I have a quick question, I’ll be staying at a cabin in July that doesn’t have power on the dock for my on board charger. The lodge owner said I’ll need a 150’ extension cord to reach the dock from the cabin. Can anyone tell me what gauge cord I would need for that long of a run? Also, would it be ok to plug in two extension cords together if I can’t find one that’s 150’? I have a dual-pro professional 3-bank charger. Thanks!
What amp is the charger, you most likely will need at least a 10ga.
It has 3 15 amp banks, so I’m assuming that would be 45 amps?Originally Posted by ntslam
45 amps is the output to the batteries not the amp draw from the AC side. I would guess it is around 5-6 amps or so. I would think a 12 gauge extension cord would work. I have a 10 gauge extension cord I use for stuff like that.
If you're worried, plug in a 3 way splitter/adapter at the charger and take a voltage reading with the charger plugged in. The charger should have a minimum voltage allowed on the data plate.
I would be comfortable going as low as a 14 gauge. It is ok to hook two cords together, just keep the connection points dry. It is also ok to mix gauges. I have a 100' 12 ga and a 50' 14 ga that I would connect together to reach the 150'.
D-Dubya
2003 Skeeter ZX225
Yamaha VZ225HPDI
Humminbird 898c SI
Hummingbird 858c DI
10 gauge would be way overkill and expensive. I used 200 feet of 10 gauge for a leaf blower that drew ~13 amps and have used it for many years without burning up the motor. 12 gauge is probably still overkill, but pick something you’ll be able to use for other things after the trip to justify spending more money on 12 gauge vs 14 gauge. Sine you don’t know how accurate the 150 foot estimate is, maybe get two 100 foot 12 gauge cords or one that’s 12 gauge and the one furthest from the source could be 14 gauge.
Snake, Don't know what kind of charger you have. I have an MK and the manual comes with a chart for extension cord gauge. The 315 has 3 banks at 15 amps. It recommends for a 100' extension you need #10.
With that in mind I doubt a 150' 12 will be good enough. Bob
You might look into a small generator.
Minn Kota recommends 10 ga for 100' for a 3bank/15amp so 150 may be tricky
https://www.minnkotamotors.com/suppo...use-my-charger
Last edited by ntslam; 05-14-2019 at 02:49 PM.
if you run 14 ga you will get 8 volts drop at 150'. if you run 12 ga you will get 5 volts drop at 150'. my question to minnkota is what is the operating range on ac voltage of the charger - I looked but could not find it. I assumed 10 amps draw.
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Its not an attached lamp cord or tv power cord. It is a general purpose power distribution (extension) cord.
If we are plugging it into a residential 15 amp AC outlet and consider for fire safety of the wire that someday/somewhere it might be asked to carry the full 15 amps at 120VAC, a wire table will show 10AWG regardless of length. If you go smaller wire, you must know the max draws of your load.
Last edited by Lou r Pitcher; 05-14-2019 at 07:05 PM.
Not that I could find. Min Kota's concern was for proper operation of the charger. There are things that run on a timer of sorts. Some stages need the full voltage to accomplish a complete charge. A "DUMB" charger would just charge slower but the newer ones are a bit pickier and more efficient at getting the batteries taken care of. Bob
Plug one of these at the end of the cord with the charger attached and read the voltage. It gives you convenient safe test points.
Sampling the AC voltage of a plugged in battery charger with an AC splitter may not equate to the peak demands of the load or later possible loads..... especially if you at that time of measurement for each of the batteries have them in less than a heavily discharged state.
Last edited by Lou r Pitcher; 05-16-2019 at 08:45 PM.
12 gauge extension cord all the way. Mix in a 14 gauge wire, and you have to follow the rules for 14 gauge wires.
Cheapest place to buy extension cords is Harbor Freight--with one of their many coupons.
Crossing test probes with 115 volts is messy.
https://www.hfqpdb.com/
Thanks for all the info guys, I think I’m going to grab a 100’er and a 50’er, both 12 gauge. Hopefully that will get me through
What are the rules for 14 gauge extension cord?
D-Dubya
2003 Skeeter ZX225
Yamaha VZ225HPDI
Humminbird 898c SI
Hummingbird 858c DI
That is correct for carrying current. For this situation we are also concerned with voltage drop. For that the total resistance is what governs that. Bob
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