Please suggest your opinions

[Daiwarockz]

I recently purchased a water snake 54 for my boat was just wondering what battery and charger would you recommend like brand,volt and amp etc? would like to have a charger which wont take days to charge the battery and a battery that can last 8 or so hours.

thanks in advance

[seamonkey]

You need a deep cycle battery of at least 100amp hour capacity and a charger of at least 10amps. A few options out there for charger's - I think there's a Minn Kota in the classifieds.

[Bobby Bass]

Ive got two in my boat. I might be able to get the single one out and sell it.

[Fishigan]

7amp charger will do. just takes a bit longer to charge them up. C-Tech chargers are pretty good.

[redrocket]

I recently got a 6amp C-Tech charger and it can take my battery from dead flat to fully charged in less then 24 hours. U can pick em up for about $180 or less. Good value if ur not going with the on board charger.

[Nugget]

I use a ctek charger as well for my battery, A little bit more pricey but hassle free. I have the 6 amp charger and I plug it in when I am finished a sesh and its good to go the next morning. 80 - 100 AH hour should see you through a session. I bought a cheap brand deep cycle for my tinny and 2 years later it is still going strong.

Be prepared to spend 200 - 250 on a battery and 80- 150 on a charger depending on fast you want it charging.

[Waiwurri]

Originally Posted by Daiwarockz

I recently purchased a water snake 54 for my boat was just wondering what battery and charger would you recommend like brand,volt and amp etc? would like to have a charger which wont take days to charge the battery and a battery that can last 8 or so hours.

thanks in advance

ill be honest a bit more information is probably need but here is my take

1 - get the biggest battery (amp hours) you can afford for mine I lean towards a deep cycle (wet) lead acid battery at least 110amps and my reason for that is a deep-cycle battery is designed to discharge between 50% and 80% depending on the manufacturer and construction of the battery so to get hours out of a battery you will need at least 110amp hour battery
2- like the battery get the best and biggest regulated charger you can afford for mine you get what you pay for
When i was running a 12 volt minkota on my Stacer I had a 120amp deep cycle wet battery and charged it with a C-Tek M200 which is a regulated 15amp staged charger some say an over kill but ill give you reason why its not
if you ran your motor at 1/2 speeded for 8 hours you would use app 65-80 amps from your battery which in a battery smaller than 110amps would be flat so its now about how long do you have to put that charge back in? if you only fish once a week you could use a 7amp charger but if your like me and fish 2 days ina row or holiday and fish daily and sometimes twice a day then you will never revharge your battery fully and before long your $200 battery is stuffed.
all that info is basic and could do with a lot more explaning by someone with more smarts than me but dont go for cheapest now because it wont turn out to be the cheaper option down the track

[Daiwarockz]

Thanks for all your reply's

Delkor Lead Calcium batteries are seriously good! Just pricey! My 80Amp battery lasts for about 7 to 9 hours on a 30lb Minn Kota freshwater pushing my Viking Tempo around the Southport Broady - not sure why but it does?

Optima batteries are no good for electric motors at all...

Jay Car has a 7 Stage 7Amp charger "Power Tech Plus MB3606" that I use and its exactly the same as the Ctec however has more functions and has kept me going for the last two or more years now - why pay big $'s for a Ctec when there are others that are cheaper and possibly better in their function, why buy a 3 stage if you can get a 7 stage for cheaper?

Also keeps the car battery de-sulphated when I dont use it much - I put it on every couple of months to do a 'maintenance charge' - it charges in such a way that the acid / water levels never drop like non smart chargers...

When storing a deep cycle - just ensure that you give it a zap charge every 6 months - by keeping a diary entry or on your calendar. And store it on a shelf or on a thick rubber mat when on concrete - my Delkor lives on a inch thick recycled car tyre rubber mat with no problems to date.