battery charging system

[ifishy]

so i bought a new to me boat.  It has a standard starting battery that everything is hooked to that works fine.  The first thing that I did was to add my small honda outboard as a kicker.  This means when I troll the electronics run on the battery with no charge going to it and it slowly drains.  I keep an eye on the voltage and occasionally start the main to charge it.  the honda has a 12 V charging system built in.  I ordered the plug and its in the mail.  My question is can I get some copper cables and hook the charging plug direct to the battery or do i need some sort of charging unit in between?  also what guage wire should i get for this.  I also have a deep cycle battery that I keep both as a spare and for the electric troller (rarely used).  should i just unhook the electronics from the main and run them to the deep cycle up front?  can i hook the charging cables direct to the deep cycle.  Right now I only have the graph/gps that runs full time than the bilge and radio and such but i intend to get electric riggers by the end of this season or early next season.  I would rather have the electric set up ahead of time for that.  my previous boat only had the honda which was a pull start and the only electronic was a graph which could run on the battery for about a week straight so i dont know much about this.

[dick black]

you have a lot going on there! I'll try to help, been thru this a hundred times. These are my opinions and suggestions only, I believe these to be a safe and positive remedy for your situation, others may disagree and that's OK, each to his own--here goes. No.1 you need 2 matching batteries, I prefer dual purpose marine batteries, preferably made in the USA. They hold up well and withstand many chargings. NO.2 A Perko  1-2-all, on/off disconnect switch. This switch does the obvious= on = off and allows you to run on battery no.1 or no.2 or both, I am a firm believer that the electricial system should be shut off at the end of the day. I want my boats main breaker-fuse box wired to bat. no.1 via disconnect switch. On this circuit is main engine, nav lites, fans, blowers, interior lites, horn ect. Battery no2 will have a second fuse/breaker box with my depth finder, downriggers. whatever other equipment you have for fishing. I isolate my batterys while I am fishing so I always have a fully charged battery to start my main motor to go home with. If you keep your boat in the water, I would install a bilge pump with a automatic float switch, wired directly to the main battery via a inline fuse.  All this is really pretty simple and just common sense, if your uncomfortable with this I would consult a certified marine mechanic, hope this helps  tight lines    Blackie

[jimski2]

The fuse on the second battery should be close to the battery on the positive terminal lead. I smelled electrical wire burning one day when the insulation frayed on that wire and melted. Also there are different battery disconnect switches. The better one disconnects the alternator wire first when switching the batteries when the engine is running. It prevents the diodes from surging high amperage current when no voltage is present and will burn out the diodes. If you use the simpler switch always shut your engine down before switching.

[ray koziatek]

I had a 8hp honda with a 6 amp 90% of the time it would keep the main charged, but on dead calm days with low rpm's the output would fall behind of the load ..all i used was the side plug off the honda with 14 ga wire with a couple clips to hook to the main battery..ran a single battery for 15 years  ....

[Chas0218]

If you do set it up with a switch DO NOT switch batteries while either your main motor or kicker are running.  You can damage the switch or your electronics on the motor.

[ifishy]

so i keep the boat on the trailer it does have an auto bilge.  This is important because there are some leaky rivits.  that is my next project and am planning on a wire brush and some gflex 650 epoxy to seal them.  I am lucky in that i have the extra deep cycle from my old electric motor.  I think for the short term I will take ray K's post to heard and run the side plug from the honda right to the spare battery and switch the fuse box for the accessorys from the main to the spare.  that way the stuff thats on when trolling is on one system and the main has its own battery to start off of.  Long term I like the thought of the selector switch and will put that on the list.  I have to select my projects on a budget. I did a ton of work on my little 14 footer but this boat is more involved so i feel like i'm starting back at zero with knowledge.  Thank you for your help its nice to hear from those who have been through it.

[jimski2]

Your fish finder has a lot of interference from the alternator when running especially at high speed. Hook it up to another battery and you will have a clearer picture. Lowrance graphs shut off automatically when the voltage falls to ten volts. Then you can switch over to your starting battery.

[Sk8man]

I keep an extra bilge pump with a length of flexible hose on it  with alligator type clips attached (so I can hook it to either battery in an emergency or to help someone else out) but I've never had a drop of water in my boat thus far ever so maybe its main function is psychological at this point

Edited May 8, 2015 by Sk8man

[Chas0218]

I keep an extra bilge pump with a length of flexible hose on it  with alligator type clips attached (so I can hook it to either battery in an emergency or to help someone else out) but I've never had a drop of water in my boat thus far ever so maybe its main function is psychological at this point

This is a great idea and definitely worth doing. I had a bilge pump fail and no back up and almost sunk my boat, thank god for flotation foam.  Make sure the backup pump is a big one in the 1000 gph or larger.

 

My boat is as dry as a bone now, one of the chines had a 6' crack that only opened when sitting in the water running it was fine.  I don't keep my boat in the water but I would fix those rivets it would be pretty cheap and no longer a wet hull.

 

http://www.lakeontariounited.com/fishing-hunting/topic/28559-solid-blind-pop-rivets-for-aluminum-hull-repair/

Here is an old thread on fixing rivets.

Edited May 8, 2015 by Chas0218