 07-08-2009, 11:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by riderpride55

use jumper cables from your truck. just make sure you start your truck first.

X2

nevercatchmuch · #10 08-04-2009, 05:22 PM

edited my original post to ask about charging.

hal53 · #11 08-04-2009, 05:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shmag

X2

not much to say about that, except be VERY careful and stand back!!!

Lambo · #12 08-04-2009, 05:40 PM

I suggest buying the Optima batteries. They're lighter, smaller and last longer than regular deep cycle batteries. If you put 2 fully charged Optimas in, you should be able to go for a long time. As for chargers, I own a CTEK charger and it works great, way better than the 2 Motomaster chargers I've owned in the past. I agree about the lack of charging output from a solar panel (unless you get the +100 watt panels). I have a 75 watt on my fifthwheel and it basically maintains my batteries unless it's really sunny out then it'll start charging.

nevercatchmuch · #13 08-04-2009, 05:45 PM

Thanks.
In the interim, 10a charge or 2a charge?

Lambo · #14 08-04-2009, 05:54 PM

10 amp. Don't have time to wait for the 2 amp. Gotta get on the lake!
I thought most chargers now have the variable amperage. It starts out at 10 and as the battery charges it automatically drops down to 2.

BBC0 · #15 08-04-2009, 08:02 PM

All battery chargers self regulate. This is a function based upon Ohms law which basically states that E (volts) = I (amps) X R (restance in Ohms). A 10Amp charger is capable of charging a 12 volt battery at 10 Amps because the internal components can handle 10 amps.
However as the battery charges, it's internal resistance increases which limits the current flow (amps). Therfore as the battery approaches full charge the resistance increases, lowering the current. Like alternators in the vehicle, the charger is set to a higher voltage than 12 volts, around 15 usually which provides enought voltage ( pressure) to force a charge into a near fully charged 12 volt battery.
Using ohms law, it's easy to see that a small C*n T*re 15 watt solar panel will produce 15/12 or 1.25 amps tops. I suspect that most 12 volt boat batteries can deliver well over 100 amps therefore it will take 80 + hours of daylight to come close to recharging.
Hope this wasn't too boring.

nevercatchmuch · #16 08-04-2009, 08:04 PM

not boring! thanks
do you charge your batteries on a regular outlet using 2a or 10a? I'm assuming 10.

BBC0 · #17 08-04-2009, 10:31 PM

I believe that 2 amp charging is kinder to the battery since less heat is generated meaning less evaporation of the acid and less distortion of the lead plates, so if you have time......
Personally though, I set mine to 10A and leave it.

Shmag · #18 08-04-2009, 11:39 PM

I think you should charge deep cycle batt on 2amp (trickle charge) and reg cranking batt on 2 or 10amp your choice.

My merc manuall says that a deep cycle batt should not be used as a cranking batt, as the motor puts out a higher amp.

Also i have the 2 and 10 amp on my charger and when i am on 2 amp the guage always shows 2 hrs of charging left and when i switch to the 10amp it seems more acurate and shows that there is 4-5hr charging left. So i know i could be safe and trickle charge it for a half day plus.

I would look at buying a power inverter and running it off your car battery, find one that is strong enough to run a charger off of that.

jusfloatin · #19 08-05-2009, 08:03 AM

If the battery he is using only lasts appox. 6 hours no 2 amp charger will fully charge any battery in a 12 hour period and I doubt even in a 24 hours.
If you are concidering:
1-solar panel (not enough amps)
2-boat motor ( is only designed to top up a battery but will charge a battery left running at a high idle but it will take hours)
3-inverter (not enough amps)
4-car motor (unless you remove it's original battery and put the boat's battery in and run down the highway for a couple of hours. Again automotive altanators will not fully charge a battery unless it has a high output altanator ie; 150 amp altanator
5-Optima batterys are over priced and over rated.

Your solution is simple go to Wallymart and buy a couple of there series 27 deep cycle batteries which are on sale for $89 a piece or even 3 it would be cheaper than one optima. With 2 new ones and the one you have if there were fully charged you should be able to run for some time.

As for charging when you use a good quality charger you can charge any battery at any of there settings and not have a problem. For those that might disagree with that, in support of my statement MinnKota has been making high amp on board chargers for over a decade. If you do incounter a problem you either have a bad battery ie; low on water or bad cell

To make your batteries last long is always recharge them fully as soon as possible and put the charger on them at the lowest setting every so often durring the off season.

Ruger4 · #20 08-05-2009, 08:15 AM

rv solar panel , l lay my down on the the boat bench , wont recharge but maintains ...... and I have my fishfinder plugged in too ....

seahawkfisher · #21 08-05-2009, 08:37 AM

i agre with jusfloatin; i bought an optima and used it a few times - had less stayin power than my 3 year-old nautilus battery. took it back to wally world and exchanged it for a group 27 energizer and about $150 cash back. the cheapo energizer WAY OUTLASTS what that optima could do; ie under similar conditions where the optima would be dead, the energizer will have 65% remaining.

The Elkster · #22 08-05-2009, 08:40 AM

I have an optima and a type 27 and I beleive the optima is rated for about half the amp hours that the 27 is. I do like the lack of liquid spill risk and the lighter weight. If I don't need a lot of power I'll go with the optima every time. They are way pricey though.

My best advice is to make sure you have a maximizer feature on your motor and if not get one that does. Thats likely the cheapest longterm solution to getting more hours out of your batteries. At full throttle they pull the same as an equivalent lb regular electric but the maxxum motors draw much less when throttled down. Like 1/3 to 1/5 the draw at low speeds. You could potentially more than double or triple your hours right there depending how you use your motor.

jusfloatin · #23 08-05-2009, 09:01 AM

[QUOTE=The Elkster;362086]I have an optima and a type 27 and I beleive the optima is rated for about half the amp hours that the 27 is. I do like the lack of liquid spill risk and the lighter weight. If I don't need a lot of power I'll go with the optima every time. They are way pricey though.QUOTE]

That is the only thing I can appreciate about a Optima it will not leak but a simple solution to that is and should be the first thing is make sure the battery is in a battery box and that it is firmly attached to the boat. It would be stupid to be boating with a battery slideing around with the possibilty of the battery shorting out to the boat with exposed terminals.
This way the only way you can have a spillage is when the boat is upside down but then you have more problems than just the spillage.

A battery will only leak when charging not disghargeing. If it leaks it is low on fluid.

The Elkster · #24 08-05-2009, 12:09 PM

Batteries can leak and get banged around in transport as well

That acid is nasty stuff. Had a battery crack and get some acid on a tent cover and it basically melted it. It was in a battery box but the load shifted and the box tipped over in transport. There is always a chance of upsetting the battery when transporting or loading/unloading. Maybe I'll freeze mine solid...that should do the trick

nevercatchmuch · #25 08-05-2009, 02:11 PM

so, was out on sylvan and the battery went dead which lead to considerable rowing in the zodiac. Might seem easy but those things are not nice to glide through the water.

Wondered what was wrong as both my charger and the minn kota charge rater said it was fully charged...in a matter of an hour and a half it was dead. That's far too short. So I took the nautilus battery back to canadian tire and had it checked. One guy says it is fine. Next guy says no, it should be replaced because it is putting out too much power (it is rated at 625 cranking amps and the battery checker said output was 733 amps but "good"). I got offered the replacement period fee of $58 with 4 more months of warranty. No thanks when I got it new for $69 and had 30 months of warranty, the first 12 of which were fee-free. Anyway, I took my battery back. But as I know nothing about batteries, don't know which tech guy to believe - the one who said it is fine, or the one who says 733amps mean it is putting out too much power and heating up..... Thoughts? I will still get a second battery and check out the options you guys have listed.

nevercatchmuch · #26 08-05-2009, 02:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Elkster

Batteries can leak and get banged around in transport as well

That acid is nasty stuff. Had a battery crack and get some acid on a tent cover and it basically melted it. It was in a battery box but the load shifted and the box tipped over in transport. There is always a chance of upsetting the battery when transporting or loading/unloading. Maybe I'll freeze mine solid...that should do the trick

Had that happen once years ago but it was far worse....back seat of a car on the floor....ate right through the carpet. My dad was not impressed.

jusfloatin · #27 08-05-2009, 02:58 PM

Take the battery to any Part Source or your nearest parts store and ask them to do a load test.
Most if not all will do this as a free service.

BBC0 · #28 08-05-2009, 05:24 PM

The output of a battery depends on the load, a high output is not a fault except possibly with the tester or the way it was used.
I think that in Red Deer the only 'grown-up' working at W*lmart is the 'greeter' who probably will have more luck testing for you.

nevercatchmuch · #29 08-05-2009, 06:41 PM

Well, I learned my lesson and won't go back to can tire for battery help again. I took my battery to the Battery Doctor in Red Deer and a really nice guy helped me out. He tested it and said it is performing just fine (he did the machine voltage/load test plus used a hydrometer/gravity meter (?) to do other things). The only issue was that there was too much water in it and he said that could create a mess should the battery ever overheat, so he took some out. All for no fee and lots of other advice. Apparently, "fancier" batteries won't hold charge longer than my average quality battery....but they would be able to be recharged many more times.

Here's to hoping I don't get out into the middle of a lake and have my battery die again! The Batt Dr. guy said it might be possible to use a lawnmower battery for emergencies (because I don't want the weight of another deep cycle and am too cheap to get the optimas). He wants more info though so I'll keep anyone whose interested posted on how what he says after I find out how many amps my 55lb thrust draws....

Thanks again all.

The Elkster · #30 08-05-2009, 07:12 PM

So do you have your motor pegged that whole 1.5 hours. If its a 55lb motor and going full out and you don't have the biggest deep cycle that time may not be out of line.

You may be better off jumping to a small gas engine if you want to cover area and troll a lot. One of the four strokes with the tank built into the motor in the 2-4hp range maybe. That'll have you trolling all weekend and don't have a tank or battery taking up space.

Good luck