How many batteries?

Don’t want to sound like a complete newbie here but I am to fishing in anything other than a 69 Mirrocraft with a 5 horse Evi tiller.

I just got a new, to me, boat that I would like to rig with electronics and am unsure of how many batteries that I will need.

The boat currently has an X-85 at the console and a 12v 50lb thrust troller at the bow.

I would like to move the X-85 to the bow and install a 135 and global map 4800 at the console. I would also like to move my 12v 55lb thrust troller from the old boat to the stern.

The boat already has 1 starting battery and 1 deep cycle. How many addidtional batteries should I plan on purchasing? Also what would be a good on board charger for this set up?

Thanks

What is the boat?
What are you going to be primarily using it for?

Reason I ask is you probably only need one starting battery, which will also run your electronics too.
And a trolling motor battery that is wired to both of your trolling motors. If you have room and the budget allows, I would wire up two trolling motor batteries to your 12v system. This will not give you more power, but it will give you longer running time. This again, if you have the room.

If your keeping your trolling motor 12 volt i would have one starting battery. and 2 inline 12 volt batterys for trolling motor.{ more capacity} DK.

Quote:

---

What is the boat?

---

17′ 10″ Crestliner with a 70 horse Yamaha

Quote:

---

What are you going to be primarily using it for?

---

River fishing and Back-trolling for Wall-eye

The boat is an 88 that the original owner had custom built by Crestliner. Aluminum gauge is thicker and decks are thicker. All said, it was used under 30 times in the last 19 years. Basically brand new. I may have to build a few cabinets for battery storage, but I would rather go overkill than run my batteries dead in the middle of the lake.

Also, if I go with 2 deep-cycle for the trollers and 1 starting battery what charger would you recommend?

Quote:

---

If your keeping your trolling motor 12 volt i would have one starting battery. and 2 inline 12 volt batterys for trolling motor.{ more capacity} DK.

---

Please explain “inline” 12 volts

Quote:

---

Quote:

---

If your keeping your trolling motor 12 volt i would have one starting battery. and 2 inline 12 volt batterys for trolling motor.{ more capacity} DK.

---

Please explain “inline” 12 volts

---

You can run your 12v trolling motor with 2 trolling motor batteries. Reason for this is extended life/run time. You can almost get “double” the run time for a day of fishing. It doesn’t give you more power, just longer running time for the day. With your boat, my recommendation is that you will need it. You have a bigger rig.

To run 2, 12v batteries for a 12v trolling motor, you connect “positive to positive” and “negative to negative”. This puts them in “series”.
The way you hook up the two batteries is through “jumper” wires purchased at any auto parts store.

For 24v system, you run:
trolling motor negative to negative post of one battery.
Then a “jumper” from that battery’s postive post to the second battery’s negative post.
Then the trolling motor postive wire to the 2nd battery’s postive post.
This connects 2 batteries together to run 24v.

Does this make sense?

Crystal clear thanks!

Would a 3 bank charger be good for a rig with 2 deep cycles and a starter battery?

yep!

Minn Kota On-Board Battery Charger
Get the Mk 330, fellow fishermen really like this one for three bank charger.
Has Mail-In Rebate Offer
Also on battery’s
I have a set of Cabala’s Advanced Angler AGM Batteries
Had them 4 two years, this winter they held 100% charge all winter long without ever plugging in charger. Reverse power while running has been good also. Little more money, but I hoping they last longer as advertised. So far they get

Not meaning to pick on anybody, but for clarification “parallel” and “serial” are better terms and commonly in when describing battery connections. Other than that info was right on.

Parallel = (+ to +) and (- to -) (12V)
Serial = (+ to -) (24V)

Personally I only ever ran 2 batteries on my last boat, never had an issue with it, one for starting and gps/fishifinder, the other for trolling motor only, I ran the biggest batteries I could get in there, size 31 trolling motor battery and a huge starting battery. Personally I don’t think you need more than 2 if you size them properly and don’t plan on doing crazy stuff battery wise. I could fish all day with this set-up no problem, My trolling motor hardly ever saw above 1/2 speed.

I think I going to change the batteries out on my (new) boat very soon to some bigger batteries, I find I don’t have enough battery power with these smaller batteries (27 series) Haven’t decided yet between the interstate dealer over there in farmington or the ones Wallmart is selling…

What kind of boat?

Quote:

---

Not meaning to pick on anybody, but for clarification “parallel” and “serial” are better terms and commonly in when describing battery connections. Other than that info was right on.

Parallel = (+ to +) and (- to -) (12V)
Serial = (+ to -) (24V)

---

CORRECT!
Thanks for clarifying!
I guess the coffee didn’t kick in this morning when I typed!

Quote:

---

You certainly don’t want 3 battery’s in a small boat with a 5 horse pushing it.

2 group 24 or 27’s Deep Cycles will be sufficient.

---

I got the impression that’s not his current boat anymore, atleast that’s what I went by…

Just to clarify regarding the 12V system. I understand how the jumpers are used to connect the two batteries, but wondering which posts the motor leads supposed to be hooked up to. Just the postive/negative on one of the batteries or the positive on one and the negative on the other (similar to the 24V system)?

Thanks,

Jim

><(((>

Quote:

---

I got the impression that’s not his current boat anymore, atleast that’s what I went by

---

That went right over my head…

Quote:

---

Just the postive/negative on one of the batteries

---

Correct.

Quote:

---

Quote:

---

You certainly don’t want 3 battery’s in a small boat with a 5 horse pushing it.

2 group 24 or 27’s Deep Cycles will be sufficient.

---

I got the impression that’s not his current boat anymore, atleast that’s what I went by…

---

Correct. New boat is 17′ 10″ Crestliner

So when ytou parellel the batteries can you charge both batteries by just hooking up to the one battery as well??? I assume you can but just wanna clarify..

Quote:

---

So when you parellel the batteries can you charge both batteries by just hooking up to the one battery as well??? I assume you can but just wanna clarify..

---

Yeah but it’s not really the prefered way, it’s still best to charge both batteries (from what I’ve gathered). It takes a lot longer too. I like to be able to plug my boat in at the end of the night and have it ready by morning.

That is what I was starting to think Nick. Maybe one battery the one hooked up to the charger has a possible chance of being overcharged would’nt you think?? Both would get a charge but one more then the other I would assume..

Well the should equalize to some point, but I don’t think it would be as good as both of them being hooked up to seperate banks. Must be a reason they sell 3 and 4 bank units. (not to be a smartass)

When I bought my boat used, it had one group 24 starting battery and one group deep cycle. I bought a group 31 deep cycle and put both deep cycles up front. I run the trolling motor on one, and my sonar on the other. When the trolling motor battery runs down, I change over to the second deep cycle. The original trolling battery still has enough juice to run the sonar. I end up with only 1 battery to charge at a time, so I don’t have to buy a mulitple bank charger. It has worked quite well for me.

If you are going to do alot of river fishing you might want to consider going to a 24 volt trolling motor, a 12 volt will not cut it on the river.

Quote:

---

River fishing and Back-trolling for Wall-eye

---

If I have one thing to add to this it is, buy battery switches. Then if you want you can run one battery at a time for your trolling motors and can better gauge how much juice you have left. Once one battery is getting low, just switch over to the next battery. If you simply hook them in parellel, when it’s dead, it’s dead. Plus it is nice to not have to worry about any storage or overnight drains. My $.02

Dual Pro makes a unit that when your starting battery is fully charged diverts the charge to your trolling motor batteries. About $135.00 extends your trolling motor batteries run time on the water.