Generator for Trolling Motor Battery

[pickardjw]

Any recommendations on a generator to charge the trolling motor battery on multi-day off grid fishing trips? Preferably something on the cheaper side, especially since I just dropped $400 on the trolling motor battery...

[CP]

That shouldn't take much of a generator just to run a charger.  How many watts? 

I have a Champion 1500 portable that's worked well for me.  I think it was less than $200, probably more now.

[wadu1]

Trapper John has one for sale, just lowered the asking price.
]https://hunting-washington.com/smf/index.php/topic,280468.0.html[url][/url]

[pickardjw]

Yeah I saw trapper John’s for sale, hoping for something smaller and lighter. It’s a 90aH 12v so not sure what would be the best wattage for charging it. Electricity is a weak point of mine. Ya know, 220, 221 whatever it takes.

[Boss .300 winmag]

Yeah I saw trapper John’s for sale, hoping for something smaller and lighter. It’s a 90aH 12v so not sure what would be the best wattage for charging it. Electricity is a weak point of mine. Ya know, 220, 221 whatever it takes.

Smaller and lighter equals more money. That’s a good deal, just leave it on your truck on trips.👍

[pickardjw]

I do a few trips every year where I take the boat across the lake and dispersed camp, so leaving it in the truck isn't ideal. And the boat's only 14' so not a ton of space.

Someone told me Ryobi had a $500 one but looks like it's $800. That Champion 1500 is $500 at camping world and seems like it would fit the bill. I think my battery charger is a 15 amp, no clue how that translates to what wattage I need but google says 600w-800w, so 1500w should be plenty I assume.

[andersonjk4]

Volts x Amps = Watts. So 15A @ 15V (most chargers charge at somewhere around 15 volts) = 225W. So pretty much any old generator will work for you. I would recommend an inverter generator with an eco throttle. That way the generator can vary speed to match the load. It will run more efficiently and quieter while feeding the small load of the charger. I have a little Honda eu1000 that is very nice. It’s more than you want to spend, but Honda generators are super easy keepers and last a long time. 

[Scruffy]

I have several thousand hours on my Honda 2000 generator and it is super quiet.  Sometimes I forget it is on.  For the money it is hard to beat.
Mine is older and doesn't have the bluetooth on it.

Honda EU2200i - 1800 Watt Portable Inverter Generator w/ Bluetooth® & CO-MINDE  $1200
https://www.electricgeneratorsdirect.com/Honda-EU2200ITAN-Portable-Generator/p112640.html 

[spin05]

surprisly ive heard the Harbor frieght Predator ones are pretty darn good.  If it gets stolen you are not out much either

[pickardjw]

Harbor freight looks like a competitor to the Champion, good to have options to compare. Definitely on a harbor freight budget right now haha

[MtnMuley]

Charged many of boat batteries with a small Honda 2000. Nowdays, I would buy the Harbor Feight equivalent for much cheaper.

[Jonathan_S]

For $500 you could get another lithium battery that is smaller, lighter than a genny. Unless you're talking like 3+ days, that's what I would consider.

[vandeman17]

For $500 you could get another lithium battery that is smaller, lighter than a genny. Unless you're talking like 3+ days, that's what I would consider.

 . This is what I would do

[ctwiggs1]

I have a 14ft boat that's probably similar to yours.  If I was doing what you're talking about, I'd only consider taking an inverter generator.  A conventional generator would be a PITA to haul around on the boat. 

[scotsman]

Or for about $300 you can get a very nice, used 2 hp Yamaha outboard. Lots of them on Cl…. They have a built in 1/3 gal tank that’ll run full throttle for about an hour at full throttle. A 1 gal jerry can will last for days at trolling speed. Super reliable too. Weighs 22 pounds. Old school rules!

[metlhead]

2hp Yami? That is so lame. I put a 2.5 on my sled and it flies!

[MeepDog]

Do those low HP outboard have alternators? If they did that could be the best of both worlds.

[pickardjw]

Yeah I love the quietness of the electric trolling motor over a kicker. And I probably would've gone lithium but didn't want to shell out double the price. This boat is my poverty pony, so just hoping to keep it rigged well enough to do all the fishing and duck hunting I want until I can shell out for my "forever" boat (no such thing)

FB marketplace has a LOT more options for used or new in box that craigslist didn't have. Gotta be careful with used, but might be able to get a mid-range price option like the Ryobi for the same as the harbor freight option new. Or maybe the warranty is more valuable. And gotta hope I don't buy something that was stolen...

[CP]

LiFePO4 100ah batteries are going for less than $300 these days.  I picked one up on Prime day for $250. 

But even LiFePO4 bats need to be charged.

[metlhead]

My portable 2k is a Wen from HD. Awesome suitcase generator for less than half of a Honda. Very quiet. US company that has them built oversees. It goes on night fishing trips to run the lights and TV/DVD player.

[pickardjw]

My portable 2k is a Wen from HD. Awesome suitcase generator for less than half of a Honda. Very quiet. US company that has them built oversees. It goes on night fishing trips to run the lights and TV/DVD player.

I saw that one, the name brand gave me Amazon chinesium vibes but most of them probably are. I'll add it to the list.

[509]

Any recommendations on a generator to charge the trolling motor battery on multi-day off grid fishing trips? Preferably something on the cheaper side, especially since I just dropped $400 on the trolling motor battery...

Get a 100 watt solar panel and hook that up to your trolling batteries.

The 12 volt charging circut on my Honda 2000 is equal to a 100 watt panel.  No noise, and much cheaper to use a solar panel.  If you charge with a generator get a separate charger that runs on 120 volt.

You probably should get two batteries so your using one and charging the other.

I use a very small battery and a 100 watt panel on my boat.  The panel keeps the battery charged all day and can run the trolling motor by itself in full sun.

[pickardjw]

Ended up going with the WEN 56235i. It gets some good reviews and people have reported good experience with their customer service. Decided I want the 2-year factory warranty over going with a used FB marketplace buy. Gonna give it a test run this weekend at Lake Wenatchee.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B085828BQ6?tag=realsimple-onsite-prod-20&linkCode=ogi&th=1&ascsubtag=7504017%7Cnf0afd0ed46674de6932bab14d27c34b418%7CB085828BQ6%7C1690828954695%7C

[Boss .300 winmag]

Ended up going with the WEN 56235i. It gets some good reviews and people have reported good experience with their customer service. Decided I want the 2-year factory warranty over going with a used FB marketplace buy. Gonna give it a test run this weekend at Lake Wenatchee.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B085828BQ6?tag=realsimple-onsite-prod-20&linkCode=ogi&th=1&ascsubtag=7504017%7Cnf0afd0ed46674de6932bab14d27c34b418%7CB085828BQ6%7C1690828954695%7C

Looks good, make sure you do a breakin before you use it for real.

[pickardjw]

The WEN got its first workout last weekend. Took a dozen pulls to fire it up the first time for break in, but later started first pull when using it to charge the trolling motor battery. Very quiet in eco mode, almost couldn't hear it 50 feet from the boat. Happy so far, just need to attach a log to it to track hours for oil changes.