12 volt car battery question.

[lispeej]

Who here uses a 12volt car/boat battery to power there flashers? I wonder if it is overkill or will hurt the flasher.

[Eric Wettschreck]

Voltage is voltage. I don't see any harm in it but lugging around a big car battery would kind of suck. If you really want to use a big heavy battery, a deep cycle would work better than a car battery..........unless you're hooking up jumper cables to your car to power your flasher.

I have used the 12 volt deep cycle batteries in the perm house to power my underwater camera in the past.

[harvey lee]

Carry an extra flasher battery and you would be good for days.

[BLACKJACK]

I agree, the extra battery is worth it considering the cost of any multi day trip. I also take with an extra deep cycle, never know when you need some battery power, I have jumper cables too, and have created small jumper cables with alligator clips and copper coated wire, in case I or a fishing partner would have to use it with a flasher.

[JeffB]

I have wiring ran in my perm for running electronics incase the vex or camera battery goes dead. Make an extension cord with allegator clips on both ends an run anything you need 12v power for on any battery you wish. The only thing you have to worry about is appliances with a high load need larger wires. ie. No electric augers running from your cigarette lighter.

[lispeej]

I was kind of concerned about the number of amps on the car/deep-cyle/boat battery vs. flasher battery (7amp or 9amp). I am no expert in this area, that's why I had to ask.

[bobbymalone]

I = V/R That almost sums up my knowledge of electrical stuff.

just cuz the battery can supply ### cranking amps doesn't mean whatever you've got on the circuit is gonna draw that much power.

The 7 or 9 amp batteries are actually 7 or 9 amp hours (Ah) meaning they can supply 1 amp for that many hours before they are discharged. It's a different measurement than cranking amps on the side of car battery.

I'd run a fuse on the wiring between a car battery and the flasher, just in case it shorts out. No idea what size fuse goes on those things and I'm surprised they don't have them built in... My wife's showdown does (2A), but my FL18 does not.

[Walleyehooker]

Wont hurt the flasher 12V is 12V. I used to run my flasher off of a car battery in a permanant house and also had a set of wires to tap into my truck battery if needed.

[delcecchi]

I was kind of concerned about the number of amps on the car/deep-cyle/boat battery vs. flasher battery (7amp or 9amp). I am no expert in this area, that's why I had to ask.

The "amps" number is really amp-hours or the capacity of the battery. On car batteries it shows up as "reserve capacity" in minutes, like 180.

A 9 amp battery or 9 amp hours could theoretically supply one amp of current for 9 hours. A trolling motor battery might supply one amp for 90 hours. (details left out to avoid confusion)

[BobT]

Whether it's a 12v car battery or 12v Vexilar battery or 1.5v flashlight battery, they can all deliver near infinite current for a period of time at near zero resistance, that is, until they discharge their capacity. The difference is in the time which is relative to the capacity of the battery.

The load (whatever you are powering) will use whatever it is designed to use. If it requires high power (watts) it will consume a battery's capacity more quickly than if it requires low power.