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| Well i bought my first boat and waiting for it to get setup with new motor and trolling motor.
My question revolves around the trolling motor. I've only ever dealt with a 12v system and this one is a 24v system plus the starting battery. i'm gonna buy an on-board charger, but not sure if I need a 2 bank or 3 bank and how many amps are needed? How often do you really need to charge your starting battery?
Most usage will be for 1-2 days but usually atleast 1 week long trip per year...
pretty confused on what I need, so any help would be greatly appreciated. |
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Posts: 897
| Assuming your big motor doesn't have an alternator to charge your starting battery, you'll need a three bank charger. Each battery will need to be hooked up to the charger independently. I've been told that charging your batteries after every trip will prolong the life of them. As far as amps, the higher the amps the faster it will charge. Mine is "smart" and has the ability switch output when the battery is fully charged. Love it. |
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| Big Motor is a 115 Mercury 4-stroke, mercurymarine says Alternator Amp - Fully regulated belt driven 50-amp. So does that mean that i won't need a charger for my starting battery?
If you don't mind me asking, what kind of charger do you own? Have you had any problems with it? |
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| I would get a 3 bank for sure...
I have had a Pro Mariner Tournament 150 in mine for 4 yrs and it has been great.
I think any of the major brands, Guest, Dual Pro, Pro Mariner are all good units.
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Posts: 147
Location: Milwaukee, WI | Do you like to fish at night & cast ?
Here is one situation where a 3-bank charger is good to have.
Was on a small N-Wisc lake fishing after dark. Using bow mount motor & casting. Boating laws here require running lights after dark & my stern light is large & bright. After several hours casting w/lights, sonars, & radio on, I go to start the motor and the engine won't even turn over.
Had to jump-start the motor with one of my TM batteries. After jump-starting, its like 2:30AM & I was too tired to drive the boat around trying to charge the battery.
That night, I was glad that I had a charger on the starting battery too. |
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Posts: 227
Location: Maple Grove | Three bank for piece of mind. The motor will put a charge on the starter when running but you can run into situations like snaggletooth said. It sure is nice to be able to just plug a charger in. That being said I have a two bank in my rig, but I picked up a 1 bank 5 amp to run to the starter for the reasons I just stated. Works for me and I sleep better at night. |
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Posts: 81
Location: NEW | There's also a lot to be said for the quality and age of your batteries. A 50 amp alternator will do a good job of charging your starting battery quickly. To get the most from your trolling motor batteries, they should be kept at a maximum charge when not being used. I've got a Minnkota 220 ( 2 banks, 10 amps each) that's worked great. I've got 2 of the biggest Interstate deep cycles and they recharge pretty quickly. I leave the charger plugged in when ever I'm not fishing because it's supposed to make batteries last longer. |
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| Thanks for the info everyone...I appreciate it. Don't usually do much night fishing, but i guess you never know when something might come up. better to be safe than sorry. |
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Battery Charger Needed?