Dedicated Electronics battery

[SKYCHENEY]

Many times this stuff is on the entire time you are fishing. Swordfishing is done at night while drifting in the gulf stream. You may have all your electronics on for 10 or more hours. While that is not a big deal when you have a charger and a generator running, it does become a big deal if the charger fails. You now need enough battery to power the electronics the 40-50 miles back home(in some cases even further). There is not any group 27 or 31 battery that is going to run the radar, sounders, vhfs, ssb, gps, chartplotter and lights for an extended period of time!

So, why not run off of the OEM setup since you have alternators that charge the batts? It seems like the extra battery setup is just more weight, more maintenance, more money, and more problems than just running the electronics off of the house bank.

 

[thoward]

So, why not run off of the OEM setup since you have alternators that charge the batts? It seems like the extra battery setup is just more weight, more maintenance, more money, and more problems than just running the electronics off of the house bank.

It is OEM! It also allows me to run 12v electronics too. My starboard generator can charge the battery so we do not need to run the drive engines while drifting. It is a different setup than the guys with cruisers but is serves the needs of our type of boat well.

 

[Captned]

"Does anyone have a dedicated battery at the helm for your electronics? I am thinking of installing one with a small charger for two reasons. One - safety in case my lower batterys get covered in water, I can still work the VHF and two - I get a lot of interference in my stereo, on the fishfinder screen, etc...

Does anyone have this setup and is it worth doing? what size battery? I was thinking of leaving the radar hooked up the original way, but running the Depth/fish finder / gps / vhf / stereo off of the new battery and installing a 4 postion Guest switch so I could run everything the old way if I had too..."

Thanks for the discussion guys...

See, all I want to do is add a bit of safety and eleminate some interference that is in some of my equipment. The radar, running lights, flood lights, spot light, would still be on my house bank (14 - 6VDC golf - which is also my starting bank for the starboard engine - alternator is charging it along with battery charger)

Only the 2 gps's, fishfinder, depth sounder, 2 vhf's and the stereo would be on the new battery under the helm with a 4 position switch so I could run everything off the house if needed.


Interesting find today. Turns out that the only 12vdc being sent to the bridge is coming through ONE 30 amp breaker (wire size looks to be WAY to small at the breaker.) The auxiliary 12 vdc panel in my boat is located near the engine room stairs in the galley. The breakers in it are labeled "radar, vhf, stereo, etc... The only wire hooked up was to the top breaker. None of the other were used!?!
Stranger thou, was where the wire terminates at the helm bus bar is a good bit bigger.. However, without a doubt, that one breaker controls the voltage...There is a master 100 amp breaker before the 30 amp one...Pulled out my schematics but not much help. I have no breaker box at the helm, this being a 1978...

Still digging, You would be surprised how much "extra wire" I am pulling out...

Thanks all, Captned

 

[Trojan]

Rolls 8D batteries $526.75 bucks plus 172 lbs. Not for me. I don't need that kind of backup just to run my ship to shore and bridge electronics. That is what house banks are for to run all that other big crap.



BILL

 

[captainchuck]

Does anyone have a dedicated battery at the helm for your electronics? I am thinking of installing one with a small charger for two reasons. One - safety in case my lower batterys get covered in water, I can still work the VHF and two - I get a lot of interference in my stereo, on the fishfinder screen, etc...

Does anyone have this setup and is it worth doing? what size battery? I was thinking of leaving the radar hooked up the original way, but running the Depth/fish finder / gps / vhf / stereo off of the new battery and installing a 4 postion Guest switch so I could run everything the old way if I had too...

Thanks in advance..

Captned

Yes I have such a system and it works well. Single 8D AGM battery with a 20 amp Charles charger. If needed the battery can be connected to my engine start battery as a back up. The Charles charger is rated to be a power supply. The electronics battery is completely independent and on the FB. I have a rotary disconnect switch and it is a fairly stright forward installation under the starboard side seat on a 42 cockpit MY. There is a push button conector in addition to the rotary switch position to interconnect with the engine start circut for fail safe operation should that every be needed. Isolating the electgronics power supply from the other DC system works extremely well and I have done it on other boats.

 

[Captned]

Wow, forgot all about this post. I ended up putting a small deep cycle Maint. free battery (Group 24 I think) and a small charger. Plus a four way Blue seas switch so I can use the engine room batteries if needed. Been working great the last couple of years.

Cheers!

Captned...