If budget is a top priority, I would suggest 4x 6volt golf cart
batteries with a good 220Ah capacity, wired in series for your 24V total.
Charging can be done with a 2-bank 12V charger connected as follows:
- Assume charger outputs are A and B
- Assume batteries are 1 2 3 4
A(+) connects to 1(+)
A(-) connects to 2(-)
B(+) connects to 3(+)
B(-) connects to 4(-)
I would suggest the two bank 12v charger for simplicity's sake -- Just
plug in at the dock and go home.
ProMariner has a 12Amp dual bank 12V charger for around $100. It should
be able to recharge your bank overnight. There are also 20A and 30A
multi-bank chargers but they cost more. Also, should you to AGMs later
on, these chargers will work for them as well.
The big advantages of AGMs is that they can be tipped without spilling
and can take and give amps than flooded cells. If your batteries are
installed in a secure location in battery boxes, by the time they are
spilling anything, I would think your pontoon boat has much bigger
problems that leaky batteries. The golf cart batteries are cheap and
readily available and tend to give more bang for the buck than using 2x
220Ah 12V batteries.
/Jason
Doug B wrote:
> Hello, I just joined since I just acquired a 16' pontoon boat with a transom mounted 65# thrust, 24v motor and four 12v marine batteries. I've always thought about solar powering a pontoon/houseboat since it sits in sunshine all week, in between uses.
>
> This boat came with a trailer, which I purchased for another traditionally powered pontoon boat that I've just redone. But this electric concept dominates my mind now that I own the setup. The batteries have to be replaced along with the wiring, but the motor does work. It even has an up/down feature for trailering.
>
> So, to begin the process I need to select some batteries for this 24v system. I've scrolled down througn a few pages of posts and saw the discussion between flooded and AGM batteries, plus the charging demands of each. I have shore power available at my lake dock and already own an automatic 12v car charger.
>
> I'd like to financially stay at an entry-level enthusiast for this season, and then possibly incorporate some solar cells on a hardtop or softtop next season. I'm also stealing the bimini top from this boat for the other one, and just missed out on a used hardtop for sale at $150.
>
>
>
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