Batteries in Bass Buggy

[mkrock]

Hello..Newbee here, just purchased a 2002 18' Bass Buggy. Have a battery question. The Deep Cycle battery that came with the toon is trash and needs replaced. Everything is now hooked up to the crank battery. I'm going to replace both batteries and keep the existing crank battery for a back up. My question is, what all goes to the deep cycle battery? Just the trolling motor? Will the deep cycle charge or will I have to keep it charged manually. I appreciate everybodys help in advance and look forward to getting in the water

 

[Lowe170]

Re: Batteries in Bass Buggy

Welcome. Others with more experience will chime in, but my take is that deep cycle batteries are best for trolling motors. I have everything else on my bass boat hooked up to a cranking battery. Not sure about the wisdom of saving a battery as a spare; I'd use it til it doesn't charge well anymore and replace with a new one. Even if your batteries are getting some charge from the outboard (if any depending on your setup), you still want to fully recharge them after each use with either a portable or on board charger (the latter being easy to install and very convenient.)
Happy fishing/tooning. I'm eye balling something like the Bass Buggy for a small family barge/fishing platform.

 

[steelespike]

Re: Batteries in Bass Buggy

If the deep cycle is used one hour it will require at least 2 hours to charge so while the motor can give the deep cycle a little boost it would be a long time to charge.Its best to just charge the main battery and do the Deep cycle with a charger.
Always charge as soon as possible after use don't let it sit for days without charging.
With deep cycle batteries size/weight matters. I've had good luck with group 31 Deka deep cycle's both price and performance.
The the higher the amp hours the less it will discharge with use and the more recharge cycles it can go through.
I used the Deka's in my electric car and in the floor scrubbers at work.They held up well in a very punishing environment.

 

[lncoop]

Re: Batteries in Bass Buggy

Welcome aboard mk. Generally speaking I think your best bet would be to use the DC for the trolling motor and connect everything else to the main battery. This is assuming you don't have a bunch of power hogging electronics. Also, if the boat doesn't already have an onboard charger I'd strongly recommend installing one. They're not prohibitively expensive and they make your batteries last longer and your life easier.

I gather the boat is set up with a battery switch. If so, read up on them so you can learn how to operate it properly. If not, you'll have to add one if you expect to get any charging from the outboard, which brings me to the next point. How much charge you'll get from the outboard will depend on its horsepower and how long you run it at a stretch, but you won't be able to depend exclusively on it to keep your batteries charged. For that you'll need a charger, which brings me to the next point, get an onboard charger............ Oh wait, said that already. Post up some deets about your system and you'll probably get more detailed help.

 

[mkrock]

Re: Batteries in Bass Buggy

Thanks for all of the wisdom. I don't think it has a battery swithch, at least I can't find one anywhere. I know the main battery is charged by the 60 horse merc, but don't see how the deep cycle would be charged. As far as all the other stuff, just a standard radio and a live well. According to interstate battery, the cranking battery should last 180 minutes with 25 amps being pulled. My guess is the radio and live well together is less than 5 amps. Also has lights, but not a big fan of water after dark. Onboard charger sounds like a good idea, but until then throwing a charger on the deep cycle won't kill me. Thanks again for the suggestions

 

[MH Hawker]

Re: Batteries in Bass Buggy

Well its not my normal way of doing things, but I have owned that interstate battery and it may be that I got a bad one but it never did live up to its spec,s I even took it to the local dealer to be tested and was told its fine, it would drop 20 % of charge just sitting for 1 week disconnected. Used it one season and replaced it