rpengr wrote:
NiagaraChillin wrote:
kd4pbs wrote:
How much would several feet of battery cable cost? Maybe put the battery up front in the middle?
True, my battery weighs about 40 lbs, but don't you lose voltage the longer the cable? I'm no electrical expert, but I seem to remember hearing/reading that somewhere.
That's true, so you need larger gauge wire to compensate for the longer length. That would not be worth it for your 40 lb battery.
However, Ric has a very heavy bank of batteries to run his 2000W inverter and Air Conditioner. Would make sense in his case.
Total battery weight on my boat including house + engine is 280lb (four batteries).
I'm not putting batteries in a cabin area unless they are sealed. I don't want to breathe their gases. Buying the correct gauge wiring to make that all work would be very expensive. Rough estimate is 4 gauge wiring and that runs around $3 a foot tinned. 40ft of it would be around $120! Not including ends, protective coverings, shrink wraps, hold downs, etc. I would budget around $200 just for the wiring to put a battery up in the bow.