Turning Point
Recruit
- Joined
- Nov 17, 2009
- Messages
- 3
Hi Guys & Gals,
Have a (silly) question for you experienced motorheads. I have a "86 60 HP Mariner with trim & tilt. 19' Starcraft Superfisherman boat. I fish on the Great Lakes a lot. I run a lot of extra equipment (downriggers, power planer board reels, autopilot). I have the chartplotter/fish finder and radio on a separate stand alone deep cycle battery to eliminate interference. I constantly charge both batteries (the deep cycle and the starting battery) upon returning from fishing. The 60 hp engine can't possibly keep up with the load requirements I run on the starting battery. When I put the charger on the battery it usually reads that the battery is 50% discharged. It is an Optima gel starting battery, 4 years old.
The question is this- can I put another dual purpose (starting & deep cycle) battery in series on this battery, retain 12 volt current for the absolutely necessary fishing goodies, and expect the motor to somewhat charge the system? I am beginning to believe that no matter what, my demands for electrical power are too much for the motor and I am destined to live a life of constant recharging the batteries.
Thanks for your input in advance,
Chuck
Have a (silly) question for you experienced motorheads. I have a "86 60 HP Mariner with trim & tilt. 19' Starcraft Superfisherman boat. I fish on the Great Lakes a lot. I run a lot of extra equipment (downriggers, power planer board reels, autopilot). I have the chartplotter/fish finder and radio on a separate stand alone deep cycle battery to eliminate interference. I constantly charge both batteries (the deep cycle and the starting battery) upon returning from fishing. The 60 hp engine can't possibly keep up with the load requirements I run on the starting battery. When I put the charger on the battery it usually reads that the battery is 50% discharged. It is an Optima gel starting battery, 4 years old.
The question is this- can I put another dual purpose (starting & deep cycle) battery in series on this battery, retain 12 volt current for the absolutely necessary fishing goodies, and expect the motor to somewhat charge the system? I am beginning to believe that no matter what, my demands for electrical power are too much for the motor and I am destined to live a life of constant recharging the batteries.
Thanks for your input in advance,
Chuck