Boat and Batteries and Charging, Oh, my!
 

On 3/15/2016 4:22 PM, wrote:
On Tue, 15 Mar 2016 15:54:11 -0500, "Ryan P."
wrote:

On 3/15/2016 2:42 PM, John H. wrote:
On Tue, 15 Mar 2016 11:57:40 -0700 (PDT), Tim wrote:

"
Without an alternator, though, I'm worried about leaving it at a slip.
I have an accessory battery, so I'm not worried about getting
stranded, but running lights and a stereo take up juice. "

Why no alternator? I'm not following...

I'm glad you asked that. I was going to do so, but then thought it might somehow be a
real stupid question.
--

Ban liars, tax cheats, idiots, audiophools, and narcissists...not guns!

I'm the one asking the stupid questions, I'm sure. :) I'm the novice
here, compared to most of you folks.

Okay, I should use the proper terms, I suppose. Its a 1985 Mercury 75.
I do have electric start, but my understanding is that on older
engines, a stator/vr is only to trickle charge the starting battery, and
only does that at high RPMs?


I was guessing that you had one without a charging system. That old 75
has a 9 amp alternator in the stator. If it is working, it will keep
your battery up if you are running it fairly often. It will put out
pretty well at anything much over an idle. (I had one)


But can I link that to the "house" battery? If I jump the starter
battery and the house battery together, won't the house battery draw
down the starter?

Boat and Batteries and Charging, Oh, my!
 

On 3/15/2016 8:07 PM, wrote:
On Tue, 15 Mar 2016 20:32:32 -0400, wrote:

Most shore power posts will have a regular 5-15 on them along with the
240v-50a and/or 120v-30a.
I doubt you are getting a powered slip for $15 tho.
Wayne may stop by, he is the marina guy. I just know what I see

===

It depends entirely on the marina and what kind of boats they cater
to. Most boats over 25 ft or so will have standard twist lock shore
power cables, either 30 amp 120 volts or 50 amp 240 volts. Many of us
carry adapters however for non-standard power outlets like 15 amp 120
volts.


Yeah, this is Castle Rock Lake in Wisconsin. There are a couple small
cuddy cabin boats owned by some rich locals for bragging rights, but
they primarily cater to ski, bass and pontoons.

I think it would be fun to cruise the Wisconsin River, but both
Petenwell and Castle Rock are damned, so at best its a day trip up and
down. Certainly nothing that would require long-term battery.

Boat and Batteries and Charging, Oh, my!
 

On Wed, 16 Mar 2016 08:01:41 -0500, "Ryan P."
wrote:

On 3/15/2016 4:22 PM, wrote:
On Tue, 15 Mar 2016 15:54:11 -0500, "Ryan P."
wrote:

On 3/15/2016 2:42 PM, John H. wrote:
On Tue, 15 Mar 2016 11:57:40 -0700 (PDT), Tim wrote:

"
Without an alternator, though, I'm worried about leaving it at a slip.
I have an accessory battery, so I'm not worried about getting
stranded, but running lights and a stereo take up juice. "

Why no alternator? I'm not following...

I'm glad you asked that. I was going to do so, but then thought it might somehow be a
real stupid question.
--

Ban liars, tax cheats, idiots, audiophools, and narcissists...not guns!

I'm the one asking the stupid questions, I'm sure. :) I'm the novice
here, compared to most of you folks.

Okay, I should use the proper terms, I suppose. Its a 1985 Mercury 75.
I do have electric start, but my understanding is that on older
engines, a stator/vr is only to trickle charge the starting battery, and
only does that at high RPMs?


I was guessing that you had one without a charging system. That old 75
has a 9 amp alternator in the stator. If it is working, it will keep
your battery up if you are running it fairly often. It will put out
pretty well at anything much over an idle. (I had one)


But can I link that to the "house" battery? If I jump the starter
battery and the house battery together, won't the house battery draw
down the starter?

Battery switch or isolator. BTW don't run in "both" on a battery
switch. Charge one, then the other. It is the only way to reliably
charge 2 batteries if you are not using an isolator and still the best
way. Both is really just an artifact of the "make before break" design
of the switch but it might be useful if both batteries are down and
between them you have enough to kick over the motor. It is the only
real use.

Boat and Batteries and Charging, Oh, my!
 

Ryan P. wrote:
On 3/15/2016 11:56 AM, Califbill wrote:
fire man wrote:
"Ryan P." Wrote in message:
With spring almost here, it won't be long until the boat comes out of
its cocoon for its April shake down cruise.

The subject of taking the boat along with us to a family vacation out
in the Wisconsin Dells area came up, and that got me to thinking about
the battery situation.

Its just a small bowrider, so either I'll pull it out each night and
park it by the house, or I'd rent a slip for $15 a night and leave it in
the water for the three days we'd be up there.

Without an alternator, though, I'm worried about leaving it at a slip.
I have an accessory battery, so I'm not worried about getting
stranded, but running lights and a stereo take up juice.

Has anybody here ever used solar charging stations? I see them on
Amazon for between $40 and $200, at least for power levels I might
require. I want something that's easy to stow, so a 5w or 8w flex panel
(roughly 1' x 1') is probably the largest I could go.

I know those are more maintenance charge levels, but I'm thinking that
might be enough to compensate for the 4-5 hours of use the stereo would
get, assuming it has a good portion of the morning in full sun to charge.

Thoughts?


Can you do without the stereo?

Most slips have power available. Especially where bass boats would slip.
Just take along a battery charger or buy a smart charger. Or pull the
battery and take to house and charge. More juice and cheaper than solar.

I'll have to check with the marina. A small smart charger would be
better than solar, absolutely. I just don't remember seeing outlets on
all slips.

I don't really wanna pull the battery... The marina is literally
across the street from the rental house. That's a long walk carrying a
lead box. :)



Small handtruck

Boat and Batteries and Charging, Oh, my!
 

On 3/16/2016 9:01 AM, Ryan P. wrote:
On 3/15/2016 4:22 PM, wrote:
On Tue, 15 Mar 2016 15:54:11 -0500, "Ryan P."
wrote:

On 3/15/2016 2:42 PM, John H. wrote:
On Tue, 15 Mar 2016 11:57:40 -0700 (PDT), Tim
wrote:

"
Without an alternator, though, I'm worried about leaving it at a
slip.
I have an accessory battery, so I'm not worried about getting
stranded, but running lights and a stereo take up juice. "

Why no alternator? I'm not following...

I'm glad you asked that. I was going to do so, but then thought it
might somehow be a
real stupid question.
--

Ban liars, tax cheats, idiots, audiophools, and narcissists...not guns!

I'm the one asking the stupid questions, I'm sure. :) I'm the novice
here, compared to most of you folks.

Okay, I should use the proper terms, I suppose. Its a 1985 Mercury 75.
I do have electric start, but my understanding is that on older
engines, a stator/vr is only to trickle charge the starting battery, and
only does that at high RPMs?


I was guessing that you had one without a charging system. That old 75
has a 9 amp alternator in the stator. If it is working, it will keep
your battery up if you are running it fairly often. It will put out
pretty well at anything much over an idle. (I had one)


But can I link that to the "house" battery? If I jump the starter
battery and the house battery together, won't the house battery draw
down the starter?

Nope. The starter will draw on the battery, and combining batteries
wouldn't be the best thing to do if one of them has a shorted cell or is
grossly depleted. Best thing to do is use a battery selector switch.

Boat and Batteries and Charging, Oh, my!
 

On 3/16/2016 10:36 AM, wrote:
On Wed, 16 Mar 2016 08:01:41 -0500, "Ryan P."
wrote:

On 3/15/2016 4:22 PM, wrote:
On Tue, 15 Mar 2016 15:54:11 -0500, "Ryan P."
wrote:

On 3/15/2016 2:42 PM, John H. wrote:
On Tue, 15 Mar 2016 11:57:40 -0700 (PDT), Tim wrote:

"
Without an alternator, though, I'm worried about leaving it at a slip.
I have an accessory battery, so I'm not worried about getting
stranded, but running lights and a stereo take up juice. "

Why no alternator? I'm not following...

I'm glad you asked that. I was going to do so, but then thought it might somehow be a
real stupid question.
--

Ban liars, tax cheats, idiots, audiophools, and narcissists...not guns!

I'm the one asking the stupid questions, I'm sure. :) I'm the novice
here, compared to most of you folks.

Okay, I should use the proper terms, I suppose. Its a 1985 Mercury 75.
I do have electric start, but my understanding is that on older
engines, a stator/vr is only to trickle charge the starting battery, and
only does that at high RPMs?


I was guessing that you had one without a charging system. That old 75
has a 9 amp alternator in the stator. If it is working, it will keep
your battery up if you are running it fairly often. It will put out
pretty well at anything much over an idle. (I had one)


But can I link that to the "house" battery? If I jump the starter
battery and the house battery together, won't the house battery draw
down the starter?

Battery switch or isolator. BTW don't run in "both" on a battery
switch. Charge one, then the other. It is the only way to reliably
charge 2 batteries if you are not using an isolator and still the best
way. Both is really just an artifact of the "make before break" design
of the switch but it might be useful if both batteries are down and
between them you have enough to kick over the motor. It is the only
real use.


I'll throw a volt meter on the battery and make sure the charging
system is working properly when I take her out of storage in a few
weeks. A battery switch is pretty simple to install... If its really
producing 9amps, that should be more than enough to keep the house
battery alive if I let it charge while pulling kids on the tube or whatever.

Boat and Batteries and Charging, Oh, my!
 

On Wed, 16 Mar 2016 13:34:54 -0500, "Ryan P."
wrote:

On 3/16/2016 10:36 AM, wrote:
On Wed, 16 Mar 2016 08:01:41 -0500, "Ryan P."
wrote:

On 3/15/2016 4:22 PM, wrote:
On Tue, 15 Mar 2016 15:54:11 -0500, "Ryan P."
wrote:

On 3/15/2016 2:42 PM, John H. wrote:
On Tue, 15 Mar 2016 11:57:40 -0700 (PDT), Tim wrote:

"
Without an alternator, though, I'm worried about leaving it at a slip.
I have an accessory battery, so I'm not worried about getting
stranded, but running lights and a stereo take up juice. "

Why no alternator? I'm not following...

I'm glad you asked that. I was going to do so, but then thought it might somehow be a
real stupid question.
--

Ban liars, tax cheats, idiots, audiophools, and narcissists...not guns!

I'm the one asking the stupid questions, I'm sure. :) I'm the novice
here, compared to most of you folks.

Okay, I should use the proper terms, I suppose. Its a 1985 Mercury 75.
I do have electric start, but my understanding is that on older
engines, a stator/vr is only to trickle charge the starting battery, and
only does that at high RPMs?


I was guessing that you had one without a charging system. That old 75
has a 9 amp alternator in the stator. If it is working, it will keep
your battery up if you are running it fairly often. It will put out
pretty well at anything much over an idle. (I had one)


But can I link that to the "house" battery? If I jump the starter
battery and the house battery together, won't the house battery draw
down the starter?

Battery switch or isolator. BTW don't run in "both" on a battery
switch. Charge one, then the other. It is the only way to reliably
charge 2 batteries if you are not using an isolator and still the best
way. Both is really just an artifact of the "make before break" design
of the switch but it might be useful if both batteries are down and
between them you have enough to kick over the motor. It is the only
real use.


I'll throw a volt meter on the battery and make sure the charging
system is working properly when I take her out of storage in a few
weeks. A battery switch is pretty simple to install... If its really
producing 9amps, that should be more than enough to keep the house
battery alive if I let it charge while pulling kids on the tube or whatever.

Boat and Batteries and Charging, Oh, my!
 

On Wed, 16 Mar 2016 13:34:54 -0500, "Ryan P."
wrote:

On 3/16/2016 10:36 AM, wrote:
On Wed, 16 Mar 2016 08:01:41 -0500, "Ryan P."
wrote:

On 3/15/2016 4:22 PM, wrote:
On Tue, 15 Mar 2016 15:54:11 -0500, "Ryan P."
wrote:

On 3/15/2016 2:42 PM, John H. wrote:
On Tue, 15 Mar 2016 11:57:40 -0700 (PDT), Tim wrote:

"
Without an alternator, though, I'm worried about leaving it at a slip.
I have an accessory battery, so I'm not worried about getting
stranded, but running lights and a stereo take up juice. "

Why no alternator? I'm not following...

I'm glad you asked that. I was going to do so, but then thought it might somehow be a
real stupid question.
--

Ban liars, tax cheats, idiots, audiophools, and narcissists...not guns!

I'm the one asking the stupid questions, I'm sure. :) I'm the novice
here, compared to most of you folks.

Okay, I should use the proper terms, I suppose. Its a 1985 Mercury 75.
I do have electric start, but my understanding is that on older
engines, a stator/vr is only to trickle charge the starting battery, and
only does that at high RPMs?


I was guessing that you had one without a charging system. That old 75
has a 9 amp alternator in the stator. If it is working, it will keep
your battery up if you are running it fairly often. It will put out
pretty well at anything much over an idle. (I had one)


But can I link that to the "house" battery? If I jump the starter
battery and the house battery together, won't the house battery draw
down the starter?

Battery switch or isolator. BTW don't run in "both" on a battery
switch. Charge one, then the other. It is the only way to reliably
charge 2 batteries if you are not using an isolator and still the best
way. Both is really just an artifact of the "make before break" design
of the switch but it might be useful if both batteries are down and
between them you have enough to kick over the motor. It is the only
real use.


I'll throw a volt meter on the battery and make sure the charging
system is working properly when I take her out of storage in a few
weeks. A battery switch is pretty simple to install... If its really
producing 9amps, that should be more than enough to keep the house
battery alive if I let it charge while pulling kids on the tube or whatever.

If you install a voltage meter on the motor side of the battery
switch, you can monitor the one it is charging and get a very good
idea of the state of the charge. Those are fairly primitive systems
and most don't even have regulators so when the voltage gets up around
14, the battery is charged. Switch over to the other one.

Boat and Batteries and Charging, Oh, my!
 

Ryan P. wrote:
On 3/16/2016 10:36 AM, wrote:
On Wed, 16 Mar 2016 08:01:41 -0500, "Ryan P."
wrote:

On 3/15/2016 4:22 PM, wrote:
On Tue, 15 Mar 2016 15:54:11 -0500, "Ryan P."
wrote:

On 3/15/2016 2:42 PM, John H. wrote:
On Tue, 15 Mar 2016 11:57:40 -0700 (PDT), Tim
wrote:

"
Without an alternator, though, I'm worried about leaving it
at a slip.
I have an accessory battery, so I'm not worried about getting
stranded, but running lights and a stereo take up juice. "

Why no alternator? I'm not following...

I'm glad you asked that. I was going to do so, but then thought
it might somehow be a
real stupid question.
--

Ban liars, tax cheats, idiots, audiophools, and narcissists...not
guns!

I'm the one asking the stupid questions, I'm sure. :) I'm the novice
here, compared to most of you folks.

Okay, I should use the proper terms, I suppose. Its a 1985
Mercury 75.
I do have electric start, but my understanding is that on older
engines, a stator/vr is only to trickle charge the starting
battery, and
only does that at high RPMs?


I was guessing that you had one without a charging system. That old 75
has a 9 amp alternator in the stator. If it is working, it will keep
your battery up if you are running it fairly often. It will put out
pretty well at anything much over an idle. (I had one)


But can I link that to the "house" battery? If I jump the starter
battery and the house battery together, won't the house battery draw
down the starter?

Battery switch or isolator. BTW don't run in "both" on a battery
switch. Charge one, then the other. It is the only way to reliably
charge 2 batteries if you are not using an isolator and still the best
way. Both is really just an artifact of the "make before break" design
of the switch but it might be useful if both batteries are down and
between them you have enough to kick over the motor. It is the only
real use.


I'll throw a volt meter on the battery and make sure the charging
system is working properly when I take her out of storage in a few
weeks. A battery switch is pretty simple to install... If its really
producing 9amps, that should be more than enough to keep the house
battery alive if I let it charge while pulling kids on the tube or
whatever.



What you need for your application is a battery combiner. I have one on
my bass boat and it works great. It will keep the starting battery
topped off and then switch to the house battery - or in my case the
deep-cycle trolling motor battery. Here's just one example:

http://www.charlesindustries.com/main/battcom.html

Boat and Batteries and Charging, Oh, my!
 

On 3/16/2016 6:53 PM, Alex wrote:
Ryan P. wrote:
On 3/16/2016 10:36 AM, wrote:
On Wed, 16 Mar 2016 08:01:41 -0500, "Ryan P."
wrote:

On 3/15/2016 4:22 PM, wrote:
On Tue, 15 Mar 2016 15:54:11 -0500, "Ryan P."
wrote:

On 3/15/2016 2:42 PM, John H. wrote:
On Tue, 15 Mar 2016 11:57:40 -0700 (PDT), Tim
wrote:

"
Without an alternator, though, I'm worried about leaving it
at a slip.
I have an accessory battery, so I'm not worried about getting
stranded, but running lights and a stereo take up juice. "

Why no alternator? I'm not following...

I'm glad you asked that. I was going to do so, but then thought
it might somehow be a
real stupid question.
--

Ban liars, tax cheats, idiots, audiophools, and narcissists...not
guns!

I'm the one asking the stupid questions, I'm sure. :) I'm the novice
here, compared to most of you folks.

Okay, I should use the proper terms, I suppose. Its a 1985
Mercury 75.
I do have electric start, but my understanding is that on older
engines, a stator/vr is only to trickle charge the starting
battery, and
only does that at high RPMs?


I was guessing that you had one without a charging system. That old 75
has a 9 amp alternator in the stator. If it is working, it will keep
your battery up if you are running it fairly often. It will put out
pretty well at anything much over an idle. (I had one)


But can I link that to the "house" battery? If I jump the starter
battery and the house battery together, won't the house battery draw
down the starter?

Battery switch or isolator. BTW don't run in "both" on a battery
switch. Charge one, then the other. It is the only way to reliably
charge 2 batteries if you are not using an isolator and still the best
way. Both is really just an artifact of the "make before break" design
of the switch but it might be useful if both batteries are down and
between them you have enough to kick over the motor. It is the only
real use.


I'll throw a volt meter on the battery and make sure the charging
system is working properly when I take her out of storage in a few
weeks. A battery switch is pretty simple to install... If its really
producing 9amps, that should be more than enough to keep the house
battery alive if I let it charge while pulling kids on the tube or
whatever.



What you need for your application is a battery combiner. I have one on
my bass boat and it works great. It will keep the starting battery
topped off and then switch to the house battery - or in my case the
deep-cycle trolling motor battery. Here's just one example:

http://www.charlesindustries.com/main/battcom.html

Not bad... Just an automatic battery switch, really... For a bass
boat application, or other short-run situations, do you think its
necessary to have a voltage regulator for the deep cycle?