what size of battery

[ljcatman]

i have a sea nymph 14 ft aluminum boat with a 1972 mercury 9.8 hp motor. i want to run my stern lights & bow lights with a fish finder what size of battery do i need to run this when night fishing. and can i put a battery charging system on there i don't think my motor can charge it. and wiil one battery work or do i need two batteries

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: what size of battery

i would buy the largest capacity group 24 Deep Cycle battery you can afford, also important is the recharge as soon as possible, after use. they do not like to sit in a discharge state. it cuts the life of the battery.

 

[mthieme]

Re: what size of battery

TD - good advice.
I have done the exact same thing on my 14' with a 35 Merc, fish finder and lights. This works great for me.
My charging system is not 100% - got a new charging stator and rectifier waiting on the workbench when she goes into drydock for the season. I've had to charge the battery twice this season.

 

[jlinder]

Re: what size of battery

I would suggest you also go to LED lights for better battery life.. That really cuts the drain from the lights.

That can be as simple as replacing the bulbs in your current lights with LED replacements.

 

[ljcatman]

Re: what size of battery

so to change to led lights i don't have to change my wiring or nothing just change bulbs to led right

 

[BillP]

Re: what size of battery

How much $$$ do you want to spend? Anyway, even a small group 24 deep cycle will work for a few days at a time on this application without charging. Deep cycles can sit long periods discharged without hurting life span but flooded batts can't. They cost a lot more too.

A cheap flooded cell battery will also work fine if you don't discharge it more than approx 30-40% before recharging...these have to be recharged quickly thereafter to keep from greatly reducing their life. Cost is half of a deep cycle.

Calculate the total amp draw and buy a battery based on that usage. It's the best way to size a battery correctly.

bp

 

[ljcatman]

Re: what size of battery

what do you mean by flooded cell battery