Outboard elecric motors. Batteries. Your personal experience.

[Balu]

There is a Russian proverb: prepare sledges in summer and a cart in winter. (Thatch your roof before the rain starts.)
So, it's time to start preparing for the upcoming fishing season. My inflatable boat is equipped with 2 engines - 2-stroke 3 h/p Yamaha and Water-snake 24 lb for local maneuvering. The latter requires a battery with a deep cycle. I'm looking at the American model Deka DC27 DT 105 a / h. I hope this potential will suit my needs.
Has anyone had a personal experience in using this battery and what is your impression?



http://bigteh.ru/published/publicdata/BIGTEHRASYST/attachments/SC/products_pictures/DC24_enl.jpg

[CSM]

Against my better judgement and suppressing the smart ass comments that initially come to mind....

I have three on my boat. Two are starters for the twin engines and the third is for "housekeeping". The housekeeping battery powers the electronics such as chart plotter and radar as well as short term supply for refrigerator and stuff.

All three are charged when engines are running or by the generator when it is running. They hold up pretty well and shelf life is reasonable for the amount of use they get.

[High_Plains_Drifter]

Against my better judgement and suppressing the smart ass comments that initially come to mind....

I have three on my boat. Two are starters for the twin engines and the third is for "housekeeping". The housekeeping battery powers the electronics such as chart plotter and radar as well as short term supply for refrigerator and stuff.

All three are charged when engines are running or by the generator when it is running. They hold up pretty well and shelf life is reasonable for the amount of use they get.
Sounds like you have yourself a pretty nice boat there, Sarge... I've been looking for a little flat bottom 14" jon boat, something that will maneuver around in the shallows all along the Wisconsin River here, that's where all the monster Blue Gills and Crappies are, and bass. I've never owned a boat in my life though otherwise, but my Dad always had a boat.

[Gunny]

Against my better judgement and suppressing the smart ass comments that initially come to mind....

I have three on my boat. Two are starters for the twin engines and the third is for "housekeeping". The housekeeping battery powers the electronics such as chart plotter and radar as well as short term supply for refrigerator and stuff.

All three are charged when engines are running or by the generator when it is running. They hold up pretty well and shelf life is reasonable for the amount of use they get.:grenade:

[CSM]

Sounds like you have yourself a pretty nice boat there, Sarge... I've been looking for a little flat bottom 14" jon boat, something that will maneuver around in the shallows all along the Wisconsin River here, that's where all the monster Blue Gills and Crappies are, and bass. I've never owned a boat in my life though otherwise, but my Dad always had a boat.

Actually, I have two. One is my 42' Carver Montego on which I spend most summer weekends either cruising the coast or just relaxing. The other is a 14' Zodiac with a 50 hp Merc 4 stoke which I use for fishing and goofing off on some of the larger lakes in New Hampshire. I once owned a 14' aluminum for fishing but it was stolen. Got the Zodiac complete with electronics and trailer dirt cheap from a friend. The Zodiac is not ideal but it was cheap.

[High_Plains_Drifter]

Actually, I have two. One is my 42' Carver Montego on which I spend most summer weekends either cruising the coast or just relaxing. The other is a 14' Zodiac with a 50 hp Merc 4 stoke which I use for fishing and goofing off on some of the larger lakes in New Hampshire. I once owned a 14' aluminum for fishing but it was stolen. Got the Zodiac complete with electronics and trailer dirt cheap from a friend. The Zodiac is not ideal but it was cheap.
Holy CRAP... you could dang near live on that.

I couldn't count the times I've looked at nice boats, large boats, yachts, and thought, I could sell out and buy that and live on it. Birth it somewhere on the east coast, head it north in the summer and south in the winter.

[Gunny]

Sounds like you have yourself a pretty nice boat there, Sarge... I've been looking for a little flat bottom 14" jon boat, something that will maneuver around in the shallows all along the Wisconsin River here, that's where all the monster Blue Gills and Crappies are, and bass. I've never owned a boat in my life though otherwise, but my Dad always had a boat.Damn Zoomie. You just addressed a Sergeant Major as Sarge? :slap:

[CSM]

Damn Zoomie. You just addressed a Sergeant Major as Sarge? :slap:

yeah, I let that slide. It's my kind, forgiving, compassionate side....heh.

[CSM]

Holy CRAP... you could dang near live on that.

I couldn't count the times I've looked at nice boats, large boats, yachts, and thought, I could sell out and buy that and live on it. Birth it somewhere on the east coast, head it north in the summer and south in the winter.

Thought about living on it at one time. I have too much stuff that I am not willing to give up. Besides, I may want to mount a couple of torpedo tubes and .50 cals on it so need room for ammo storage and the like.

[Balu]

Against my better judgement and suppressing the smart ass comments that initially come to mind....

I have three on my boat. Two are starters for the twin engines and the third is for "housekeeping". The housekeeping battery powers the electronics such as chart plotter and radar as well as short term supply for refrigerator and stuff.

All three are charged when engines are running or by the generator when it is running. They hold up pretty well and shelf life is reasonable for the amount of use they get.

I'm very happy for you. But ... we are in different conditions. I'm talking about an inflatable boat with a length of 3200 mm, which will be transported to lakes, rivers or reservoirs of the Volga in a jeep-luggage compartment. The distances to be covered are short, not exceeding in radius 5-10 km. a day. The electric motor is necessary for local maneuvering when searching for pits, pins and snags - favorite places for pike and perch.
Fishing usually lasts for 2-3 days and the possibility of charging batteries on the wild shore is very limited. As a result, at the end the battery remains in the semi or full discharged condition, totally for a long time. So the question is how well it tolerates such conditions.

[High_Plains_Drifter]

Damn Zoomie. You just addressed a Sergeant Major as Sarge? :slap:
Yeah we weren't required to spell it all out like other branches are. We even just called our First Shirt, Sarge. We'd call our CMSgt, Chief.

[Elessar]

I'm very happy for you. But ... we are in different conditions. I'm talking about an inflatable boat with a length of 3200 mm, which will be transported to lakes, rivers or reservoirs of the Volga in a jeep-luggage compartment. The distances to be covered are short, not exceeding in radius 5-10 km. a day. The electric motor is necessary for local maneuvering when searching for pits, pins and snags - favorite places for pike and perch.
Fishing usually lasts for 2-3 days and the possibility of charging batteries on the wild shore is very limited. As a result, at the end the battery remains in the semi or full discharged condition, totally for a long time. So the question is how well it tolerates such conditions.

I just do not trust electric and water. I ran boats for years and am much more in favor
of diesel or gas engines.

[Balu]

I just do not trust electric and water. I ran boats for years and am much more in favor
of diesel or gas engines.

You're right!
But the main engine is two-stroke gas to reach the destination. Electric is an auxiliary that is used at the fishing site. It is noiseless and does not scare the fish. In this respect, it is even better than the oars.

[Taco Junkie]

Even though you can discharge deep cycle batteries below 20% you really don't want to take them down below 50%. Balu check here for everything (almost) you want to know about batteries but were afraid to ask:

https://www.solar-electric.com/learning-center/batteries-and-charging/deep-cycle-battery-faq.html

I expect to see some fishing pictures.

[Taco Junkie]

Actually, I have two. One is my 42' Carver Montego on which I spend most summer weekends either cruising the coast or just relaxing. The other is a 14' Zodiac with a 50 hp Merc 4 stoke which I use for fishing and goofing off on some of the larger lakes in New Hampshire. I once owned a 14' aluminum for fishing but it was stolen. Got the Zodiac complete with electronics and trailer dirt cheap from a friend. The Zodiac is not ideal but it was cheap.

Carver Yachts! Made in Wisconsin :cool:

[CSM]

I'm very happy for you. But ... we are in different conditions. I'm talking about an inflatable boat with a length of 3200 mm, which will be transported to lakes, rivers or reservoirs of the Volga in a jeep-luggage compartment. The distances to be covered are short, not exceeding in radius 5-10 km. a day. The electric motor is necessary for local maneuvering when searching for pits, pins and snags - favorite places for pike and perch.
Fishing usually lasts for 2-3 days and the possibility of charging batteries on the wild shore is very limited. As a result, at the end the battery remains in the semi or full discharged condition, totally for a long time. So the question is how well it tolerates such conditions.

I agree...different conditions. If you are going to be using the battery for two or three days at a time, you may want to consider a small solar panel to provide a trickle charge to the battery. I do know that running the battery down below a certain level and recharging it shortens the life of the battery.

[Balu]

I agree...different conditions. If you are going to be using the battery for two or three days at a time, you may want to consider a small solar panel to provide a trickle charge to the battery. I do know that running the battery down below a certain level and recharging it shortens the life of the battery.

Well.
This is almost what I wanted to know about your American batteries of this brand. The level of discharge can easily be defined by voltmeter. I wanted to know which level of discharge is harmful for it and to which extent it is harmful depending of the level of discharge and the time of its being in such states. I assume that in your country these batteries are used wider than in our, so I asked for the opinion of those, who used these very batteries themselves, about their personal experience.
As to recharging the battery it is possible to use the car generator, as in our weather conditions the solar panels can hardly be used, as fishing is in day time and there is no additional spare room to install it in my boat. If in summer time fishing were above Polar Circle it would be the other pair of shoes.

[High_Plains_Drifter]

Well.
This is almost what I wanted to know about your American batteries of this brand. The level of discharge can easily be defined by voltmeter. I wanted to know which level of discharge is harmful for it and to which extent it is harmful depending of the level of discharge and the time of its being in such states. I assume that in your country these batteries are used wider than in our, so I asked for the opinion of those, who used these very batteries themselves, about their personal experience.
As to recharging the battery it is possible to use the car generator, as in our weather conditions the solar panels can hardly be used, as fishing is in day time and there is no additional spare room to install it in my boat. If in summer time fishing were above Polar Circle it would be the other pair of shoes.
What a "deep cycle" battery is, is one that is designed to discharge and recharge it's electrical energy many times. Also, if you run a deep cycle battery way down until it's almost dead, that does do it some harm, but they can pop back if you recharge them slowly for a long period of time, like a couple days with a trickle charger such as a Battery Tender.

Here's a couple good vids to explain how a battery works, and the difference between a regular battery and a deep cycle battery... this video simplifies the process of discharging and charging, and how the plates get "sulfated" when discharged, and how the sulfate expels off the plates when charged...


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nd3Q5QV6GjQ

This video explains the primary difference between a deep cycle and a regular battery...


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LP85qyeUQTE

Just about any AMERICAN MADE deep cycle battery will be a good one.