Power source for 12v lights in fishhouse

[JIGGS]

I currently use a deep cycle trolling motor battery for powering the 12v lights in my permanent fishhouse. Are there other ideas out there? Always interested in finding out more efficient ideas.

[aanderud]

There are lots of other 12 volt options out there besides the 'normal' sized 12 volt deep cycles that people are used to seeing power trolling motors and such. They make the 7, 9, and 11 amp hour gel cell batteries in a form factor like you see on flashers (marcum, vexilar, etc). There's also the option of the smaller batteries that would normally be used for starting lawn tractors and such. Although, they aren't deep cycle batteries usually, and thus will not last as long through the deep discharge/recharge cycles.

Smaller batteries, while being lighter weight, will need to be charged more often, which might be more of a pain than dealing with heavier batteries.

Instead of smaller, if you really want something that'll last a long time, you could put two 6 volt golf cart batteries together for your 12 volts.

[tunrevir]

I use a portable Booster box and recharge it between uses. It runs a standard 12v light bulb about 5-6 hours. I have 2 booster boxes and rotate them plus you can charge a cellphone or use the cigerette adapter to power other things like the dvd player because my little people like to watch movies when it is slow fishing.

Tunrevir~

[slipperywhenwet]

A real common sealed lead acid(SLA) battery is a 7 amp computer backup battery. They are the same dimension as the flasher batteries(because they are the same battery)....You can get them off that e auction place cheap--- Batteries Plus carries them as well but twice the money.

[broman]

Hamster on a wheel, hooked up to a generator. Don't forget to take him home when you leave.

[BK19]

I use a portable Booster box and recharge it between uses. It runs a standard 12v light bulb about 5-6 hours. I have 2 booster boxes and rotate them plus you can charge a cellphone or use the cigerette adapter to power other things like the dvd player because my little people like to watch movies when it is slow fishing.

Tunrevir~

that is what i use it works great the last time i mentioned it on the board someone really let me have i guess they didnt like my idea but i think it works great

[Big Buck Buster]

If you don't have too many lights in your house, you can always switch them over to led backup lights like you see in the semi trailers. This way you can use the smaller batteries like the ones used for vex, and marcum. You could carry four of those into the shack and hook them in parallel with some jumper wires. They should last a long time running the leds. If you run other 12 volt items along with the lights, I would stick to the large deep cycle batteries.

[lookingforluck]

Here's what I do and it has worked really well for me: I just bought some wheelchair batteries. Mine are Sealed Lead Acid (no maintenance) and they are 35 amp/hr. They are about the size 2 vexilar batteries put together. They are interstate brand and have a nice little handle. They seem to last a really long time, depending on what you are running. Much better than hauling a large car battery in and out. Depending on where you find them, the cost can vary quite a bit.

LFL

[RonWBasser]

There are lots of other 12 volt options out there besides the 'normal' sized 12 volt deep cycles that people are used to seeing power trolling motors and such. They make the 7, 9, and 11 amp hour gel cell batteries in a form factor like you see on flashers (marcum, vexilar, etc). There's also the option of the smaller batteries that would normally be used for starting lawn tractors and such. Although, they aren't deep cycle batteries usually, and thus will not last as long through the deep discharge/recharge cycles.

I've used the vexilar style in my house and they only go about an hour or so powering one little 12 volt light. Otherwise I use a deep cycle style like you use in a boat. Lasts much, much longer... like weeks.

[aanderud]

I've used the vexilar style in my house and they only go about an hour or so powering one little 12 volt light. Otherwise I use a deep cycle style like you use in a boat. Lasts much, much longer... like weeks.

Yeah, if you have incandescent bulbs, the small batteries don't last long enough at all. They excel at powering LED bulbs.

One good thing to do is bring out a meter and measure the current draw of whatever lights you are using. The 'amp-hour' rating of the battery, divided by the number of amps your lights are drawing, will give you a very rough estimate of how long you can expect to have power, based on a full charge. So, if you have a 7 amp hour battery, and your lights draw 5 amps, your battery will be dead in under an hour and a half, best case scenario.

Trolling batteries have very different characteristics depending on the size you get. Some popular sizes are group 22, group 24, group 27, and group 30 batteries. Your best "bang for your buck" size is usually a group 24 battery, but this isn't always true. So, one very easy way to get more power by doing essentially nothing (other than spending a wee bit more $$) is to upgrade to a larger group size. Here's an example.

Most trolling motors are rated by "reserve capacity", which is how many minutes they can offer you a 25 amp supply of power. Your lights likely don't draw 25 amps, so it's not apples to apples, but at least you can see a rough estimate of how batteries will perform relative to each other.

Here are the stated "reserve capacity" values for one popular brand of batteries - the group 22 battery is slightly smaller in all dimensions (length, width, height, and weight), and it costs 12% less than the group 24 battery, but look at the performance boost you get for that 12%!

Group 22 Res. Capacity 90 Weight: 38 lbs Cost: $149.99

Group 24 Res. Capacity 178 Weight: 54 lbs Cost: $169.99

Battery life formulas are too complicated to really get exact, but if you know what your amperage draw is by measuring it, you can figure out a crude estimate of how many hours you can get off a battery by multiplying reserve capacity by 25, dividing that result by 60, and then dividing by however many amps you are drawing. So, if your lights draw 5 amps, you can expect to get roughly 7.5 hours out of the group 22 battery, or you can spend 12% more and get the group 24 battery and get roughly 15 hours. I'd say it's worth it almost every time. The only time I'd go with a group 22 battery is if I had to because of space limitations.