2nd battery

[TEXAS PIGS]

not sure if this is the right place or not, but i have 1900 pro v and i am wanting to put another battery (to run locator and gps) in the main battery compartment. a standard battery WONT fit next to the existing battery with the oil reservoir. I am looking at another battery because i am having trouble with loosing volts after fishing all day with livewell and sonar and gps running, the current battery is brand new (tests good) and it is the biggest that interstate makes. i have been told to use anoter battery to help split up the usage. any help would greatly be appreciated!

[Hot Runr Guy]

TP,
while I won't disagree that a 2nd battery is good, your problem my be caused by undersized wire running from your electronics to your battery. Below are a couple of examples, both with a 10amp @ 12 volt load, over a 10' length of wire, but one is using 18awg wire, the other using a much heavier 10awg. As you can see, there is a considerable difference in the voltage drop. So, my point is, with a heavier feed to the "goodies", even though there will be a momentary voltage loss upon starting the big motor, using heavier wire may very well keep the electronics from falling below their threshold voltage, and turning off.
HRG
here's the reference site to run your own #'s. http://www.powerstream.com/Wire_Size.htm

[corvette744]

not sure if this is the right place or not, but i have 1900 pro v and i am wanting to put another battery (to run locator and gps) in the main battery compartment. a standard battery WONT fit next to the existing battery with the oil reservoir. I am looking at another battery because i am having trouble with loosing volts after fishing all day with livewell and sonar and gps running, the current battery is brand new (tests good) and it is the biggest that interstate makes. i have been told to use anoter battery to help split up the usage. any help would greatly be appreciated!
What battery are you running from interstate the 29 or27,wire diameter very well might be the case-but if not.I bet you go buy a sears platinum size 31 m and install it and your problems are over.

[guest]

i have had the same problem with loosing electronics at start up, I have been told to try a voltage regulator. I am also looking at installing another gps/locator on the front of my boat. what kind of wiring do you guys recomend for running the wires back 22' to the battery. interesting post seems like this site really offers some great advice for all sorts of problems

[Hot Runr Guy]

i have had the same problem with loosing electronics at start up, I have been told to try a voltage regulator. I am also looking at installing another gps/locator on the front of my boat. what kind of wiring do you guys recomend for running the wires back 22' to the battery. interesting post seems like this site really offers some great advice for all sorts of problems
Personally, I use a lot of 10awg tinned marine wire in my boat. 10awg is the largest that you can easily find crimp-type connectors for, before you start getting into the "battery" cable sizes.
HRG

[San Chan]

i have had the same problem with loosing electronics at start up, I have been told to try a voltage regulator. I am also looking at installing another gps/locator on the front of my boat. what kind of wiring do you guys recomend for running the wires back 22' to the battery. interesting post seems like this site really offers some great advice for all sorts of problems


Measure it right the 1st time............. after fishing it through my 16.5ft from front to back, I ended up using 21ft give and take. If you boat is 22ft, you might need longer than that.

Cheap 2 cents.

[bvs]

TEXAS PIGS, I doubt upgrading your wiring would help much with your problem. You were already on the right path. Two decent group 24 batteries hooked in parallel will be better than the best group 31 money can buy. If you can fit a pair of Group 27's in, then all the better.

I run two group 24 batteries and a Perko switch. With both batteries connected I can run everything all day and have never had a problem. If I run off of only one battery my electronics sometimes reset themselves when starting my motor after fishing for a few hours.

FYI for 20' cable runs I'd use the following.
Sonars/fishfinders (1A) 16AWG
Livewell pumps (3A) 14AWG
VHF Radios (10A) 10AWG

[TEXAS PIGS]

sounds good to me to run 2 batteries, but one problem i have is not enough room with the oil reservoir in the same compartment. i am currently looking for a smaller oil res. as well as maybe even a compact size 12 volt. but my question is should i run them in series or split stuff up and run each one seperate. also if i run them in series will i need a 2 bank charger or will a single charge both of them.:laugh:

[bvs]

I'd run them in parallel (+ to + and - to -) all the time with 6AWG wires. If you don't have room at the stern, you might consider using 4AWG wire and moving the extra battery forward in the boat. FYI, cutting the clamps off of jumper cables is often the cheapest way to buy heavy guage wire like this.

The slower you pull power out of a lead acid battery, the more power it can give you. If you hook two batteries in parallel then you are only drawing half the current out of each battery and you'll actuall get more than twice the run-time out of the batteries.

You also gain a huge advantage in cranking amps by doubling up batteries and this really helps turn your motor over when the batteries get low:
Group 24 = 800 Amps
Group 31 = 1100 Amps
2 x group 24 = 1600Amps

Ideally you would use 2 identical batteries, but you can mismatch if you have to. Just don't try paralleling different battery types (e.g. flooded, gell cells, AGM's etc.).

Some onboard 3-stage charges might get confused if you hook them up to 2 batteries in parallel and might never switch from charge mode into maintain mode. This could be bad longterm on your batteries. Just watch the status of the charger and use a switch if you have to when charging. Perko makes a fairly inxespensive switch that allows you to quickly switch between battery 1, 2, or 1+2. My ProMariner charger handles two group 24's in parallel without any complaints.

[PRD1]

Given the starting/accessory application and the space problem, an AGM like the Sears Platinum or Exide MegaCycle in Group 31 size might be the right answer if they will fit. Although not mentioned in the message string you likely have a standard starting battery (group 24 or 27) that just does not have the RC to support your accessory load. The AGM is really the only battery that will give you the best combination of starting amps (CCA) and deep cycle performance (RC). The Sears Die Hard is rated at 1150 CCA and 205 minutes RC (115 amp hours) so if the 13"long X 6.8"wide X 9.5"high size will fit it would be a great upgrade even at it's $250 cost. It also carries a 3 year warranty!
Paul

[JN333]

Texas Pigs

What year Pro V do you have. My 2001 had enough room to run a total of 4 batts. One by the oil reservoir, one down in the floor/bilge area where the door opens to access your pumps, and two up by center of the boat. Im pretty sure you can run at least 4 batts on your Pro V.
On my new boat, I will run 4 batts, 2 trolling, 1 starting, 1 house for all the finders, pumps, etc. You then can hook up a battery isolator that will charge both your starting and house any time you fire up the motor.
Makes life a whole lot easier when you run you live-wells and finders all day..


JN

[REW]

Texas,
You say that you are running the largest battery that Interstate makes.
What size is that?

There is a very big difference in capacity when you compare the capacity of a group 24, to a group 28, to a group 31.

If at all possible, try using a group 31 battery if you aren't currently using one.

I switched over to a group 31 a couple of years ago, and that effectively ended my issue with the battery not holding up for a long day or night of fishing.


I had to do some creative changes with some livewell plumbing and rearranging, but I was able to fit the battery into the compartment.

Good luck
REW

[TEXAS PIGS]

it is a 1000 mca interstate battery 24mxhd it might not be the biggest they make but it was the biggest i could get at the time. my boat is a 2000 i only have room for 3 total batteries unles i can get a smaller oil res. if i cant i need to look at the best possible solution. is the 31 series that much bigger than the one i have to run 2 sonar/gps, livewell, lights, bilge ect. thanks for all the help!

[bvs]

Group 31 has about 25% more capacity. If you don't have room to add a second group 24 but have enough room to replace what you've got with a group 31 then that is the way I'd go. AGM will be well worth the cost considering how often you'll be drawing this battery below 50%. A flooded cell won't last long when you deeply discharge it. This might be why you are currently having problems.

[PRD1]

That Interstate heavy duty group 24 provides 115 minutes of reserve capacity which translates to 48 amp hours. The Sears Platinum group 31 provides 215 amp hours and as important if not more so it will have the heavy plate design to take the discharge/recharge cycles characteristic of an accessory battery application.

[bvs]

Amp-hours can't be translated from reserve-capacity. The difference in the way they are measured can result in very different results depending on battery construction.

The Sears website says that the $250 Platinum PM-1 Group Size 31M battery has 100 amp-hours at a 20-hour rate. Their $80 group 24 non-platinum deep cycle has 80 amp-hours at a 20-hour rate. I'd estimate that a standard dual purpose group 24 marine battery is probably in the 70 amp-hour range.

A difference of 30 amp-hours can still make a huge difference in the amount of frustration you have on the lake though.

[PRD1]

True on battery construction thus battery life but the formul for converting RC to Amp hours is RC X .4167 = Amp Hours. It will give you the approximate amp hour equivalent to that batteries RC.