1 or 2 cranking batteries with multiple modern electronics

[Flint River Nut]

I have a 2017 Triton with a Mercury 250 Four Stroke. I run (1) big 31 AGM battery like Mercury specifies and (3) trolling motor batteries. I run a Lowrance Carbon 16 at the console, and a Garmin Livescope and Humminbird Helix 12 at the bow. I am having voltage drop issues before noon in a tournament day causing me to jump the engine to start, and also getting a low voltage alarm on my Livescope. Question I have, with all these electronics, do you all run one or two cranking batteries?? I am thinking about having a battery dedicated to my engine, and a battery dedicated to my electronics. Please advise.

[Marc Marcantonio]

I use an X2 Power AGM for my starting battery and all boat electronics except for my Lowrance HDS LIVES. They are on a separate circuit to eliminate any interference noise, and they are powered by a 100 aHR lithium house battery. My Ghost trolling motor is powered by 3 100 aHr lithium batteries with bluetooth. All 5 batteries are charged by my Stealth 1 Charging system (AC/DC/TowNCharge) and monitored by my Stealth 1 gauge and by bluetooth. Running out of battery power is a thing of the past, and my images are excellent. But if an unexpected problem should ever occur, my Jump Switch will start my engine from the house battery.

[Fishysam]

1 batteries plus x2 31 agm. And put the dash in sleep mode when fishing. And if you have 2 on the dash learn to use one when fishing and 2 when scouting with side imaging. Saves a lot of load.

[Mcjenson]

I have a 2017 Triton with a Mercury 250 Four Stroke. I run (1) big 31 AGM battery like Mercury specifies and (3) trolling motor batteries. I run a Lowrance Carbon 16 at the console, and a Garmin Livescope and Humminbird Helix 12 at the bow. I am having voltage drop issues before noon in a tournament day causing me to jump the engine to start, and also getting a low voltage alarm on my Livescope. Question I have, with all these electronics, do you all run one or two cranking batteries?? I am thinking about having a battery dedicated to my engine, and a battery dedicated to my electronics. Please advise.

I have a 125ah lithium battery for both a starting and electronics battery. Works great for me.

question for you, is your lowrance graph networked with the bird/garmin to share waypoints?

[AndrewM-Fishing]

I've got 1 solix 12 on the console and 2 helix 12 on the bow with m360. Running on 2 g24. I put the bow units in sleep mode when running and the console in sleep when fishing. I drop from 12.7 to 12.1 after a 8 hour tournament day. All tho I don't have any power issue as of yet I will be investing in lithium for next season. It's definitely the way to go.

[godsdozer]

Z521C............ (1) X2power battery for cranking verado , (1) 36 volt lithium for trolling motor , (1) 12 volt lithium to power electronics . Still have room to add 1 or 2 more batteries if I ever need them.

[KandKKustomz]

I've got 1 solix 12 on the console and 2 helix 12 on the bow with m360. Running on 2 g24. I put the bow units in sleep mode when running and the console in sleep when fishing. I drop from 12.7 to 12.1 after a 8 hour tournament day. All tho I don't have any power issue as of yet I will be investing in lithium for next season. It's definitely the way to go.

They sure are, elimi ates the need for 2 crankers in parallel in MOST applications.

[TroyBoy30]

my 100ah lithium ran all of my stuff fine

[wildkat7]

So far, I guess I'm lucky. Currently running an AGM 31 with Solix 12, Solix 10, Livescope, power poles, livewells, etc. Starts around 12.8...ends reading around 12.1, 12.2. Never hesitated starting the big motor so far. Fished the Rayburn BFL last weekend from daylight til 0500pm check-in, no issues.

[Marc Marcantonio]

So far, I guess I'm lucky. Currently running an AGM 31 with Solix 12, Solix 10, Livescope, power poles, livewells, etc. Starts around 12.8...ends reading around 12.1, 12.2. Never hesitated starting the big motor so far. Fished the Rayburn BFL last weekend from daylight til 0500pm check-in, no issues.

Yes, that will work as long as nothing changes, but before long you will start having voltage issues. Could even happen just because the weather gets colder. My suggestion is to hope for the best, but expect the worst. If I were you I would start buying the supplies (duplex tinned marine grade wire, heat shrink marine connectors and ratcheting crimper, switches, fuse boxes, etc) now before the problem starts, so you can resolve it when necessary. I even ordered foour lithiums direct from China (half the cost) before they were needed since it takes two months to deliver them.

[MichAngler]

I have a 125ah lithium battery for both a starting and electronics battery. Works great for me.

2nd

[DrewFlu33]

Not quite what you're asking about, but perhaps something to consider: I ran dedicated wiring to a dedicated 60 ah lithium for my electronics this year. No more battery anxiety while fishing as the only thing my cranking battery is running are the motor and livewell pumps (and I suppose some incidentals like nav lights occasionally). One unexpected side effect I've experienced is that the images on my graphs are SUBSTANTIALLY better than they used to be. Even if you don't go lithium, I think adding a dedicated battery for electronics is a better solution than running two batteries in parallel for cranking. Put a switch on it to jump the cranking battery in a pinch if you'd like.

In full disclosure, my old Merc XRi doesn't have an alternator and supposedly doesn't play nice with AGMs, so my cranking battery is a big commercial wet cell. It's a beast, but it's not in the same ballpark as the X2, North Star, or Odyssey.

Re: the improved images from my graphs: I think it's a combination of clean power from a battery supplying only the electronics and the adequately sized wiring. I had heard about this making a big difference for others, but I honestly believed it was technobabble to sell $250 wiring harnesses. Apparently it wasn't bullshit, though I still think the harnesses are way overpriced if you have any technical skill at all. I think that all told I am in for about $60 in a Blue Sea Fuse Block, 30 amp breaker, marine tinned wire (eBay...8 awg to console fuse block, 10 awg from fuse block at console to bow--yes it's overkill, but no one ever complained about their wiring being too robust in a boat), and required terminal connectors, heat shrink, etc.

Like Marc M above, I ordered my lithiums direct from China. They were less than half of what anyone else is selling them for, less than 1/10 of what some companies sell them for. Warranty is supposedly 3 years though I figure that's useless, and I did organize a group of guys to save on shipping. It was a pain in the ass, but it was the way I could get into lithium for what I was willing to spend. They've performed exceptionally well so far, both here and on my trolling motor (2 36v 40 ah in parallel there). I also dropped nearly 150 lbs from the back of the boat.

[KandKKustomz]

Our 120 ah Impulse lithium cranker will be the only battery you need. Contact us to place a order today @kandkkustomz