batteries

[Hooked 0n Quack]

I'm wanting to put more than one battery in my boat and run them in a series. How do I go about doing this? Will i get more battery life with them in a series? I have no real knowledge of this but have heard of it being done. Would I just be better off with having another battery to switch to in case one dies?

[goob]

Just realize that if you put 12 volt batteries in series you increase the voltage. 2 batteries would be 24 volts, 3 batteries 36 volts. Make sure your equipment is rated for higher voltage.

[GRN HED KILR]

I think you are thinking of running them in parralel (spelling) You run a wire from positive to positive and from negative to negative. I think anyway, make sure before you try it. I used to have a bass boat that had a 12 volt trolling motor and I used two batteries like that.

[Fishunter]

If you connect negative to positive and then attach your equipment to the other neg and pos terminals this will give you a serial connection and give you 24 volts of power. If you run your battieris hooking all the negs together and the same for the pos terminals that will give you a parallel connection and will not increase your voltage power but give you more run time.

[Fishunter]

What ever you do don't close the circuit on the batteries. I worked at an Interstate battery shop in HS. Did this one time and melted the posts on about 12 batteries. Be careful!!!

[Hooked 0n Quack]

how would u close the circuit? what type of wire or connectors would u use to parallel them? All i'm looking for is more run time.

[DVR]

you need a perko type switch. if you hooked 2 batteries in series and the connected the loose pos and neg wires together you would be closing the circuit. the wires and terminals would get red hot in a fraction of a second. i have seen a guy ground out a positive 12v terminal to ground by way of his wedding band. the gold melted instantly. it left a mark.

[dixiedeerslaya]

hooked on quack... you using this for bowfishing? if so you can get a converter to run the troller off the generator.... its a ac-dc converter... can pick one up on ebay for about 110 dollars... search for iota dls 55

[Hooked 0n Quack]

nah actually i just switch batteries when bowfishing but its a good idea if i had a generator.

[Palmetto Bug]

In my boat, I have the batteries running to a perko switch so I can either isolate or combine them. One is directly connected to the engine and the other is connected to the trolling motor. If I'm running the trolling motor a lot, I isolate them so I'll be sure to have juice to crank the big motor. When running or charging, I combine them. The perko switch also helps limit corrosion if you are able to cut the power off to the boat electronics and fuse strips, especially if you boat in salt water.

[Jozie & Me]

Palmetto Bug is right. You need to get a Perko battery switch.

One thing you need to know about combining the batteries in parallell. Current ALWAYS runs downhill. If you have one dead battery and one fully charged battery, half of the charge will run to the dead battery and you will end up with two half charged batteries.

It is much better to keep the batteries isolated on the switch and charge them seperately. The only time I would ever combine my batteries is if they were both dead and I needed to combine the power to crank the motor.

Plus the Perko switch is simple to install with minimal modification.

[Hooked 0n Quack]

How much is a perko switch? Where do you pick one up?

[Maggie Glover]

How much is a perko switch? Where do you pick one up?

WEST Marine, Bass Pro, Boater's World, even Wally World has them sometimes. There are several different brands, Perko is one and another is Guest.

[Foie Gras]

nah actually i just switch batteries when bowfishing but its a good idea if i had a generator.

Generators are loud. We couldn't hear each other talk shit over the generator, and let's be honest, that's what bowfishing is all about.

[Phone Man]

perko is the way to go. Little harvey should have one or could get you one. If you run in series like somone posted, it will double the volts. If you parallel them it will double the amps and have less pull off the battery and should give approx double the run time. Be careful cuz an exploding battery is not fun to deal with. If you have questions about it, it might be a good idea to have someone help you. My suggestion would be to go with a little heavier guage wire as well as it would lower the resistance of the circuit and also help with amp issues.

[Tha Dick]

Check these out, before someone burns there boat down......

http://www.freesunpower.com/battery_diagrams.php

http://www.boatfix.com/how/Ele1.html

http://www.boatfix.com/how/Ele2.html

[Tha Dick]

My suggestion would be to go with a little heavier guage wire as well as it would lower the resistance of the circuit and also help with amp issues.

Dang, thats pretty good for a phone man....... Just kidding....

Go to a welder supply and get some #6 welder lead for the serious loads and or distances. DC voltage decreases fast over distance. (voltage drops a bitch w/DC)

Good luck.

[btduckcall]

if you are up toward cola pm me and i will give you cables that will work, also a circut breaker to put in the system. and will show you how to hook it all up.(you needn't bring the boat)