Electronics Advice (please post!)

I am looking to get a trolling motor, battery, speakers, car stereo(with water proof cover, should work right?) and light for my 14' jon boat. I have a '73 6 hp evinrude 'fisherman' on it that is manual start. So i was wondering if i am just using this battery for my trolling motor,light, and stereo should i just get a deep cycle? What is the best battery of the cheap ones? And what charger should i get? Do the batterys last while your out on the lake then you charge them when you get back? Or does the charger store some energy then you hook it up on the lake? I am new to all of this so please help. I am confused on this because my outboard doesnt have an alternator? Oh and what kinds of wireing should i use?


Thanks to all that help.

Re: Electronics Advice (please post!)

Get a Deep cycle (not a dual purpose one) BCI group size 27 or 31 should last pretty much all day when fully charged provided you don't use your trolling motor a lot. Charge it when you get back in, no your charger will not store a charge for use on the water.
Good and cheap are mutually exclusive terms.

American Wire Gauge (not SAE) for sizing. for a diagram use some or most of this one by Silvertip
http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=186986

Re: Electronics Advice (please post!)

Make sure you get a charger that is intended for charger deep cycle batteries. It should have s selector switch for charging starting and then deepcycle batteries. You should also get an automatic charger that will reduce and then finally shut off charging once the battery is fully charged. This will help to avoid overcharging your battery. Batteries are expensive so it's important to take good care of them.

Re: Electronics Advice (please post!)

Your "car" stereo with a waterproof cover & speakers will be okay as long as you keep them from getting wet. As for lasting all day since you're intending on running lights, radio & a trolling motor I would suggest go for the bigger group 31 battery for more reserve. Depending on conditions (fighting wind/current etc) with your trolling motor the battery may or may not last "all day" if you use the trolling motor just to navigate around the banks you should be fine.

The deep cycles are designed to be drawn down to almost empty then recharged over and over again, pair a good battery with a good charger and you should have a long service life out of it. Be sure to charge the battery every time you come in as batteries don't like being discharged for extended periods of time!

Re: Electronics Advice (please post!)

Most inportant thing is to fully charge the battery with a good smart or automatic battery charger asap if you want your battery to last. The longer it is left discharged the sooner it will fail.

How you take care of you battery is far more important than the brand. I suggest a Smart or automatic charger of at least 10 amps.

Re: Electronics Advice (please post!)

ask batterypimp!

Re: Electronics Advice (please post!)

Is your trolling motr 12 or 24v? if its 24 volt i would run a 12/24 system .. 24 to motor, and 12 to accesories such as lights and radio (assuming your radio isnt a super deep bass unit).\

in this case get 2 of the biggest deep cycle batteries you can afford

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if its 12v trolling motor, get the biggest battery possible and see how it works out for you.. if it runs out too quick, simply buy the same battery and hook them both up in parallel + to + and - to -... this will essentially double the life of the battery.

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and buy a decent deep cycle charger. it will prolong the life of those expensive deep cycle batteries.

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Or does the charger store some energy then you hook it up on the lake?

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it doesnt work this way unless you buy a battery storage means, which you dont need or want.

basically you charge the batteries on shore and bring them on the boat.