downrigger electric question??

[salmonite]

I have some big jon riggers that have a typical cord that plugs into a wall as the power source. How would i change that for battery compatible? thanks

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: downrigger electric question??

I moved this .... it is more of an electrical question

 

[salmonite]

Re: downrigger electric question??

thanks bob

 

[Bondo]

Re: downrigger electric question??

Ayuh,... Cut the ends off,+ wire it up whatever way you Want.....

 

[Mark_VTfisherman]

Re: downrigger electric question??

I have some big jon riggers that have a typical cord that plugs into a wall as the power source. How would i change that for battery compatible? thanks

What bond-o said.

BTW --> DON'T plug those into a wall! They are 12V not 110V.

Although most of us prob don't have AC on our boats, I am horrified whenever I see household AC-style plug ends used for 12V connections. There are so many polarized and safe 12V options if all one wants is a plug of some sort.

When you re-wire, be certain the correct wire is going to ground. Maybe you know that :redface:

 

[soundman2424]

Re: downrigger electric question??

I just took a standard 110/120V outlet, wired it +/- to the battery and I plug in my DR's that way. Make sure you keep the polarity in order otherwise your DR's will run backwards which isn't that big of a deal if you remember down is up and up is down. I just marked my cord ends and the outlet so I plug them in properly. Oh yea, I also mounted the outlet into a box that I mounted in my battery well. Since I remove my DR's every night after fishing, I wanted them to be easily disconnected from the power source.

 

[soundman2424]

Re: downrigger electric question??

When you re-wire, be certain the correct wire is going to ground. Maybe you know that :redface:

There isn't a "ground" wire, just positive and negative. 12V DC devices really don't need the protection a "ground" provides. A ground is used for higher voltage devices in-case of a short. In the event of a short, errant power will travel the path of least resistance and that is usually to "ground" and not through you when you touch it.

 

[Silvertip]

Re: downrigger electric question??

In low voltage boat electrical systems, ground is ground, negative is ground, and battery minus (-) is ground. Lets not get overly technical here to avoid confusion. Different story if we are talking about AC power on larger boats (which we aren't in this case).

 

[soundman2424]

Re: downrigger electric question??

I'm not trying to be "overly" technical, just hoping we could start using the proper terminology. Ground is ground and negative is negative. They are not the same thing and should not be used in the same context. Just like any experienced mariner/sailor would cringe if you were to use the words like front, rear, floor, stairs or wall for parts of a boat or ship, I cringe when people use the wrong terminolgy for electronics or anything electrical.

 

[Silvertip]

Re: downrigger electric question??

OK then join the rest of the world and use "earth" in AC work because that's what it is.

 

[soundman2424]

Re: downrigger electric question??

OK then join the rest of the world and use "earth" in AC work because that's what it is.

Why should we call it "Earth" in the country that invented AC power? The rest of the world, as you call it, should get in line with the US and call it what we do since AC (and DC for that matter) was invented and first produced here.

 

[Silvertip]

Re: downrigger electric question??

Ahhh -- but once again you are wrong sir. Electricity wasn't invented in the U.S. but rather discovered there. Mother nature "invented" it. Then there is the metric system which is another area the U.S is woefully behind the times with although the automakers are about 50/50 with that. Nice that you need two sets of tools to work on them. And then in the U.S. you call an engine a motor when a motor is electrical. Go figure! Then there is this "ground" symbol: On a schematic, what does it mean?

This from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ground_(electricity)

"The use of the term ground (or earth) is so common in electrical and electronics applications that circuits in vehicles such as ships, aircraft, and spacecraft may be spoken of as having a "ground" connection without any actual connection to the Earth."

Which is why the negative terminal of the battery feeds a ground bus which is the ground point for all accessories. As a final note, I was born in the U.S. nearly 70 years ago and have been around a pretty fair chunk of realestate we call "the world". If you haven't figured out I've been having fun with you, you need to take life a lot less seriously.

 

[soundman2424]

Re: downrigger electric question??

mmmm, Mother Nature invented alternating current? Since when does static electricity alternate?

I agree with you on the metric system. I wish the US would have converted to it a long time ago. So much easier when everything is in tenths instead of 1/16, 1/8, 1/4 and so on. I call a motor a motor and an engine an engine. I know the difference.

It's OK that you're messing with me, I'm fine with that. I only take life as seriously as I need to.

 

[Mark_VTfisherman]

Re: downrigger electric question??

mmmm, Mother Nature invented alternating current? Since when does static electricity alternate?....I only take life as seriously as I need to.

Hey, we share ideas, have fun, and learn a lot here. If you really feel the need to take life as seriously as you need to (i.e. fight with people) go to a bar and pick your fights there.

I think you'll find it, err, -unacceptable- in a bar as well, but you might be a little less haughty after a few nights in the clink.

 

[soundman2424]

Re: downrigger electric question??

Who's fighting? Ever heard of the word "debate"? There's a huge difference.

I also noticed by your avatar that it says Senior Chief Petty Officer but the symbol that's with it designates a Master Chief Petty Officer. A Senior CPO has only 1 star above the "crow". I know this probably isn't your doing so who do I contact to get that corrected?

 

[HookdUp]

Re: downrigger electric question??

I have some big jon riggers that have a typical cord that plugs into a wall as the power source. How would i change that for battery compatible? thanks

On my Big Jon downrigger, after cutting the plug from the cord, you'll see a blue and brown coated wire. The Blue wire is for +12V, and Brown is for GND.

The IEC code is opposite this, Blue = GND, Brown = +12V. I originally used the IEC convention and found the motor ran the opposite way it was supposed to. I called Big Jon and they confirmed it needed to be swapped. Hope this helps you out.

 

[Don S]

Re: downrigger electric question??

Might want to watch the dates on posts. I'm pretty sure the guy hasn't been sitting around waiting since 2009 for an answer.

 

[HookdUp]

Re: downrigger electric question??

Yeah I saw that, but I figured if there were other guys like me doing searches online for answers about Big Jon wiring, it might help. There are really no good on-line resources that I could find discussing this, but this thread is one of the top search returns by Google for "Big Jon Downrigger wiring".