Ways to charge batteries w/out shore power??

[BassCat73]

I am going on a 2-day camping/fishing trip next weekend. Of course, the only campsites available oare the non-electric ones. Are there any other realistic options for charging my battery? I was thinking about one of those trickle-type chargers that you hook up to the cig. lighter in the tow vehicle, if there is such a thing. If so, I'm concerned about whether that might drain the battery in the vehicle too much? I'm not interested in the solar chargers either, but if anyone has a suggestion I'd like to hear it.

 

[crab bait]

Re: Ways to charge batteries w/out shore power??

honestly,, i don't think so..<br /><br />i've been in the exact place,before..<br /><br />what i did,, i took them to a local filling station an had them SLOW charge 'um.. <br /><br />it's a bit-o-hassel,, but heck,, it's only for one time..( 2 days )<br /><br />next time,, i brought my own charger an gave the outside-the-park camp store a few bucs an charged them there..

 

[amirm]

Re: Ways to charge batteries w/out shore power??

Not sure how much they cost but you could rent a small Honda generator (1000 watts) and use that if you need lots of juice. They are very quiet and at $1000 retail, rental cost should not be huge for 2 days.<br /><br />Not really recommending this option but if you are desperate, you can run jumper wires from the car and run your engine for a while. This would only produce modest amount of current at idle but would be more than nothing. Of course, if you are using trolling engines then this is not a viable option as you would need to run the car for way too long (and idling an engine is not a great idea to begin with).<br /><br />The things you plug into cig lighter are useless for this application.<br /><br />Amir

 

[BassCat73]

Re: Ways to charge batteries w/out shore power??

That's kinda what I was expecting to hear, but renting a generator might be something to look into. It's either that or I just conserve my trolling usage and use the wind to my favor.

 

[ndemge]

Re: Ways to charge batteries w/out shore power??

I think tossing a couple bucks at someone that has electric is the way to go, but do it with a good charger. Don't want to have to have it sitting there allll day on 5-6 amps. Same with if you go the generator route, use a high amp charger. Don't be tempted to use onboard dc charging of the genset, that's usually only 5 amp as well.... and you want the honda EU series, ultra quiet, don't go with a contractor generator if your going to be within a mile of my campsite

 

[BassCat73]

Re: Ways to charge batteries w/out shore power??

$70 for a generator 2-day rental at A to Z. Too much for me. I'll think I make nicey, nice with some of my electric campsite neighbors, instead.

 

[Luna Sea]

Re: Ways to charge batteries w/out shore power??

And bring a long extension cord.

 

[sergioy]

Re: Ways to charge batteries w/out shore power??

get one of those converters for your car and your regular charger. Then just fire up the car for a few hours while it charges. may cost you a few gallons of gas.

 

[18rabbit]

Re: Ways to charge batteries w/out shore power??

Originally posted by BassCat73:<br /> $70 for a generator 2-day rental at A to Z. Too much for me. I'll think I make nicey, nice with some of my electric campsite neighbors, instead.

Just as a rule of thumb (but not always) rental cost of most stuff is about 1/20th of the retail value, for a ‘normal’ time period. So a $1000 generator will rent somewhere around $50. If normal use is a weekend, then $50/wkend. If normal use is a day, then $50/day.

 

[RobG]

Re: Ways to charge batteries w/out shore power??

If you have the time and an extra mower sitting around you could make a homemade generator for around 30-40 bucks. I made one with a 6.5HP briggs mower motor and a cheap AC delco alternator. If you have room on the boat you could even run it in the background. Of course the better the muffler the quieter it will be. Here is a link to where I got my idea.<br /><br /> http://theepicenter.com/tow052903.html <br /><br />Rob

 

[gonefishie]

Re: Ways to charge batteries w/out shore power??

This stuff here might be of interest to you BassCat. http://www.raystackle.com/. It charges your batteries using your tow vehicle alternator without hurting a thing.

 

[crab bait]

Re: Ways to charge batteries w/out shore power??

DANG ROB,, that's the best cottonpickin' redneck/hilljack invention i heard tell in years..!! BIG OLE REBEL YELL..!!!<br /><br /><br />FISHIE,, pretty neet..!!

 

[jtexas]

Re: Ways to charge batteries w/out shore power??

deepcycle trolling batt at walmart...$35.

 

[BassCat73]

Re: Ways to charge batteries w/out shore power??

Gonefishie, yeah I saw that stay n' charge converter online somehwere before. Do you or anyone have any experience or opinions with that coverter? Are there any downsides to it? Only $60 -- I'm surprised that more people don't have it, if it works well.

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Ways to charge batteries w/out shore power??

Water_surge, what you are suggesting is to use 12V from the car to run a inverter (12V to 110) so you can run a conventional charger. That's creating two sets of losses (very inefficient) and is an expensive way to accomplish what you could do with a set of jumper cables. Jump the trolling battery to the car and let it idle. The car output is higher than most outboards at idle anyway.