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Posts: 750
Location: Minneapolis, MN | My brother in-law and I are debating what would be better for our situation. My family has a 2012 Alumacraft Classic Series CS that was purchased in June of last year. At the beginning of this season we had to replace the battery that starts the main engine and runs the depth finder as it was dead. Now we need to replace the the battery that runs the trolling motor, a 12 volt 55# PowerDrive V2, as it is also dead; found that out the hard way Sunday... One thought is that we should buy one really good 12 volt battery and an on-board charger. The other thought is that we should buy two 12 volt batteries, running them in parallel, and skip the on-board charger. Is one idea better than the other? Does running the batteries in parallel makes them a 24 volt system? Does that cause any issues for the trolling motor? |
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Posts: 791
Location: WI | Regardless of the amount of batteries you really should get a on board charger. Maintaining our batteries is key to life and longevity. I have an alumacraft 175 tourney pro. I run an optima group 31 blue top dual purpose battery for starting and electronics ect. The dual purpose "dc31m" is a cranking deep cell. I believe this is a good idea because if you have a few electronics and lights and decide to use the radio you don't have to worry about your boat starting. I have two group 27 blue tops for the trolling motor as my motorguide is 24 volts. All are hooked to a dual pro professional series 3 bank charger.
I would run two batteries for your 12v tm if you have room. This gives you longer life for long weekends or fighting wind or current. You will run them parallel giving you twice the capacity at 12v. Regardless of what you choose get your inboard with a bank for each battery you have. Otherwise if you have to use a switch to change the battery you are charging you will be kicking your self. For the small price difference make it fool proof. Especially if you share the boat with others. My friend is in this situation and almost every time he goes to use his boat the battery's are dead. If you spend alittle more on good components and consistently use your inboard charger your batteries will last many years.
Edited by Trophyseeker50 11/12/2013 6:15 PM
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Posts: 750
Location: Minneapolis, MN | If you only had the money to do one of the two options right now, which would you choose?
I've heard differing opinions as to if you should include a bank for your engine motor. Any thoughts? |
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Posts: 280
| Hooking the batteries in parallel will give you more capacity while still providing 12 volts. Unless you do a lot of fishing in areas where you can't charge your batteries at night I would go with the battery and on board charger option. I would go for a two bank charger so you can charge and maintain both your starter and TM batteries.
Id also be checking warranties on the batteries, seems pretty quick for them to be failing already. |
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Location: WI | What I was getting at was go for the charger and get it with an extra bank if you think you will get another battery in the future. For the small amount more I promise you that u will kick your self if you don't. As for the charger and the starter battery, I fell like that is just as important as your tm battery. You are a musky angler meaning that you are more than likely casting and using electronics, lights , radio ect. Than you start your motor and run across the lake to the next spot. And on and on. Point being you are only charging for a small time during the day and using power a lot. And regardless of your type of fishing maintaining your batteries is crucial.
An onboard charger not only chargers but also maintains your batteries. If you simply put a basic charger on your battery it will overcharge and damage the plates in your battery.
You have a nice new boat. And you will literally never have to worry about power if you spend money on a quality on board charger. |
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Location: WI | I agree that you might look at the warranty of your batteries but I have no doubt that the reason they failed is due to improper charging |
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Location: Mauston, Wisconsin | I think you will find putting everything on a single battery was a very very bad idea, very quickly......... your TM needs its own battery or batteries depending on how you use it.
They also need to be recharged immediately after each day on the water.....Its entirely feasible to survive with a single 12V off-board/portable charger, you really don't need a expensive on-board charger. Just make sure it has electronic controls and is designed for the type of batteries in your boat. I actually have two portable chargers (its nice to have a backup) that are capable of charging all three type's of batterries- sealed-no maintenance (AGM a.k.a. VRLA), wet cell or gell cell (not common for marine use). The upside to using portable charger(s) is I can also charge my veheicle and other batteries as well, that's pretty difficult with a on-board charger.
Yes, on-board chargers are convenient, no fuss, etc.... But, I think if you have limited budget you can get more bang for your money with a portable charger.
Have fun!
Al |
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| On - board chargers are convenient, but no better than portables. You pay (a lot) for that convenience.
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Posts: 750
Location: Minneapolis, MN | ESOX Maniac - 11/16/2013 7:15 AM
I think you will find putting everything on a single battery was a very very bad idea, very quickly......... your TM needs its own battery or batteries depending on how you use it.
They also need to be recharged immediately after each day on the water.....Its entirely feasible to survive with a single 12V off-board/portable charger, you really don't need a expensive on-board charger. Just make sure it has electronic controls and is designed for the type of batteries in your boat. I actually have two portable chargers (its nice to have a backup) that are capable of charging all three type's of batterries- sealed-no maintenance (AGM a.k.a. VRLA), wet cell or gell cell (not common for marine use). The upside to using portable charger(s) is I can also charge my veheicle and other batteries as well, that's pretty difficult with a on-board charger.
Yes, on-board chargers are convenient, no fuss, etc.... But, I think if you have limited budget you can get more bang for your money with a portable charger.
Have fun!
Al
We didn't have everything on one battery, we had the trolling motor on it's own battery and the the engine and electronics on another battery. I do know that my father waited until the night before going out to charge both of the batteries, which was usually a week between trips but sometimes up to three weeks. So lesson learned that they need to be charged right away. What I was trying to get at though was if one had to make a choice, would it be better to buy a battery and charger, or two batteries for the trolling motor and run them in parallel.
Edited by dami0101 11/17/2013 10:26 AM
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Posts: 750
Location: Minneapolis, MN | I'll have to look at my dad's charger when I'm out there today because I doubt it was one specifically designed for deep cycle batteries since it was there before the boat and was used for cars and lawnmower batteries. |
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Location: Rhinelander, Wisconsin | I run two 12 volt batteries on a Marinco system on one of my boats and charge with a portable designed for deep cycle batteries. I charge the rear battery a couple times a year, only if I have been running the electronics in the rear a tremendous amount and not the motor at all, otherwise it's always up to snuff.
Two 12 volt batteries will extend your use quite a bit. If you can't afford the onboard yet, I'd go that route until you can. Then...you are talking a three bank, not a two bank, if you want to charge your start battery each time you plug in. Again, costs more....but nice if you want to be absolutely certain each time you unplug your charging system you have topped off all the batteries.
The portable chargers I have are automatic, designed for deep cycles, cannot overcharge, and were under $50, and I'm on my 4th year on that set of trolling motor batteries charging them probably 5 to 6 times a week during the open water season. So for under $200 you are ready to rock. There have been a couple times the portable was a benefit...at resorts where the dock power is minimal with everyone plugged in, I can step up the portable (neat feature) and get a full charge in the few hours between fishing and sleeping, and can't my onboard.
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Location: WI | Make sure it has a float or maintain feature that allows it to "float charge" so you don't overcharge the battery and wreck the plates inside. Quality Onboards are built like that so you can leave the batteries plugged in an when you need them they are 100% ready. This also greatly lengthens life of your batteries. |
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Posts: 280
| Unless you have a need for the extra capacity, i do not see a ton of benefit from having two batteries for your 12 Volt TM. Have you ever ran out of juice before?
Im a huge fan of on board chargers. When you fish late, get home tired and have to get up early for work, all you have to do is plug it in and go to bed. You should be able to get a single deep cycle and a two bank on board charger for $200 as well.
Edited by Mad Musky 11/17/2013 11:09 AM
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Location: Rhinelander, Wisconsin | Boy, I sure do. One is done in less than a day and has to be brought back from total discharge if I'm bucking the wind and waves, two never are.
All I have to do is plug the charger into the trolling motor female plug and then into the extension cord. I wire a Marinco trolling motor 12 volt charge plug (red) to the charger, if your system is 12 volt only you can use the exact same plug the trolling motor uses.
I'm not hooking up directly to the batteries with clips, that would be a pain in the keester. |
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Location: Minneapolis, MN | sworrall - 11/17/2013 11:05 AM
Boy, I sure do. One is done in less than a day and has to be brought back from total discharge if I'm bucking the wind and waves, two never are.
I believe I read somewhere that one shouldn't discharge a battery below 50% as that can also affect the life of the battery. Is that correct? |
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Location: Rhinelander, Wisconsin | Not with a deep cycle I don't think, no.
Guys? |
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Posts: 280
| No. The purpose of deep cycle is to endure many discharges of most of is capacity. |
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Posts: 280
| Well this is from wikipedia:
"A deep-cycle battery is designed to discharge between 50% and 80% of its capacity, depending on the manufacturer and the construction of the battery. Although these batteries can be cycled down to a 20% charge, the best lifespan vs cost method is to keep the average cycle at about 50% discharge.[1] There is a direct correlation between the depth of discharge of the battery, and the number of charge and discharge cycles it can perform." |
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Location: Rhinelander, Wisconsin | Interesting. I bet I rarely see less than 50% on mine, maybe that's why they have lasted so well. |
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Location: Waukesha, WI, USA | For what it is worth, the batteries do not drain equally when in parallel. Ran that system for years. Get the charger if you can only afford one and not the other. |
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Posts: 750
Location: Minneapolis, MN | Mad Musky - 11/17/2013 10:57 AM
Unless you have a need for the extra capacity, i do not see a ton of benefit from having two batteries for your 12 Volt TM. Have you ever ran out of juice before?
Im a huge fan of on board chargers. When you fish late, get home tired and have to get up early for work, all you have to do is plug it in and go to bed. You should be able to get a single deep cycle and a two bank on board charger for $200 as well.
Have never run out of juice on the water, routinely go below 50%, but maybe that was because of the bad battery? When it gets windy though I don't try to fight the wind and waves though and instead just anchor, drift, or call it a day because the boat just gets blown around so much I end up focusing more on the path than fishing; maybe if we had an ipilot it would be better. |
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Location: Mauston, Wisconsin | Guy's. A discharge to 50% capacity does not mean discharging a 12 volt battery to 6 volts. A steady discharge to 10.5 volts over 4 hours of useage would be a 100% capacity discharge. Do not wait 2-3 weeks to recharge them, they need to be recharged immediately.
Sunshine - the problem with uneven discharge was likely incorrect cabling of your parallel battery system. The bottom diagram is how they should be cabled notice its not how the batteries are paralleled, rather where the pos & negative trolling motor leads are connected..
Have fun!
Al
Edited by ESOX Maniac 11/18/2013 8:24 AM
(Parallel 12V battery system.gif)
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 Parallel 12V battery system.gif (23KB - 164 downloads)
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