Battery advice

[garfield28]

Hi All,

Just wondering if anyone out there can point me in the right direction for a battery please. I have a dual battery set up at present and I think I'm up for a couple of new batteries, but have no experience nor idea of what size or brand to get. I don't understand how it all works properly, or the jargen of amps and cycle and plates etc to make sure I get one that I can rely on, and also use correctly.

Went out Saturday night with my brother to middle harbour (waste of time) was a really nice night though for this time of year, and while running the my old school hummingbird fishfinder, Nav lights, some little LED's, and charging my phone through a cigarette socket I recently installed, so I could use the Navionics app for my phone at present, the battery died on me. The lights died and I had nothing! I switched the battery to number 2 to start the motor and even that had me scared as I thought at first it wasn't going to kick over but it did luckily enough, but I shit the gear thinking it wouldn't even though I had the switch on number 1 which is what I believe the lights and accessories are all wired through, but I have only owned the boat a bit over 3 months and still don't know it I guess. I also bought a 12V jug which I used for the first time that night and I believe that helped drain the battery also because as soon as I switched it on I saw the lights dim a bit - spewin! It was nice making a hot cuppa out on the water at night while trying to catch a few fish, but there were none out there coz there (but I'm a novice still learning my way), but I guess If I wanna cuppa in future I best boil a kettle on the little butane gas stove.

So my question would be, what size and brand battery would someone who knows what they're talking about recommend? I want to change the Nav lights over to LED when I get a bit more cash and some time, so the battery would be running the nav lights (hopefully LED soon), marine stero (yet to buy), marine VHF marine radio (when needed), 12V cigarette socket to charge phone, and last but not least,a new up to date fishfinder/GPS combo that I also hope to buy not too far down the track.

I have seen mentioned a way also of keeping the battery conditioned with some doohickey, that apparently keeps it trickle charged or something and maintains the battery so they last longer if someone could also fill me in on that, how it works and also which one I should look at getting.

Thanks heaps in advance guys.

Geoff

[Linc]

I'm no expert on batteries but I would definitely recommend taking a thermos of boiled water for your cuppa next time

[NaClH2OK9]

I'm with linc. Take a flask

I also have a dual battery system with isolator and after running my boat for a few outings and switching between both batteries ended up in a situation on the ramp where my battery wouldn't turn my motor over.

I run gps. Radio and finder all the time I'm out.

I discovered the motor does not recharge enough for all the kit.

I bought a good quality charger and trickle charge both batteries over night before each outing

That way I use one on the day knowing I've got a get out of jail card.

Next outing. Charge again and use the other.

It's early days but not been in the Shit since.

... Steve

Edited May 27, 2014 by NaClH2OK9

[dhype]

Hi -

Ideally you should have 1 x crank battery and 1 x deep cycle house battery... use the crank battery just for your engine starting and the deep cycle for all the lights, live bait tank pumps, chargers etc..

With the above setup you will never have to worry about draining your starting battery and getting stuck out in the water.

Crank battery - Century 730 are aussie made and just $180.. with a 730 CCA rating - can start even the biggest outboard. A long and dependable warranty caps off a great battery.

House battery - I would look at a 80 to 100ah Deep Cycle AGM battery at about $300 - $400. Stick with a brand name like Remco or AC Delco and these will provide dependable power for many years.

Dont forget to get a proper smart charger.. I use Projecta Intelicharge 15a chargers @ $180 each for my 3 x boat batteries and these have been great. If you look around can find these for less than 1/2 the price of better know C-tek chargers at the same output power rating.

Hope this helps

Cheers

Trung

Edited May 27, 2014 by dhype

[garfield28]

I'm no expert on batteries but I would definitely recommend taking a thermos of boiled water for your cuppa next time

Never stays hot enough

I'm with linc. Take a flask

I also have a dual battery system with isolator and after running my boat for a few outings and switching between both batteries ended up in a situation on the ramp where my battery wouldn't turn my motor over.

I run gps. Radio and finder all the time I'm out.

I discovered the motor does not recharge enough for all the kit.

I bought a good quality charger and trickle charge both batteries over night before each outing

That way I use one on the day knowing I've got a get out of jail card.

Next outing. Charge again and use the other.

It's early days but not been in the Shit since.

... Steve

Thanks for the reply Steve,

So you use only one battery to run all of your accessories, and start the motor off that same battery? I guess if that's the case they must be huge batteries.

I start my motor on number 2 as that is the bigger battery that has the large cc's, once started I switch it over to both (which I'm led to believe will now charge the batteries while I'm cruising around?) then when I stop the motor I switch it to number 1 to operate all of my accessories.

Hi -

Ideally you should have 1 x crank battery and 1 x deep cycle house battery... use the crank battery just for your engine starting and the deep cycle for all the lights, live bait tank pumps, chargers etc..

With the above setup you will never have to worry about draining your starting battery and getting stuck out in the water.

Crank battery - Century 730 are aussie made and just $180.. with a 730 CCA rating - can start even the biggest outboard. A long and dependable warranty caps off a great battery.

House battery - I would look at a 80 to 100ah Deep Cycle AGM battery at about $300 - $400. Stick with a brand name like Remco or AC Delco and these will provide dependable power for many years.

Dont forget to get a proper smart charger.. I use Projecta Intelicharge 15a chargers @ $180 each for my 3 x boat batteries and these have been great. If you look around can find these for less than 1/2 the price of better know C-tek chargers at the same output power rating.

Hope this helps

Cheers

Trung

Thanks for the reply Trung,

At the moment that is how my battery is set up I believe. I have only owned the boat a short while and the batteries in it at the moment are the ones that were in it when I brought it. The accessories battery is a car battery I believe and I don't think its a real big one anyway, and the day I turned up to buy the boat, the guy had a charger on them, so maybe they were dead at the time. I think I've read somewhere that its stuffs your battery if it ever runs completely flat?

So a 80 - 100a deep cycle battery would be sweet to run all of my gear for a good few hours at a time you think mate?

What's the smart charger for please Trung?

Cheers

Geoff

Edited May 27, 2014 by garfield28

[NaClH2OK9]

Yes. One battery per outing. The other ( like my spare fuel ect) is for emergencies. If I need it it's time to go home.

I work on the idea that there are plenty of boats with only one.

Sounds like we have similar isolators I. E. No special charging bypass just 1,2 both or off.

I believe (but am no expert and happy to be corrected ) that if you have one full battery and one empty and connect them the the power will balance out I. E. The flat battery will rob the power out of the full one so switching to both may seem like your charging both but may be compromised by the balancing.

I also believe that the biggest draw on the battery is starting your engine so it may seem your Ok as the radio ect works but when you try your motor there is not enough left.

I'm slightly embarrassed to say I don't know how big my batteries are. They were on the boat when I got it. I took photos in to Rtm when I bought my charger to make sure I got a big enough one.

... Steve

[cameldownunder]

Allmost all is said. Worst case you still can start the engine with the pull cord.

[garfield28]

Yes. One battery per outing. The other ( like my spare fuel ect) is for emergencies. If I need it it's time to go home.

I work on the idea that there are plenty of boats with only one.

Sounds like we have similar isolators I. E. No special charging bypass just 1,2 both or off.

I believe (but am no expert and happy to be corrected ) that if you have one full battery and one empty and connect them the the power will balance out I. E. The flat battery will rob the power out of the full one so switching to both may seem like your charging both but may be compromised by the balancing.

I also believe that the biggest draw on the battery is starting your engine so it may seem your Ok as the radio ect works but when you try your motor there is not enough left.

I'm slightly embarrassed to say I don't know how big my batteries are. They were on the boat when I got it. I took photos in to Rtm when I bought my charger to make sure I got a big enough one.

... Steve

So does that mean you just leave your switch on the same battery all day Steve?

Maybe that's why my number 2 battery I use for starting, seemed a bit drained because when I switched it to 2 it topped the drained battery up.... sure wish I knew exactly how to use that bloody dual battery setup!! When I first got the boat I just used to have it on both, but then discovered that, that was incorrect because my number 1 battery which is smaller and has allot less cranking amps was stuffing them both.

Do you think I can check my battery somehow to see if it is stuffed? Maybe they just need a good charge at home prior to going out..?? But I would need to change the small battery to match the bigger one I guess so I could use them the way you are.

Thanks

[NaClH2OK9]

Yes mate I choose one battery and leave it there.

I always make sure each battery has had an overnight trickle before going out.

... Steve

[garfield28]

Sorry for all the questions mate, but I'm a dope at the best of times and even more so when it comes to electronics etc...

So you would say have your switch selected on number 1 all day, and start the motor and leave it on to run your accessories and never change the selector from that number 1 position?

[NaClH2OK9]

Hi garfield. Yes. That is exactly how I use mine.

I'm not saying it's the best way or even the correct way but it works for me and I am 100% confident that I have a fully charged spare just incase.

I can imagine scenarios where this might not be the best solution. Like if your night fishing and have lots of lights running. Then perhaps the battery would deplete before the end of the fishing trip.

BUT I've only taken my boat out in the dark once and found it a

bit overwhelming.

I'll PM you my phone number so you can call. Or if your anywhere near cronulla come and have a coffee.

I know there are different types of battery. Isolator. Charging override systems ect but I find my approach works for me with what I've got.

... Steve

[Welster]

We use a similar system to Steve. The 1,2 both or off isolator. Two similar sized batteries is important.

Always on charge at home with a " battery fighter" charger. We have a permanent charge cable connected to the batteries that plugs into the battery charger at home. As it's an aluminium boat we turn off the isolating switch to the boats electrics.

We turn the battery isolator switch to both batteries and plug the charger into our cable and leave it on.

When we take the boat out we unplug the charger and flick the switch to either battery 1 or 2. We alternate each trip so we know both batteries are still good. So whenever we leave home both batteries are at 100%.

On the water we never have needed to switch to the other battery. It's great peace of mind knowing if one does go flat the other is fully charged and capable of running the boat and accessories for hours, and just requires flicking the switch over to the other battery if it dies. If that did happen we would select the other battery not both.

Like Steve I can't say it's the best way of doing it. We have had a long battery life, replacing one after 9 years.

Edited May 29, 2014 by welst

[antonywardle]

Do you need a specific battery charger for an AGM type of battery?

[NaClH2OK9]

I can't answer accurately sorry. But my charger states it covers wet gel and agm. I don't know if this is a sales Gimmick or clever circuitry.

... Steve

[hellcorner]

As a suggestion, you can get your battery load tested by an auto electrician.

I also carry a battery jumper pack on board.

I too use the if I need to use it , it's time go home philosophy.

[garfield28]

Thanks for the replies everyone.

The biggest thing sounds like I should have been charging these batteries overnight before use

You buy a boat and you think to yourself, Yep! gonna just start her up every weekend and go fishing, Gonna catch heaps of fish and not have a care in the world.... Need to learn so much to get out and stay out on the water. Need to know about boat electrics, boat maintenance, trailer maintenance, learn how to fish, what tackle, what bait and where to get it, wind, water temp...... etc etc and throw every spare cent of money you have at it!! But I still love it

[antonywardle]

Hi Garfield,

I'm in the same boat (pun intended)

I was hoping to try and get out his weekend for a first run with my engine after it came back from

the shop but there is a netball tournament on so I'm at home with the kids.

I'm rewiring my boat so anything I discover, I'll pm you about. The VSR seems to be a magical device.

Anyone know if it charges both ways?

If i start on switch 1 and that battery gets charges then the VSR charges battery 2 and then if I start

on battery 2 and that gets charged, will the VSR then get battery one charged?

[stevemid]

1st of all, you need to know your starting point:

1 what types of batteries do you have and how good are they?

2 what is the total wattage of your energy consumers? Divide this by 12 to get the total amps per hour you will use up.

Example: 3 15watt nav lights will burn almost 3 amps per hour. On an 8 hour fishing trip you'll use 24 amp hours for nav lights alone! Once you know your total consumption times your maximum hours fishing in darkness, you'll know your total power demand that has to be supplied by a battery. Batteries shouldn't be discharged below 50%. So if your total demand is going to be 48 amp hours, you'll need a 100 amp hour battery (charged to the full before you leave) just for your "house" needs. AGM batteries are better for this because they are designed to be slowly discharged.

You can follow the advice of dhype using specialized batteries one for house, one for starting, or NaCIH2OK9's advice and have 2 equal batteries and alternate each trip. If you follow Na's, I would make them both AGM's.

Follow the advice on keeping your batteries fully charged. The hardest thing on a battery is discharging it below 50% of its capacity. Next most destructive is letting it sit partially discharged. Reducing consumption be switching to LED's etc is smart. The less you burn the less you need to carry.

Steve

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[pogsy]

How to make ur batteries last longerhttp://www.sailnet.com/forums/cruising-articles/20241-little-help-sun.html '> http://www.sailnet.com/forums/cruising-articles/20241-little-help-sun.html

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