adding bilge and locator

[mkrupp]

Well since it won't be long before the lakes freeze here i got the boat out of the water.
Now i was thinking for next year of adding a bilge pump and a fish locator. Now i assume these run off of marine batteries. I have an 86 8 hp rude, no electric start. My question is; will i have to charge my battery often, or add something to my motor to charge the battery, or will they not draw enough anyway to have to even worry about it. Just charge it up in spring and let it go.
I'm not all that electricaly inclined, but i have rebuilt the motor and do all the other service on it so i think it is a job i could handle

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: adding bilge and locator

you can get a 3 switch fused panel. the bilge pump and fish locator can run off the same battery.. i recommend charging the night before going out. the equipment won't draw a lot of electricty, sould easily last a weekend outing. charging is to maintain the battery. here's a simple drawing

 

[pecheux]

Re: adding bilge and locator

There is a nice gadget that can work for you. It,s a portable marine battery that you charge at home via a standard 110 watts wall connection. It is a multi usage gadget. It can handle an electric ob motor and more.

Other way if you have a home battery charger simply buy a small sized battery, (demon)

The fish finder and the bilge pump dont use that much power ... but then you wont get any warning when the battery is low. so better use fresh power.

 

[Chris1956]

Re: adding bilge and locator

mkrupp, First of all get at least a 24 series deep cycle marine battery. There are alternator kits made for motors such as yours, althought I do not know if this one for your exact motor. You can ask a dealer. Many outboards intended to power sailboats (like Honda 10HP) have electric start and alternators.

The fishfinder will not draw much current (1/2 amp/hour or so) from the battery. You could go several fishing trips without charging the battery(maybe a month or two). The bilge pump will draw at least six times that (3 Amp/hour minimum), when it is running. The bottom line is that if it rains a lot, and the boat is uncovered, you will need to charge the battery. If the boat is covered, and you do not get much water in it while fishing, the battery will stay charged, since the bilge pump is not running.

 

[mkrupp]

Re: adding bilge and locator

well thanks a lot for the answers, maybe i will hold off on the bilge and just bail it out. However the fish finder is a must. So i don''t think i will have any problems
thanks again for the input

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: adding bilge and locator

what size is your boat. where and how do you store it. if it rains enough for the bilge to kill the battery, you shouldn't be out in it.

 

[MortenH]

Re: adding bilge and locator

Well - say if you have a small size battery of lets say 60 AH, this means that you can run the bilge pump for 20 hours before the battery is empty. I guess it will have to rain a bit before that is necessary.

The calculation is easy: The amount of AH on the battery says how many amps needed to discharge the battery in one hour - or how many hours you can get 1 A of current from it: 60 AH means 60 A in one hour or 1 A in 60 hours. If your fish finder uses 1/2 A an hour it can run in 120 hours. So its just a matter of calculation.

-M-

 

[fishinrado]

Re: adding bilge and locator

buy a basic -no float- bilge at wallie's $11, simple wiring and switches $7 , used battery from craigslist $25.
finding fish and staying afloat? priceless.........

sorry , had to do it!