? about Marine Batt's

[15flats]

I am new here, Hello all!!!

My question is what type of battery (Marine) should I get for my boat? I have a '88 15' Flats (HPY Traveler) that I want to use primarily for fresh water fishing. I have a Minn Kota 55 ST trolling motor, and a Lowrance X135 Fish\Depth finder. There is a Live well and a bilge pump on the boat as well.

I have been using my smart chargers for 3 days now with the batteries that were on the boat, but I get no reading from specific gravity still, so I know they are completely dead, even after filling with distilled water (they were extremely low on water). My trim is up, went up with the button, but when I tried to lower it, I get just a click now, I guess because of the battery, but I get a whirring sound on the up, I guess I will deal with that after I get my battery.

Should the battery say that it is a starting battery, or a deep cycle battery? These batteries are like $83 and up and I want to get the correct one.

TIA!!!

 

[BeaufortTJustice]

Re: ? about Marine Batt's

Starting batteries are like the batteries found in most automobiles - they are meant to provide enough power to start the engine until the alternator takes over (high amps over short time). They are NOT meant to be used in applications where they will be routinely and heavily discharged and recharged.

Deep cycle batteries are designed to provide steady amps over a longer time, such as a continuous application and can handle discharges and recharges more readily.

A lot of boaters with multiple batteries use one starting battery that is solely for starting engine(s), and at least one deep cycle to run trolling motor, stereo, fishfinder, etc. That keeps from having insufficient juice to start your engine after several hours of trolling or listening to tunes. Ways to install this type system can be found in other threads in this forum, as there are several different options available depending on how you plan to charge them and how many batteries or banks you wish to run. Simplest is a two battery system with a selector switch (batt 1, batt 2, both, off).

Good luck. I hope this answers your question.

 

[Boss Hawg]

Re: ? about Marine Batt's

You question reads like you have 1 battery in one sentence & then more than 1 in the next sentence


You could go with a good duel purpose battery if you only use one BUT i'd highly suggest you go with a 2 battery set up with a trolling motor -

 

[Silvertip]

Re: ? about Marine Batt's

Run just one battery with a 55# trolling motor and I will guarantee you will very soon have need for a tow, oars, or wish you had a rope start motor. You need a marine "deep cycle" battery for the troller. You need a marine starting or marine dual purpose for the engine and all accessories. You do not need a switch because the engine alternator is generally not big enough to handle two batteries and you would need to run wide open for hours to charge the deep cycle. Your trim system sounds like and electrical issue not related to the battery. Try the battery from your car to verify.

 

[15flats]

Re: ? about Marine Batt's

This boat came with 3 batteries, all which is no good. They were wired in series. I plan on following the advice here and go with a 2 battery setup and have the starting battery wired to the alternator only. I can connect the deep cycle to my smart charger as needed, or use a solar charger.

The trim\tilt and other issues could be in the wiring, it is a squirrels nest in there and I am starting to trace down the wires to determine which is which. I had to disconnect the wires to remove the batteries so i could have easier access to them, they were placed out of the way under there and hard to reach. It is possible I missed a wire or have a "hot" on the ground to where there are 2 grounds. I tried my fish finder and I get nothing, bur I jump the wires from my truck and it works, so time to re-wire or spend countless hours figuring out this madness.

 

[Silvertip]

Re: ? about Marine Batt's

If your three batteries were connected in series the output would be 36 volts and everything on the boat would be toast. I think you mean they were connected in parallel. Still 12 volts but to the electrical system it looks like one giant 12 volt battery.

Here is a diagram that illustrates the difference between parallel and series wiring.

 

[Mark_VTfisherman]

Re: ? about Marine Batt's

...%...I plan on following the advice here and go with a 2 battery setup and have the starting battery wired to the alternator only. I can connect the deep cycle to my smart charger as needed, or use a solar charger....%...

The starting battery I have is a cranking/trolling marine battery- good for running anchor light at night, plus sonar, radio, gps while engine is not running- which most of the time it is not (I run a 44# electric trolling motor off a second battery). That still lets me have enough umph to start the engine after a long use of all those accesories, but my 40hp does have a pull-start as well...

My trolling battery is a marine group 29 deep cycle which I charge when I get back home or to cabin or whatever. A solar charger will probably have insufficient amps to efficiently recharge charge your deep cycle, although it *may* extend your running time on sunny days.

The trim\tilt and other issues could be in the wiring, it is a squirrels nest in there and I am starting to trace down the wires to determine which is which. I had to disconnect the wires to remove the batteries so i could have easier access to them, they were placed out of the way under there and hard to reach. It is possible I missed a wire or have a "hot" on the ground to where there are 2 grounds. I tried my fish finder and I get nothing, bur I jump the wires from my truck and it works, so time to re-wire or spend countless hours figuring out this madness.

Boats with rats nests of wire are unfortunately common. From what you are relating here, though, you would probably be well served to ask a friend who is familiar with marine wiring to rewire your boat. Often, the motor's umbilical cord is intact, but all the accessories have been wired hodge-podge, but just don't start cutting or connecting. I think you would be well served to have someone who's done it before rewire it. Bonding, trace runs, interference-prone power feeds, and proper fuse placement for a marine application can all effect how successful the outcome of rewiring will be. My 2 cents

 

[15flats]

Re: ? about Marine Batt's

I have rewired motorcycles and different components on automobiles, although I do understand these are not marine vessels. I like to use wire looms to neaten up the wiring, believe me, twist ties would make an improvement. There are wires that have been cut and just left there dangling, so I trace and find that it was once for one of the lights ( I know, I am a rookie at this) but I am not sure which is starboard side and stern, but from sitting in the operators seat, the light on the rear right was cut. A friend of mine that is ex navy, said when the boat is ready, he will take me out and start explaining the ways of boating. The other problems I have seen thus far is corrosion and poor connections. Baking soda, butt connectors, solder, female connectors and some heat shrink should fix all that.

And yes, I meant parallel wired for the batteries. I found a shop that refurbishes batteries and also sells blemished batteries as well as brand new that I am going to visit in the morning. I plan on buying the 2 batteries. The solar charger was not meant to be a direct replacement of deep cycle recharging, just to aid in keeping some sort of charge when using the other gadgets (fish finder, troll motor, etc...).

 

[Mark_VTfisherman]

Re: ? about Marine Batt's

....I am not sure which is starboard side and stern, but from sitting in the operators seat, the light on the rear right was cut....

Bow: front of boat.
Starboard: Starboard side is your Right side as you face forward in the boat, has green bow navigation light
Port: Left as facing forward, has red bow navigation light
Rear: Stern; on small vessels like ours must display at night a white "all around" light one meter above the navigation light while underway or "at anchor." Bow red/green navigation light may be extinguished while at anchor.

That's the basics. You should go online to your state's motor vehicle website and find their recommended state or Coast Guard Boating Safety Course as that will give you most of the info you will want and you'll be able to learn much more from your Navy buddy after that as a primer.

My 2cents.