battery for downriggers
 

Hi again. I am installing 2 downriggers on my boat. I want to run them on a
separate battery. They draw 7amps each. What kind of battery do I need for
a full day of fishing ? Would a portable power pack (33 ah deep cycle) work
?

Thanks again for all the help.

JJ

Go to Wal-Mart and buy a group 27 or 29 deep cycle battery. Probably weighs
2x the battery pack, but has 5x the power supply capability. Costco has
batteries also (I say these 2 because they are among the cheaper places to
buy deep cycles (IMHO). Wal Mart gives 100% free replacement fr 2 years.
Bill

"JJ" wrote in message
...
Hi again. I am installing 2 downriggers on my boat. I want to run them on
a separate battery. They draw 7amps each. What kind of battery do I need
for a full day of fishing ? Would a portable power pack (33 ah deep cycle)
work ?

Thanks again for all the help.

JJ

7 amps * 20% useage (Probably a lot of duty cycle but if you are in
weeds it may be close to 20%) * 2 downriggers * 8 hours of fishing =
22.4 Amp hours....

33 ah would mean you would run the unit down to almost nothing and it
would not last very long. It would also get real weak and slow at the
end of the day.

Take Bill's advice... go buy a group 27 deep cycle battery, a battery
box, some type of rubber rug (to keep it from sliding around and
breaking something) and you will need a 10 AMP automatic battery charger.

BTW... Why a separate battery? Your alternator can easily keep up with
this kind of draw while trolling.... is it a wiring thing?

I would suggest a second battery, switch, etc and run it off the main
engine battery leaving the second one for starting backup...



JJ wrote:
Hi again. I am installing 2 downriggers on my boat. I want to run them on a
separate battery. They draw 7amps each. What kind of battery do I need for
a full day of fishing ? Would a portable power pack (33 ah deep cycle) work
?

Thanks again for all the help.

JJ

Downriggers are used for trolling. If you are trolling, your engine is
running. If your engine is running it is charging the battery. Why do you
want a separate battery? If you're using the kicker and it doesn't have a
charging system then a separate battery might be wise and will only last
according to how many times you bring in your gear!
Gordon
"JJ" wrote in message
...
Hi again. I am installing 2 downriggers on my boat. I want to run them on
a
separate battery. They draw 7amps each. What kind of battery do I need
for
a full day of fishing ? Would a portable power pack (33 ah deep cycle)
work
?

Thanks again for all the help.

JJ

They draw 7amps each. What kind of battery do I need for
a full day of fishing ? Would a portable power pack (33 ah deep cycle)
work


They probably only draw 7 amps when you are hauling them in. (Unless
you're running some hot wire, fish attracting setup).

Let's say you haul the downrigger up for as many as
10 minutes in an hour.......

If my math is right you're using 1/6 of 7 ah.That's not a lot of
electricity

I am using a small 6 hp kicker motor, not my main motor. The kicker does not
have a charging system on it.

jj