Starter Battery

[Cheeseball]

Hi All,

Question: If I put the my starter battery in the front of the boat and run wires to the motor in the back (wire would run about 10 ft. total), would that be too far to run wire for starting the motor? What guage wire should I use?

 

[redbug]

Cheeseball,it wouldn't be to far of a run but, you will need some heavy wire to do it just think about jumper cables for a car the longer they are the thicker the cable.
you might be better off keeping the battery in the back.
I assume that you want the battery closer to the front to run your trolling motor? or other electronics?
if so you could run some 6gauge wire from the back of the beat up front for your trolling motor..

Wayne

 

[Cheeseball]

Actually, I'm trying to keep weight off the back. I have a 14ft. jon and I'm putting a 15hp (102lb.) and me (195lb.) an anchor, plus gas in the back. I fish shallow rocky bottom water, so I would like to keep the boat as balanced front to back as much as possible.

I have two batts. a deep cycle, that I plan to run a TM, bilge, and lights, and a Cold Cranking batt for starting. Here is a schematic of how I plan to run wires.

To all, please do offer advice and/or corrections. I am by no means an electrician and this is 1st draft. :-k

Also, this graphic does not show the actual path that I will run the wires.

 

[redbug]

Just a thought... since you are only starting a 12hp motor why not use a tractor battery?
place it in the back your talking 6lbs maybe 10? it should handle it i have an 18hp tractor same battery for 6 years..

 

[bassboy1]

View the link I put on this thread.
https://tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=5788

 

[ben2go]

I would buy the heavy gauge battery cable used in commercial trucks and farm tractors.I think it's 1/0 or 4/0.It has more strands or wire in it and can carry more amperage for a given distance than automotive battery cable.I get mine at NAPA.

 

[Cheeseball]

Just a thought... since you are only starting a 12hp motor why not use a tractor battery?
place it in the back your talking 6lbs maybe 10? it should handle it i have an 18hp tractor same battery for 6 years..

Actually, I missed typed and corrected it's a 15hp. The manual calls for 425 cold cranking amps. I already have a battery with 600 that will do the job. I probably could get something smaller, but that cost $.

 

[Cheeseball]

View the link I put on this thread.
https://tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=5788

Nice link! Now I just have to figure what the amperage draw of the motor is?

 

[Captain Ahab]

It is NOT recommend that you use automotive grade wires for any marine application - Marine Grade is what should be used. Marine grade is a larger diameter then automotive and is tinned to resist corrosion. You can use auto wire if the wire is SAE (Society of Automotive Engineering) J378, J1127 or J1128.

You will need to replace this wire more frequently so do yourself a favor and run a PVC pipe so you can pull the wire through. Good luck


https://www.cncphotoalbum.com/doityourself/wiring/wiring.htm

 

[Cheeseball]

It is NOT recommend that you use automotive grade wires for any marine application - Marine Grade is what should be used. Marine grade is a larger diameter then automotive and is tinned to resist corrosion. You can use auto wire if the wire is SAE (Society of Automotive Engineering) J378, J1127 or J1128.

You will need to replace this wire more frequently so do yourself a favor and run a PVC pipe so you can pull the wire through. Good luck


https://www.cncphotoalbum.com/doityourself/wiring/wiring.htm

Thanks for the advice and link. I would like to run a a pvc pipe down the side groove. But I don't know I'll have enough room to squeeze one through.

 

[Cheeseball]

What your are opinions about running all the lights n such off of the deep cycle. Would it be better to run lights off the starter? Since it would be constantly charged by the motor.

 

[Popeye]

In my boat the only thing on the TM battery is the TM. Everything else comes off the cranking battery (most through a fuse box)