Battery Rack

[Hammer Dog]

I have an 18' Landau fish bandit and am redoing the wiring and battery set up.

It now has a 2 battery set up (one cranking and one for acc and trolling) But looking at switching to add another battery for the acc & trolling and want to maximize the space in the motor area (open). Wanting to buy or build a battery rack that will bolt to the floor and hold the batteries vertically rather than just strapping them on the deck and have a maze of wiring like it is now. I have never run out of battery power and would like to keep it that way.
Has anybody done this and have any input?

I will also be adding an onboard 2 bank charger, give me your thoughts on good brands and ones to stay away from.


The boat will mainly be on 2 community lakes (240acre and 320 acre).

 

[Hammer Dog]

Re: Battery Rack

I guess no one has made a battery rack or uses an onboard battery charger here.

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Battery Rack

I guess no one has made a battery rack or uses an onboard battery charger here.

That should be a good indicator for you. But yes, the vast majority of serious boaters have on-board chargers, dual battery switches, and/or ACR's. Especially those with trolling motors or high power audio system. Because nobody has commented on the three tier setup does not mean it hasn't been done or has not been thought about. If you feel strongly about it, have at. I actually question your need for three batteries. Unless your boat has a high power stereo or some other high current draw accessories (excluding the troller) two batteries of adequate size is very adequate -- especially since you are boating such small bodies of water. People tend to overthink what they need when it comes to switches, batteries, killing the starting battery, etc. Yes -- you need a large deep cycle dedicated to the troller. A standard stereo system, live wells, fish finder, cell phone charger, etc will not kill the starting battery. If you have a dual battery switch you can switch to BAT 2 (the troller) if you should kill the starting battery. You even said you've never run out of power so why add another bit of weight and complexity. Don't know what outboard you have but you should be aware that anything 75 HP and below can generally be rope started so a dead battery should not be an issue. If you have a dual battery switch everything should be wired to the COM terminal anyway so you can select which battery you want to run stuff. You can start from either or both batteries, charger either or both batteries and run accessories from either or both batteries.

 

[Todd4]

Re: Battery Rack

I have run out of battery power and pull started an 85 hp Force outboard - never again. I have not built a stacked battery frame, but did make frames that bolt to the floor for my dedicated starting battery and a house battery. I also have two batteries in the bow for a 24V Minn Kota trolling motor. It would be difficult for me to attach chargers to all those batteries so I installed a 4-bank MK AC battery charger and a MK DC charger to charge all batteries while underway. The AC charger is intended to re-charge all my batteries quickly after trolling. The DC charger will not charge all the batteries unless you have a loooong ways to go, but it was relatively cheap so I installed it at the time I was wiring everything.

I made my frame out of 1 1/4" aluminum square bar, some 1" aluminum square bar, and various aluminum angle and strip (all riveted and bolted together and to the floor), and I connected it all with marine wire. It was a ton of work (gaining access for the wires). I also installed a shelf over the start and house and batteries. You can design anything to suit your needs. ABYC and the USCG have regulations on how secure the batteries have to be and how close overhead metal can be to a battery post, so I'd read those documents before designing your set-up. And remember batteries are HEAVY, so I'd bolt it together or have it welded to hold up against pounding waves. I also went with Minn Kota because they have a relatively reliable reputation, and that was the brand of TM I went with. There are other good brands too (Guest?? -can't remember). I'm just reporting what I did.

Search for posts on wiring batteries on this forum - TONS of info. Have fun designing and building your rack and wiring up your batteries and charger(s). I'm very pleased with the utility of my set-up - you'll like your results.

Todd

 

[Hammer Dog]

Re: Battery Rack

Thanks guys, I know the 2 battery set up may seem like overkill but when doing a full day of joy riding/ fishing then doing night fishing at times I feel better having a better set up. I am rewiring the boat as the previous owner used substandard wire and taped it up, so keeping it that way is not an option for me. And wanted to utilize the rear deck space as much as I can and thought about a rack.

Todd, thanks for the suggestion on the charger.