Trolling battery powering bildge pump for bait tank?

Hello all. I just made a bait tank from a 5 gal bucket with a 500gph bildge pump with aprox. 4 feet of hose from pump to bucket. I ran 16 gauge wire neg and pos from the pump aprox 14 feet to a rocker switch. From the switch another 5 feet to the battery. My question is do I need a fuse between the battery and switch also is my deep cycle marine battery efficient enough to run the pump for 10 hrs? Also will I loose power to the pump with that much wire. Thanks also how long should I charge that battery at a 10 amp trickle

Re: Trolling battery powering bildge pump for bait tank?

Yes, you need a fuse at the battery. Almost any size marine deep cycle battery will run the pump for 10 hours. You will lose some power but it will be insignificant. Ten amps is not a trickle. If you don't have a automatic charger, you need to get one. Leave the charger on for 24 hours if possible.

Re: Trolling battery powering bildge pump for bait tank?

VerY good I will put a inline fuse. What size? Also what is the problem with the charger I have? Can I use it and if so how long to charge, kinda broke can't really afford anything else lol.

Re: Trolling battery powering bildge pump for bait tank?

10 amps is not a trickle. Your charger will not charge at 10 amps continuouisly. How long it needs to charge depends on how discharged the battery is. Sort of like taking water out of a bucket. How much you put back in depends on how much you took out. Since you are running a trolling motor and the pump (which runs continuously??) you may not get anywhere near 10 hours of use. If it is running only the pump yes. Both is questionable and again, it depends on the type, size and condition of the troller battery. A big battery runs things longer than a small one. A good battery runs one longer than one that is near the end of its life.

Re: Trolling battery powering bildge pump for bait tank?

Krs1 said:

VerY good I will put a inline fuse. What size? Also what is the problem with the charger I have? Can I use it and if so how long to charge, kinda broke can't really afford anything else lol.

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If you are running 16g. wire just stick a 5amp fuse in there(On the 16 guage wire, not trolling motor) You are only using around 1.5amps to run the bilge.