downrigger power supply

[will nolan (swilly)]

i have reviewed previous posts and this may be a silly question so forgive me but should i or can i run 2 pre 2006 cannon mag 10s off one deep cycle battery and have plenty for fishing all day or should i run one battery to each downrigger?

[Wallyandre (Andre)]

Yes and just to be sure you can unscrew the clutch at the wheel instead on using electric power.

[BottomDollar]

Yes and just to be sure you can unscrew the clutch at the wheel instead on using electric power.

^^yup. Will, the simplest way is just direct to the house battery with inline fuses. The circuit board has its own internal breaker with a manual reset switch.

[C-Hawk]

If you are running 2 batteries with a selector switch, you will never have a problem. What I used to run into when fishing was good and we were fishing deep was I would kill a battery and switch to the good one and use it up enough to have difficulty starting the main motor. I started carrying a dry cell booster battery and I never worried after that. I got so used to carrying it ,it is still a habit to this day. Pretty cheap insurance. One time I drained both batteries after a long day of downrigging, and not to worry got out my booster to start the main, and no problem it fired alright, but after getting underway I discovered that I had no juice for the power trim. The C-Hawk is basically uncontrollable without it. I had to idle around a while until the battery charged enough to lift the motor, as we had to go shallow before we got back to camp. Lesson learned. If you're running a kicker, start your main occasionally.

[BottomDollar]

+1 to the booster. They're really small now, and can charge anything with a USB port and still jump a car battery several times.



http://www.amazon.com/INTELLIBOOST-Port ... merReviews

[C-Hawk]

Wow BD, mine is as big as a small car battery. However it has a120 volt converter and I can run my tv for an hour.

[BottomDollar]

Wow BD, mine is as big as a small car battery. However it has a120 volt converter and I can run my tv for an hour.

I use mine to keep the Navionics tablet, phone, and bluetooth speaker charged. It's nice to keep some of that stuff off the boat batteries even though they're not big power consumers.

[will nolan (swilly)]

thanks fellas maybe ill by a 2nd just to have. cant hurt i guess. my fear is that battery dies as im down 100 fow. i dont think they all come with the emergency handle to raise manually?

[Lazybones]

thanks fellas maybe ill by a 2nd just to have. cant hurt i guess. my fear is that battery dies as im down 100 fow. i dont think they all come with the emergency handle to raise manually?

I've never gone all the way through a battery in one day with my Mag 10's. I definitely wouldn't want to have to rely on one battery to run the riggers AND start the main motor at the end of the day though.

You'll have plenty of warning that the battery is losing its charge. It will just get slower and slower until you have to decide, " do I feel lucky".

[Gecha (Gerry)]

If you're trolling with your main motor, you should not have any problems running your 2 downriggers with only one battery. I ran that setup for 2 years. Adding a second battery adds some peace of mind and helps if you are also running multiple electronics too.

[Black Ghost (Ken)]

My second battery is all about backup in case I forget to shut off the master switch and the primary gets depleted. Otherwise #2 is not used at all. Except for ballast.

[Reelax]

If you're trolling with your main motor, you should not have any problems running your 2 downriggers with only one battery. I ran that setup for 2 years. Adding a second battery adds some peace of mind and helps if you are also running multiple electronics too.

I think these posts refer to setups with trolling without realtime charging. I agree if you use a kicker has a starter, it will charge the main batteries enough not to worry about depletion of main batteries. That's the best way to go,as it maintains all the time.

If you don't have a way to charge, 2 batteries are suggested to ensure you are ok. I carry a jump box in the cab, cause I only have one Main battery. But my main is charge by the 90hp I troll with so it never dies.

Batteries should be seen as safety equipment the way we all use em...

[C-Hawk]

This battery issue was the final reason I decided to pull the trigger on buying the 115 Merc 4 stroke and eliminating the kicker. I used to keep three batteries and alternate one of them out almost every weekend as my boat is in the water all summer without electricity at the dock. I had to carry a battery to the camper, about 200 yards, to charge it. I do not miss this at all. Even when I finally got a kicker with a starter and a 20 amp charging system, the main engine not running very much, and a solar maintainer, it still wouldn't keep things charged enough.

[BottomDollar]

This battery issue was the final reason I decided to pull the trigger on buying the 115 Merc 4 stroke and eliminating the kicker. I used to keep three batteries and alternate one of them out almost every weekend as my boat is in the water all summer without electricity at the dock. I had to carry a battery to the camper, about 200 yards, to charge it. I do not miss this at all. Even when I finally got a kicker with a starter and a 20 amp charging system, the main engine not running very much, and a solar maintainer, it still wouldn't keep things charged enough.

Yep, the tiny rectifiers on most pull start kickers barely do anything on our boats because they're running just above idle. Even at WOT most only put out 5 amps, the same as an AC phone charger. Was yours an actual alternator to put out 20 amps? [Edit: duh, electric start]

While I'd love to put a 2.1 liter Merc on my boat, it's not in my budget. So I added an onboard charger and just plug it in at home. I have 4 batteries with the ulterra on the bow.

[C-Hawk]

It was a Johnson25 long shaft and I believe it had stator plate technology but maybe I was wrong about the 20 amp and it was my old motor that would put out 20 amps. Either way it would not keep up with 3 riggers, FM radio, bilge pump, electronics and occasionally lights.