ELECTRIC ONLY LAKE - BATTERY SUGGESTIONS, PLEASE
 

Need to get a new battery for a small pontoon boat used on a small
electric only lake. The motor in a Minnekota. Was hoping to learn
about some light weight battery/batteries, or some way of not having to
carry those batteries on a regular basis to be charged. (Not aging
gracefully, and the bad backs aren't getting any better with the
years.) Appreciated any suggestions! thanks

ELECTRIC ONLY LAKE - BATTERY SUGGESTIONS, PLEASE
 

"crystal11509" wrote in message
oups.com...
Need to get a new battery for a small pontoon boat used on a small
electric only lake. The motor in a Minnekota. Was hoping to learn
about some light weight battery/batteries, or some way of not having to
carry those batteries on a regular basis to be charged. (Not aging
gracefully, and the bad backs aren't getting any better with the
years.) Appreciated any suggestions! thanks


Where's the boat docked? Your property? Marina? How long would you hope to
cruise (in hours) on any given day? Which model motor? Have you been to the
mfr's site to look at their estimates for running time with certain
batteries?

ELECTRIC ONLY LAKE - BATTERY SUGGESTIONS, PLEASE
 

We live at the lake, so the boat is in front of the house (about 100
feet). I believe the trolling motor is a Minnekota Endura. I'll have
to check their web site for specs.

Thanks for your replies. I wind generator - how clever is that??

ELECTRIC ONLY LAKE - BATTERY SUGGESTIONS, PLEASE
 

"crystal11509" wrote in message
ups.com...
We live at the lake, so the boat is in front of the house (about 100
feet). I believe the trolling motor is a Minnekota Endura. I'll have
to check their web site for specs.

Thanks for your replies. I wind generator - how clever is that??


Sounds exactly like the setup at a lodge where I stay each summer. 100-ish
feet from back door to the dock. I'm asking because "lightweight" and "the
battery that will do the best job" might be mutually exclusive concepts,
depending on HOW LONG (in hours) you expect to be cruising with your
trolling motor. So, the solution is to buy a typical, big and heavy battery,
and roll out an extension cord to the boat when necessary, with a charge on
the end of it.

ELECTRIC ONLY LAKE - BATTERY SUGGESTIONS, PLEASE
 

Personally, I spend as much time as possible out on the lake trolling.
The reason we usually come head back is that the battery is low. I
have tried the extension cord to the boat in the past. One day - much
to my horror - I had unexpected visitors - about five young boys who
were playing in the water, on the boat, while the charger was on.....No
one was hurt, but the episode makes me fear the extension cord idea.

Also, could you use a regular kind of extension cord, or do you need
some heavy duty cord to go that far? Thanks for any suggestions.

ELECTRIC ONLY LAKE - BATTERY SUGGESTIONS, PLEASE
 

"Doug Kanter" wrote in message
...

"crystal11509" wrote in message
ups.com...
We live at the lake, so the boat is in front of the house (about 100
feet). I believe the trolling motor is a Minnekota Endura. I'll have
to check their web site for specs.

Thanks for your replies. I wind generator - how clever is that??


Sounds exactly like the setup at a lodge where I stay each summer. 100-ish
feet from back door to the dock. I'm asking because "lightweight" and "the
battery that will do the best job" might be mutually exclusive concepts,
depending on HOW LONG (in hours) you expect to be cruising with your
trolling motor. So, the solution is to buy a typical, big and heavy
battery, and roll out an extension cord to the boat when necessary, with a
charge on the end of it.


Ooops: chargER on the end of it.

ELECTRIC ONLY LAKE - BATTERY SUGGESTIONS, PLEASE
 

"crystal11509" wrote in message
oups.com...
Personally, I spend as much time as possible out on the lake trolling.
The reason we usually come head back is that the battery is low. I
have tried the extension cord to the boat in the past. One day - much
to my horror - I had unexpected visitors - about five young boys who
were playing in the water, on the boat, while the charger was on.....No
one was hurt, but the episode makes me fear the extension cord idea.

So, secure the cord, and use just one continuous cord, no plugging two short
ones together.


Also, could you use a regular kind of extension cord, or do you need
some heavy duty cord to go that far? Thanks for any suggestions.


Yes - the longer the cord, the heavier it will be, generally speaking. Check
out the selection at places like Home Depot or Lowe's. The point here is
that if you think you're going to get away with using a little gel cell
battery, you're fooling yourself.

ELECTRIC ONLY LAKE - BATTERY SUGGESTIONS, PLEASE
 

crystal11509 wrote:
Personally, I spend as much time as possible out on the lake trolling.
The reason we usually come head back is that the battery is low.

A solar panel might serve two functions- extend your
trolling time and also keep the battery on a float or
trickle charge so it is fully topped of when you get ready
to go.

I saw your original question about light weight batteries...
unfortunately there ain't no such animal. In fact it seems
to me that your best option is to figure out a way of build
in a battery try to hold two (or more) batteries for great
range & duration; this would have to include a "smart"
charger to keep them working well.

Batteries themselves need not be expensive, the most bang
for the buck is golf cart batteries from the farm & truck
supply store... but you can also get 12V deep cycle
batteries from there (or other sources, such as Batties Plus
franchise store) and avoid paying "marine" prices.

... I
have tried the extension cord to the boat in the past. One day - much
to my horror - I had unexpected visitors - about five young boys who
were playing in the water, on the boat, while the charger was on.....No
one was hurt, but the episode makes me fear the extension cord idea.


Why? If the cord is properly grounded, no problem. And as
Doug Kanter says, avoid having a string of extension cords
plugged into each other to reach the boat. That's bad for
several reasons even if the plug(s) don't hang in the water.


Also, could you use a regular kind of extension cord, or do you need
some heavy duty cord to go that far? Thanks for any suggestions.


The longer the cord, the heavier gage it has to be. There
are charts to tell you just how heavy, first you'll need to
know the watt load. I'd suggest making up a cord yourself
with triplex wire & plugs from Home Depot or such.

Here is a pretty good starting reference. If you don't read
anything else on this web page, check out the description of
why deep cycle batteries are called that and the section on
charging... that is very important, in fact most battery
problems are really charger problems.

http://www.windsun.com/Batteries/Battery_FAQ.htm

Fair Skies
Doug King

ELECTRIC ONLY LAKE - BATTERY SUGGESTIONS, PLEASE
 

"crystal11509" wrote in message
oups.com...
Need to get a new battery for a small pontoon boat used on a small
electric only lake. The motor in a Minnekota. Was hoping to learn
about some light weight battery/batteries, or some way of not having to
carry those batteries on a regular basis to be charged. (Not aging
gracefully, and the bad backs aren't getting any better with the
years.) Appreciated any suggestions! thanks


AGM technology is what you want. Almost no self discharge and a faster
recharge among other advantages over a traditional flooded cell battery. I
like these:

http://www.lifelinebatteries.com/marine.php

ELECTRIC ONLY LAKE - BATTERY SUGGESTIONS, PLEASE
 

"crystal11509" wrote in message
oups.com...
Personally, I spend as much time as possible out on the lake trolling.
The reason we usually come head back is that the battery is low. I
have tried the extension cord to the boat in the past. One day - much
to my horror - I had unexpected visitors - about five young boys who
were playing in the water, on the boat, while the charger was on.....No
one was hurt, but the episode makes me fear the extension cord idea.

Also, could you use a regular kind of extension cord, or do you need
some heavy duty cord to go that far? Thanks for any suggestions.


Install a GFI receptacle at the house. Then no fear of stray current
hurting the kids.

ELECTRIC ONLY LAKE - BATTERY SUGGESTIONS, PLEASE
 

Thanks everyone for your input. You've all been very helpful. I'll
read everything suggested. Thanks again.

ELECTRIC ONLY LAKE - BATTERY SUGGESTIONS, PLEASE
 

"crystal11509" wrote in message
oups.com...
Thanks everyone for your input. You've all been very helpful. I'll
read everything suggested. Thanks again.


Of course, you could always get a hand truck or little red wagon to roll the
batteries up to the house for charging. But, you'd still need to lift them
into the wagon.

ELECTRIC ONLY LAKE - BATTERY SUGGESTIONS, PLEASE
 

crystal11509 wrote:
Need to get a new battery for a small pontoon boat used on a small
electric only lake. The motor in a Minnekota. Was hoping to learn
about some light weight battery/batteries, or some way of not having to
carry those batteries on a regular basis to be charged. (Not aging
gracefully, and the bad backs aren't getting any better with the
years.) Appreciated any suggestions! thanks

What's about the idea of having two 6-volt batteries in serie to make
up a 12-volt system? I assume that a 6-volt battery should be lighter
than a 12-volt battery, and you may be able to handle it. I am not an
expert in this area. I am just wondering whether this idea may work
for you.

Jay Chan

ELECTRIC ONLY LAKE - BATTERY SUGGESTIONS, PLEASE
 

In article .com,
says...

Need to get a new battery for a small pontoon boat used on a small
electric only lake. The motor in a Minnekota. Was hoping to learn
about some light weight battery/batteries, or some way of not having to
carry those batteries on a regular basis to be charged. (Not aging
gracefully, and the bad backs aren't getting any better with the
years.) Appreciated any suggestions! thanks


Personally I would go with some monster sized extra heavy duty
deep cycle trolling batteries. Leave them permanently mounted
during the normal season in good quality water shedding battery
boxes. Now you only need to move them twice a year, once to and
once from the boat and you will thank yourself for the extra
capacity. Now the hard part,,

You will want to charge the batteries while on the boat so buy
an 'intellegent charger', one that can do high rate at first, then
automatically kick back to trickle or finish charge. Find an
electrician freind and have him/her set up a nice dockside
approved outlet and ground the hell out of it at the dock location!!!
I wouldn't even carry the ground from your home. A typical
home ground/neutral can be a volt or two above REAL ground and
will cause untold electrolosys at your boat if any metal portion
of your boat is grounded to 'your house ground' and is also in the
water. Now you can run a nice 'Shore cord' made of SJO type wire
from your boat to your 'Power outlet pedastel' on shore, and fear
not, no one will be electrocuted!!

Best wishes, sorry my english is bad, I speak icelandic.

ELECTRIC ONLY LAKE - BATTERY SUGGESTIONS, PLEASE
 

"Gudmundur" wrote in message
.. .

Find an
electrician freind and have him/her set up a nice dockside
approved outlet and ground the hell out of it at the dock location!!!
I wouldn't even carry the ground from your home. A typical
home ground/neutral can be a volt or two above REAL ground and
will cause untold electrolosys at your boat if any metal portion
of your boat is grounded to 'your house ground' and is also in the
water. Now you can run a nice 'Shore cord' made of SJO type wire
from your boat to your 'Power outlet pedastel' on shore, and fear
not, no one will be electrocuted!!

All good ideas.


Best wishes, sorry my english is bad, I speak icelandic.

You must be kidding. Our president never could have communicated the ideas
in your message. Your English is fine.

ELECTRIC ONLY LAKE - BATTERY SUGGESTIONS, PLEASE
 

"Doug Kanter" wrote in message
...
"Gudmundur" wrote in message
.. .

Find an
electrician freind and have him/her set up a nice dockside
approved outlet and ground the hell out of it at the dock location!!!
I wouldn't even carry the ground from your home. A typical
home ground/neutral can be a volt or two above REAL ground and
will cause untold electrolosys at your boat if any metal portion
of your boat is grounded to 'your house ground' and is also in the
water. Now you can run a nice 'Shore cord' made of SJO type wire
from your boat to your 'Power outlet pedastel' on shore, and fear
not, no one will be electrocuted!!

All good ideas.


Best wishes, sorry my english is bad, I speak icelandic.

You must be kidding. Our president never could have communicated the ideas
in your message. Your English is fine.


You have not heard the latest tourism ads for Iceland. They are a language
tutorial on Icelandic. Same as English. Good advert.

ELECTRIC ONLY LAKE - BATTERY SUGGESTIONS, PLEASE
 

Calif Bill wrote:
"Doug Kanter" wrote in message
...

"Gudmundur" wrote in message
...


Find an
electrician freind and have him/her set up a nice dockside
approved outlet and ground the hell out of it at the dock location!!!
I wouldn't even carry the ground from your home. A typical
home ground/neutral can be a volt or two above REAL ground and
will cause untold electrolosys at your boat if any metal portion
of your boat is grounded to 'your house ground' and is also in the
water. Now you can run a nice 'Shore cord' made of SJO type wire
from your boat to your 'Power outlet pedastel' on shore, and fear
not, no one will be electrocuted!!

All good ideas.



Best wishes, sorry my english is bad, I speak icelandic.

You must be kidding. Our president never could have communicated the ideas
in your message. Your English is fine.



You have not heard the latest tourism ads for Iceland. They are a language
tutorial on Icelandic. Same as English. Good advert.


Icelandic Airways used to provide a regular service here until a few
years ago. It was a loss when they stopped. Icelandic women liked to
come and shop... as goods here were much cheaper than at home (our
dollar was low then) and we got to see these groups of beautiful
Icelandic women roaming around downtown & shopping malls.
They did stand out.

ELECTRIC ONLY LAKE - BATTERY SUGGESTIONS, PLEASE
 

Calif Bill wrote:
"crystal11509" wrote in message
oups.com...

Personally, I spend as much time as possible out on the lake trolling.
The reason we usually come head back is that the battery is low. I
have tried the extension cord to the boat in the past. One day - much
to my horror - I had unexpected visitors - about five young boys who
were playing in the water, on the boat, while the charger was on.....No
one was hurt, but the episode makes me fear the extension cord idea.

Also, could you use a regular kind of extension cord, or do you need
some heavy duty cord to go that far? Thanks for any suggestions.



Install a GFI receptacle at the house. Then no fear of stray current
hurting the kids.



Good point. These are also available as a potable device that can be
plugged into any outlet. Here's just one example:

http://www.colemancable.com/CatalogP...ProductsID=189

Dan

ELECTRIC ONLY LAKE - BATTERY SUGGESTIONS, PLEASE
 

crystal11509 wrote:

Personally, I spend as much time as possible out on the lake trolling.
The reason we usually come head back is that the battery is low. I
have tried the extension cord to the boat in the past. One day - much
to my horror - I had unexpected visitors - about five young boys who
were playing in the water, on the boat, while the charger was on.....No
one was hurt, but the episode makes me fear the extension cord idea.

Also, could you use a regular kind of extension cord, or do you need
some heavy duty cord to go that far? Thanks for any suggestions.


A 12/3 extension cord 100' long will run you $40 or so. That is enough
to get the job done. 14ga and 16ga from the local Home Depot probably
aren't enough and not worth the small savings.

Dan

ELECTRIC ONLY LAKE - BATTERY SUGGESTIONS, PLEASE
 

"Don White" wrote in message
...
Calif Bill wrote:
"Doug Kanter" wrote in message
...

"Gudmundur" wrote in message
m...


Find an
electrician freind and have him/her set up a nice dockside
approved outlet and ground the hell out of it at the dock location!!!
I wouldn't even carry the ground from your home. A typical
home ground/neutral can be a volt or two above REAL ground and
will cause untold electrolosys at your boat if any metal portion
of your boat is grounded to 'your house ground' and is also in the
water. Now you can run a nice 'Shore cord' made of SJO type wire
from your boat to your 'Power outlet pedastel' on shore, and fear
not, no one will be electrocuted!!

All good ideas.



Best wishes, sorry my english is bad, I speak icelandic.

You must be kidding. Our president never could have communicated the
ideas in your message. Your English is fine.



You have not heard the latest tourism ads for Iceland. They are a
language tutorial on Icelandic. Same as English. Good advert.
Icelandic Airways used to provide a regular service here until a few years
ago. It was a loss when they stopped. Icelandic women liked to come and
shop... as goods here were much cheaper than at home (our dollar was low
then) and we got to see these groups of beautiful Icelandic women roaming
around downtown & shopping malls.
They did stand out.

Yrs they do. Used to have a co worker from Iceland. His sister rated an 11
on a 10 scale.

ELECTRIC ONLY LAKE - BATTERY SUGGESTIONS, PLEASE
 

Dan Krueger writes:

A 12/3 extension cord 100' long will run you $40 or so. That is enough
to get the job done. 14ga and 16ga from the local Home Depot probably
aren't enough and not worth the small savings.

Not so. The battery charger is a very small load.

ELECTRIC ONLY LAKE - BATTERY SUGGESTIONS, PLEASE
 

Add at least 1 more battery, and add an on-board charger, Get a long, heavy
duty extension cord (12 ga) with a GFI safety circuit. I would plug the cord
into a GFI protected outlet as well, to be extra sure.

You could also bury 1" plastic conduit and run 12 ga wire out to your dock
for a GFI outlet.



"crystal11509" wrote in message
oups.com...
Need to get a new battery for a small pontoon boat used on a small
electric only lake. The motor in a Minnekota. Was hoping to learn
about some light weight battery/batteries, or some way of not having to
carry those batteries on a regular basis to be charged. (Not aging
gracefully, and the bad backs aren't getting any better with the
years.) Appreciated any suggestions! thanks

ELECTRIC ONLY LAKE - BATTERY SUGGESTIONS, PLEASE
 

"Richard J Kinch" wrote in message
. ..
Dan Krueger writes:

A 12/3 extension cord 100' long will run you $40 or so. That is enough
to get the job done. 14ga and 16ga from the local Home Depot probably
aren't enough and not worth the small savings.

Not so. The battery charger is a very small load.

What if she wants to use the cord for something else at some point? It's
dumb to buy a cord that long in a gauge too light for future endeavors.

ELECTRIC ONLY LAKE - BATTERY SUGGESTIONS, PLEASE
 

"crystal11509" wrote in message
oups.com...
Need to get a new battery for a small pontoon boat used on a small
electric only lake. The motor in a Minnekota. Was hoping to learn
about some light weight battery/batteries, or some way of not having to
carry those batteries on a regular basis to be charged. (Not aging
gracefully, and the bad backs aren't getting any better with the
years.) Appreciated any suggestions! thanks

Get a small 200 watt Honda generator and remove muffler. Have it running
when you are fishing to annoy the neighbors who made that ridiculous rule in
the first place.

ELECTRIC ONLY LAKE - BATTERY SUGGESTIONS, PLEASE
 

Richard J Kinch wrote:
Dan Krueger writes:


A 12/3 extension cord 100' long will run you $40 or so. That is enough
to get the job done. 14ga and 16ga from the local Home Depot probably
aren't enough and not worth the small savings.


Not so. The battery charger is a very small load.


I was gonna say..... you could run a 15 amp tool off that 12 ga
extension cord.

ELECTRIC ONLY LAKE - BATTERY SUGGESTIONS, PLEASE
 

"Shortwave Sportfishing" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 07 Apr 2006 11:30:42 GMT, "Doug Kanter"
wrote:


"Richard J Kinch" wrote in message
1...
Dan Krueger writes:

A 12/3 extension cord 100' long will run you $40 or so. That is enough
to get the job done. 14ga and 16ga from the local Home Depot probably
aren't enough and not worth the small savings.

Not so. The battery charger is a very small load.

What if she wants to use the cord for something else at some point? It's
dumb to buy a cord that long in a gauge too light for future endeavors.

Agreed. - Always buy the heaviest extension cord available for the
length. All of mine are 12 ga. and I have one 10 ga which I bought at
an auction.

Heavy sucker.

Don't start with me, Tom. Just don't.


:)

ELECTRIC ONLY LAKE - BATTERY SUGGESTIONS, PLEASE
 

"Mys Terry" wrote in message
...
The distance in this case is a pretty important factor. I don't think
a 15 amp "tool" is going to be very happy on a 100 foot 12 gauge cord.


You're correct. To have a not greater than 3% voltage drop, a 15 amp load
on a 100 foot cable would require #8 wire.
See http://www.elec-toolbox.com/calculators/voltdrop.htm for a voltage drop
calculator.

ELECTRIC ONLY LAKE - BATTERY SUGGESTIONS, PLEASE
 

John Wentworth wrote:
"Mys Terry" wrote in message
...
The distance in this case is a pretty important factor. I don't think
a 15 amp "tool" is going to be very happy on a 100 foot 12 gauge cord.


You're correct. To have a not greater than 3% voltage drop, a 15 amp load
on a 100 foot cable would require #8 wire.
See http://www.elec-toolbox.com/calculators/voltdrop.htm for a voltage drop
calculator.

ELECTRIC ONLY LAKE - BATTERY SUGGESTIONS, PLEASE
 

I really appreciate all of the responses. Very helpful. Educational.
Entertaining, at times....Because of your input, I feel sure I won't
be carrying those batteries again this summer. I'll be out boating
instead. Hopefully, you will be too. Thanks, again.

ELECTRIC ONLY LAKE - BATTERY SUGGESTIONS, PLEASE
 

John Wentworth wrote:
"Mys Terry" wrote in message
...

The distance in this case is a pretty important factor. I don't think
a 15 amp "tool" is going to be very happy on a 100 foot 12 gauge cord.



You're correct. To have a not greater than 3% voltage drop, a 15 amp load
on a 100 foot cable would require #8 wire.
See http://www.elec-toolbox.com/calculators/voltdrop.htm for a voltage drop
calculator.



Contractors use 100' 12ga extension cords every day to power large saws,
rotary hammer drills, and other big tools powered by their generators.
10ga or bigger would be expensive, hard to find, and not necessary.

Dan

ELECTRIC ONLY LAKE - BATTERY SUGGESTIONS, PLEASE
 

On Sat, 08 Apr 2006 00:54:50 GMT, Dan Krueger
wrote:

John Wentworth wrote:
"Mys Terry" wrote in message
...

The distance in this case is a pretty important factor. I don't think
a 15 amp "tool" is going to be very happy on a 100 foot 12 gauge cord.



You're correct. To have a not greater than 3% voltage drop, a 15 amp load
on a 100 foot cable would require #8 wire.
See http://www.elec-toolbox.com/calculators/voltdrop.htm for a voltage drop
calculator.



Contractors use 100' 12ga extension cords every day to power large saws,
rotary hammer drills, and other big tools powered by their generators.
10ga or bigger would be expensive, hard to find, and not necessary.

Dan

Exactly correct. The calculator referenced only allows a 3% voltage
drop, which is only 3.6V for a nominal 120V ac circuit. Maybe if
you're running sensitive medical equipment that's necessary, but not
for power tools. A 15 amp circular hand saw is perfectly "happy"
running on 105V or so, over a 10% drop.

Think of it this way... your home wiring is usually 14ga for normal 15
amp branch circuits. Not unusual to have a 100ft run between the
breaker box and the outlets. Some voltage drop is expected, and
safety factors are built into everything you buy.

Jack

ELECTRIC ONLY LAKE - BATTERY SUGGESTIONS, PLEASE
 

"Jack Goff" wrote in message
...
On Sat, 08 Apr 2006 00:54:50 GMT, Dan Krueger
wrote:

John Wentworth wrote:
"Mys Terry" wrote in message
...

The distance in this case is a pretty important factor. I don't think
a 15 amp "tool" is going to be very happy on a 100 foot 12 gauge cord.



You're correct. To have a not greater than 3% voltage drop, a 15 amp
load
on a 100 foot cable would require #8 wire.
See http://www.elec-toolbox.com/calculators/voltdrop.htm for a voltage
drop
calculator.



Contractors use 100' 12ga extension cords every day to power large saws,
rotary hammer drills, and other big tools powered by their generators.
10ga or bigger would be expensive, hard to find, and not necessary.

Dan

Exactly correct. The calculator referenced only allows a 3% voltage
drop, which is only 3.6V for a nominal 120V ac circuit. Maybe if
you're running sensitive medical equipment that's necessary, but not
for power tools. A 15 amp circular hand saw is perfectly "happy"
running on 105V or so, over a 10% drop.

Think of it this way... your home wiring is usually 14ga for normal 15
amp branch circuits. Not unusual to have a 100ft run between the
breaker box and the outlets. Some voltage drop is expected, and
safety factors are built into everything you buy.

Jack


15 amp circuits are 14 gauge, and few run 100' inside a house. More like
50' at most. Contractors use 12 gauge because you can move the cord. And
most saws and tools are built to run in a 15 amp circuit, not draw 15 amps.
Most are in the 7-8 amp range.

ELECTRIC ONLY LAKE - BATTERY SUGGESTIONS, PLEASE
 

CalifBill wrote:


15 amp circuits are 14 gauge, and few run 100' inside a house. More like
50' at most. Contractors use 12 gauge because you can move the cord. And
most saws and tools are built to run in a 15 amp circuit, not draw 15 amps.
Most are in the 7-8 amp range.



Maybe your rinky-dink Black & Decker stuff is 7 amps....
My Makita circular saw is 13 amps...
my Craftsman electric chain saw is 12 amps
my Toro Electric snowthrower is 12 amps...
etc...

ELECTRIC ONLY LAKE - BATTERY SUGGESTIONS, PLEASE
 

On Sat, 08 Apr 2006 06:41:48 GMT, "CalifBill"
wrote:


"Jack Goff" wrote in message

Think of it this way... your home wiring is usually 14ga for normal 15
amp branch circuits. Not unusual to have a 100ft run between the
breaker box and the outlets. Some voltage drop is expected, and
safety factors are built into everything you buy.

Jack


15 amp circuits are 14 gauge,

Yup, that's what I said.

and few run 100' inside a house. More like
50' at most.

Depends on the size house, and it's layout. My house is two story,
with a two car garage and "day basement" under that (it's built on a
sloping lot). The two breaker panels are located in the basement, so
probably half of my branch circuits are well over 50 feet.

Contractors use 12 gauge because you can move the cord. And
most saws and tools are built to run in a 15 amp circuit, not draw 15 amps.
Most are in the 7-8 amp range.

These saws are called 15 amp saws because that's the maximum current
they'll pull when under a heavy load. They use the least when free
wheeling, and the most under load. Worst case is with the blade
stalled. You're right, they'll run on a 15 amp circuit without
tripping the breaker, but doing the maximum amount of work the motor
is rated for, it'll pull 15 amps. However, it's rare that anyone
would work one that hard.

Jack

ELECTRIC ONLY LAKE - BATTERY SUGGESTIONS, PLEASE
 

On Sat, 08 Apr 2006 12:33:31 GMT, Don White
wrote:

CalifBill wrote:


15 amp circuits are 14 gauge, and few run 100' inside a house. More like
50' at most. Contractors use 12 gauge because you can move the cord. And
most saws and tools are built to run in a 15 amp circuit, not draw 15 amps.
Most are in the 7-8 amp range.



Maybe your rinky-dink Black & Decker stuff is 7 amps....
My Makita circular saw is 13 amps...
my Craftsman electric chain saw is 12 amps
my Toro Electric snowthrower is 12 amps...
etc...

Like my other post explains, that's the maximum current those items
will daw when doing the maximum work they are rated for. Typical
current will be a lot less. Basically, the current *required* by the
motor varies depending on the load *placed* on the motor.

ELECTRIC chainsaw?!? You girlie-man... :-)

Jack

ELECTRIC ONLY LAKE - BATTERY SUGGESTIONS, PLEASE
 

Jack Goff wrote:
snip...

ELECTRIC chainsaw?!? You girlie-man... :-)

Jack


Girlie-man???
I live on a 40' x 100' city lot. The trees on it are too big to tackle
by myself if I used a 20" gas chainsaw. (other than a bit of pruning or
cutting up firewood already on the ground).
Just this week we paid $500.00 + tax to have a very large Ash tree
felled on our front lawn because the wife would be on pins & needles
every time the wind blew.

For my use this 12amp electric chainsaw is very practical and performs well.
Who's the girlie-man?

ELECTRIC ONLY LAKE - BATTERY SUGGESTIONS, PLEASE
 

On Sat, 08 Apr 2006 14:38:08 GMT, Don White
wrote:

Jack Goff wrote:
snip...

ELECTRIC chainsaw?!? You girlie-man... :-)

Jack


Girlie-man???
I live on a 40' x 100' city lot. The trees on it are too big to tackle
by myself if I used a 20" gas chainsaw. (other than a bit of pruning or
cutting up firewood already on the ground).
Just this week we paid $500.00 + tax to have a very large Ash tree
felled on our front lawn because the wife would be on pins & needles
every time the wind blew.

For my use this 12amp electric chainsaw is very practical and performs well.
Who's the girlie-man?

Pay attention to the smilie-face. :-)

I understand. I used to have one of those homeowner-grade Poulan gas
chainsaws. I was OK for cutting up limbs and such, but had the
smaller size chain and a small motor, so it just couldn't handle
bigger jobs. At the time, that was OK for my situation.

I'm now on 2+ acres, and it's 80% heavily wooded. The Poulan died, so
I bought a real saw... a Stihl. I've paid to have a couple of large
oaks taken down that were too close to the house for me to do, but the
Stihl has paid for itself on a couple of other trees I could handle
myself.

Jack

ELECTRIC ONLY LAKE - BATTERY SUGGESTIONS, PLEASE
 

Jack Goff wrote:

On Sat, 08 Apr 2006 14:38:08 GMT, Don White
wrote:


Jack Goff wrote:
snip...

ELECTRIC chainsaw?!? You girlie-man... :-)

Jack


Girlie-man???
I live on a 40' x 100' city lot. The trees on it are too big to tackle
by myself if I used a 20" gas chainsaw. (other than a bit of pruning or
cutting up firewood already on the ground).
Just this week we paid $500.00 + tax to have a very large Ash tree
felled on our front lawn because the wife would be on pins & needles
every time the wind blew.

For my use this 12amp electric chainsaw is very practical and performs well.
Who's the girlie-man?


Pay attention to the smilie-face. :-)

I understand. I used to have one of those homeowner-grade Poulan gas
chainsaws. I was OK for cutting up limbs and such, but had the
smaller size chain and a small motor, so it just couldn't handle
bigger jobs. At the time, that was OK for my situation.

I'm now on 2+ acres, and it's 80% heavily wooded. The Poulan died, so
I bought a real saw... a Stihl. I've paid to have a couple of large
oaks taken down that were too close to the house for me to do, but the
Stihl has paid for itself on a couple of other trees I could handle
myself.

Jack

I had a gas saw and used it so infrequently that the gas in the
carburetor gummed it up. I then bought an electric that I could store
without any concern. After the hurricanes last year I am back to a gas
saw but I'll have to remember to start it every month or so. I already
put Stabil in my 40:1 can as soon as I fill it.

Dan

ELECTRIC ONLY LAKE - BATTERY SUGGESTIONS, PLEASE
 

CalifBill wrote:

"Jack Goff" wrote in message
...

On Sat, 08 Apr 2006 00:54:50 GMT, Dan Krueger
wrote:


John Wentworth wrote:

"Mys Terry" wrote in message
m...


The distance in this case is a pretty important factor. I don't think
a 15 amp "tool" is going to be very happy on a 100 foot 12 gauge cord.



You're correct. To have a not greater than 3% voltage drop, a 15 amp
load
on a 100 foot cable would require #8 wire.
See http://www.elec-toolbox.com/calculators/voltdrop.htm for a voltage
drop
calculator.



Contractors use 100' 12ga extension cords every day to power large saws,
rotary hammer drills, and other big tools powered by their generators.
10ga or bigger would be expensive, hard to find, and not necessary.

Dan

Exactly correct. The calculator referenced only allows a 3% voltage
drop, which is only 3.6V for a nominal 120V ac circuit. Maybe if
you're running sensitive medical equipment that's necessary, but not
for power tools. A 15 amp circular hand saw is perfectly "happy"
running on 105V or so, over a 10% drop.

Think of it this way... your home wiring is usually 14ga for normal 15
amp branch circuits. Not unusual to have a 100ft run between the
breaker box and the outlets. Some voltage drop is expected, and
safety factors are built into everything you buy.

Jack



15 amp circuits are 14 gauge, and few run 100' inside a house. More like
50' at most. Contractors use 12 gauge because you can move the cord. And
most saws and tools are built to run in a 15 amp circuit, not draw 15 amps.
Most are in the 7-8 amp range.



I think you are mistaken. 12 ga cords are heavier than 14 ga. Also,
anything with an electric motor will draw more power when you start it
and have it under a load than when it's running without a load. I have
never seen a standard 7-1/4" circular that would start and cut while
drawing only 8 amps. Most are rate at 12+ amps.

Dan

ELECTRIC ONLY LAKE - BATTERY SUGGESTIONS, PLEASE
 

On Sat, 08 Apr 2006 00:54:50 GMT, Dan Krueger
wrote:

Contractors use 100' 12ga extension cords every day to power large saws,
rotary hammer drills, and other big tools powered by their generators.
10ga or bigger would be expensive, hard to find, and not necessary.

I built my own 10ga extension once upon a time for doing boatyard work
at a distance from outlets. I bought a 250 ft roll of 10/3 from a
distributor at a half decent price, put my own connectors on it, and
stored the whole thing on an inexpensive garden hose reel.

Worked great, cost less than $100, everthing included.