Trolling Motor Batteries

[bullett 21]

I havent charged them in 4 days .Still plenty of power .Ive got right at 32 hrs on a charge i thought .So is the big motor charging the batteries ?I do have a 3 bank system hooked up .But i think the bug motor is charging batteries through the motor .I cant see how this is happening.Is my alternator big enough to charge 3 total batteries at 1 time .I sure havent pluged in the charger for 4 days .I run on 40 to 50 on the power switch all day long .7 hrs aday .

 

Whats up with dat ?Is it possible ?

[BassinB]

Yes. Ive seen close to those numbers with my batteries. New trolling motors are very efficient. I doubt your outboard is setup to charge deep cycle batteries efficiently. Probably just good batteries and a new TM. I wouldnt run them like that often though...

[Fishes in trees]

Charge back systems are available.  I remember reading about them in In-fisherman magazine several years ago.  You could get systems that would charge your trolling motor batteries off of your big motor while it was running.  You could get systems that would charge your trolling motor & starting batteries while you were trailering your boat down the road.  As far as I know they aren't standard equipment on any boat.

 

On an tangental point,  If you've gone 4 days without charging your batteries and you still have power, good for you.  Don't think that will continue indefinitely.  You aren't doing your batteries any favors by not plugging them into the charger every time you come off the water.  If you keep using your batteries and then going days between recharging them, you will experience decreased performance over time.  Really

[Gotfishyfingers?]

Your charging system can be a Ac and Dc system. I have both so when I run the boat the batteries are charging. Then when I get home I plug it in and charges it as well.

[scrutch]

Yeah, you should plug it in every night. It's nice to know what kind of capacity you have but it's really hard on your batteries to leave them in a state if discharge. AND... If you happened to forget and leave a switch on, you could be replacing all of them at once. Don't ask me how I know this!