Batteries & Inverters

Discussion related to commercial salmon trolling, boats, gear, fishing techniques, electronics, marketing, etc.
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InTwoDeep
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Batteries & Inverters

Post by InTwoDeep »

We have a 1947 power troller with a rebuilt Detroit diesel engine. We need to find out which batteries are best for running the boat and electronic equipment (water maker, automatic bilge, navigation, computer, monitors, etc). In addition we also need to know which pure sine power inverter/s are best to use. Finally, which generator is best on a fisherman's budget.
jgallagher33
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Re: Batteries & Inverters

Post by jgallagher33 »

Lifeline 8D are great batteries and Outback Power makes a good inverter/charger if you want a built in charger. Xantrex are also good and have standalone inverters.
Wanabee
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Re: Batteries & Inverters

Post by Wanabee »

I struggled for years with poor charging and enough power without running a genset. I finally have what a feel is a good system. I currently have a 140 amp alternator for charging my start battery and 325 AMP ECO-TECH low RPM alternator that runs off the pulley on the front of my engine. This alternator although is expensive, puts out about 200 Amps at trolling speed which for me is about 650 rpm. It would be cheaper to pay for a nice alternator then gas, noise and wear and tear on a genet, if you are just using it to run your battery charger. I also have the pure sign wave outback inverter with charger and have been very happy with it. For house batteries I went with 4 Odyssey PC1800-FT. Now when I am done fishing for the day my batteries are fully charged instead of drained from running all the electronics, etc. Not using get set at this time.
curmudgeon
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Re: Batteries & Inverters

Post by curmudgeon »

Magnum also makes great inverter/chargers and they're built in Everett WA. We've had their Pure-Sine MS series units on our last two boats and never had any problems with them.
A couple other things to consider: Certainly the best batteries to run the equipment you mention will be Deep-Cycle, but you'll likely want at least one of the larger batteries to be rated as a Starting battery to be sure you can spin your Jimmy sprightly enough to start well when cold. You might want to check and see how much surge current your water-maker will use on startup and check the specs on the inverter-unit you choose to make sure it'll be okay and won't brown-out your screens whenever the water-maker kicks in.
Generator... Diesel? Expensive no matter how you do it. Maybe a little Honda or such will be the ticket as a just-in-case or if you're hiding from a gale for a couple days? The new inverter-generators are Sweet!
JKD
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Re: Batteries & Inverters

Post by JKD »

I agree with the two answers above: in my own experience, a set of good commercial-grade Deep-Cycle batteries (I like "Inter-State" and "Caterpillar"), and Outback power inverters seem to be a good bet for a troller application. I am using two 4-D batteries for now because I don't really have space for the larger 8-Ds in my engineroom. I have done a little research on inverters for marine applications similar to your's (and some day mine), and the Outback systems are getting good reviews from marine electricians.
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