batteries in the stern?

chauzer · Post by **chauzer** » Wed Jan 20, 2010 2:29 pm

i plan on wiring in 3 new cannon down-riggers this spring and was throwing around the idea of putting a battery in the stern of the boat. now, what i was going to do is run cables from the 3 battery bank amid-ship to one battery in the back. i don't know if voltage drop is an issue (maybe 8 feet from battery bank to rear battery) or if i have to worry about stray voltage etc,etc. it will be allot easier to run fuseable links to the down-rigger outlets with the battery being right in the back of the boat. anybody got pros or con's to this? any insight would be great before go and do this and burn my boat down or something stupid like that!

Stripermann2 · Post by **Stripermann2** » Wed Jan 20, 2010 4:38 pm

If you are going to the trouble of running wires from midship to stern, why not use a power supply board/panel in the stern of the boat...

Forget adding another battery but upgrading to two heavy guage battery cables, running them to a power distribution panel, then run your down rigger connections and routing as necessary. A house battery is usually plenty to haul windlasses, you should have no problem with the down riggers.

chauzer · Post by **chauzer** » Wed Jan 20, 2010 11:06 pm

that's an idea. i was kinda thinking the added weight in the stern would help with steering in following seas but i guess 45 pounds wouldn't make that big of difference. now all i have to do is figure out voltage drop. the circuit boards like to burn out in the cannon down-riggers if the voltage is to low.

Stripermann2 · Post by **Stripermann2** » Thu Jan 21, 2010 8:27 am

Well...if you put fish in the cooler, you should have more than enough weight!!

chauzer · Post by **chauzer** » Thu Jan 21, 2010 11:25 am

point well made!!

Stripermann2 · Post by **Stripermann2** » Thu Jan 21, 2010 1:39 pm

Here are some specs- you should be fine with apporopriate cabling and connections.

11
FUSE / BREAKER SPECIFICATIONS:
30 Amp, 32 Volt, waterproof, fast blow.
WIRE SPECIFICATIONS:
0-15 ft. (0-5 meters) 10 gauge
15-25 ft. (5-8 meters) 8 gauge
25-30 ft. (8-9 meters) 6 gauge
CAUTION: When using wire longer than that
provided with your unit, follow the above chart.
When running more than 30 feet from the
battery, contact a qualified electrician.
Battery Fuse Holder
Circuit Breaker
Red ( - )
Battery
Powering Multiple Downriggers
When operating multiple Mag 20 DTs, run a
maximum of 2 downriggers per dedicated
battery. The advanced features of the Mag 20 DT
can keep the unit working virtually all the time. (See
below for the recommended wiring setup.)
NOTE: To ensure proper operation of your Mag
20 DT, ground its battery to your boatâ€™s electrical
systemâ€™s ground. Malfunctions with the PIC,
communication between units, or loss of
operation result from faulty grounding. Always
check to see if your boat is properly grounded
first.
Red ( + )
Black ( â€“ )
Connect
Multiple
Batteries in
Parallel
Typical Operating Time*:
1 Mag 20 DT per battery â€“ 24 hours.
2 Mag 20 DTs per battery â€“ 10 hours.
*Time based on lab results using a 15lb weight
and Deep-Cycle batteries. Actual run time will
vary.
FOR MAXIMUM PERFORMANCE:
Use Minn Kota Group 27 or 31 sized, Deep-Cycle
marine batteries. For extended battery life, add a
Minn Kota on-board, DC alternator charger.

http://www.cannondownriggers.com/upload ... %20eng.pdf

chauzer · Post by **chauzer** » Thu Jan 21, 2010 4:58 pm

thanks for posting that. never did get any manuals with my riggers (joys of ebay). i will have to run the power and ground cables so that i'm getting more then one battery?
the wiring on my boat is a nightmare. looks like a wire spool threw up down by the batteries.

Stripermann2 · Post by **Stripermann2** » Thu Jan 21, 2010 5:23 pm

My boat has 3 batteries. One each for each engine and one house battery.
The house battery is a deep cycle., This powers my electronics, 12 volt lighting, macerators, pumps, etc.

All of these batteries are connected in parallel (pos to pos, neg to neg)
If you have the same set-up, simply run a red heavy gauge cable from house battery (pos) to your distribution panel and mark it positve. Do the same for your ground (negative) cable. Now you have power to were ever your new distribution panel is located.

From there, I would install breaker/switch (switches which have a breaker built in) and run your individual power feeds to each down rigger, from these breaker/switches. All of your ground leads from the down riggers will go to one lug (common ground) which is also attached to your ground cable, coming from your battery. This way, you can control each circuit, on the power side, separately.

TrojanF32 · Post by **TrojanF32** » Thu Jan 21, 2010 5:32 pm

Stripermann2 wrote:All of these batteries are connected in parallel (pos to pos, neg to neg)

So in fact you have one big battery and all power everything... not a way I would go.
If you have a short on one engine circuit you would loose ALL power... in effect no backup.
Or am I reading something wrong here??
On mine only the negatives are connected....

chauzer · Post by **chauzer** » Thu Jan 21, 2010 9:03 pm

so i should put a breaker in even though the riggers themselves have a 10 amp breaker? my batteries are the same as yours with one house and two starting. how else would you hook them up if not parallel? isolate each battery per engine and the house battery separate? i have a Trojan manual that shows the wiring diagram but its for an 1975 f32 not a 1975 f30. don't know if there is any difference between the two in how the batteries are hooked up.

TrojanF32 · Post by **TrojanF32** » Thu Jan 21, 2010 10:23 pm

chauzer wrote:my batteries are the same as yours with one house and two starting. how else would you hook them up if not parallel? isolate each battery per engine and the house battery separate?

Yes that is how I would do it. On my F32 the engine wiring harness handles all lights etc: I have wired the heavy loads of Inverter and fridge directly to the house.

Reely Hall'n · Post by **Reely Hall'n** » Thu Jan 21, 2010 10:32 pm

I wired in my 4 cannons using 10 guage wire from one main battery and ran the wire to a block in the back. from there I could install 4 20 amp fuses and wire each downrigger to the block. Works great

Stripermann2 · Post by **Stripermann2** » Fri Jan 22, 2010 8:11 am

Sorry, let me rephrase. The system is in parallel. Each battery for the engines is separate to the degree that there are engine breakers and re-sets for each, otherwise, as TrojanF32 says, you would have a problem.

And...the house is connected to one of the other two for charging.

chauzer · Post by **chauzer** » Fri Jan 22, 2010 12:48 pm

don, i want to look at how you have yours done. let me know when your going to be over at your boat next time. i'm not going to do anything until spring but at least i'll know what to get so i don't have to run to sturgeon bay 500 times!
thanks guys for all of the input! it all helped alot!