1ST TIME OUT ON 21EC-battery questions

[naturechick23]

Hi everyone,
well we have a new 2010 21ec and finally got it up into the Ct River for a day of cruising. I can't believe the attention this boat is getting. Nobody knows quite what to think of her....she is very different than most of the stuff in my area (Essex Saybrook) and I was impressed with her stability with some rather large wakes. Not a fast boat but stable and perfect for a day of froliking with 3 or 4 people.
Just curious, any estimates on how long can you play the stereo system and gps with drag alarm on before worrying about draining the battery? I know i can just run the engine for a few minutes....
Anyone else in the area have a ranger? Would love to swap stories ect with them.
Vickie

 

[captain's cat]

Vickie, not enough info proviced to answer specifically. Depends on the capacity of the battery (amp hours) and the current draw of the things you want to run. Best plan would be to add a second 'house' battery that would run everything except the engine start circuit. Then, with that battery isolated, you could run the 'house' battery all the way down and still be able to start your engine, charge the "dead" one and be on your way!

A nice boat!

Charlie

 

[doke01]

Based on prior experience with a boat that was not a 21 but had a single battery, the radio and GPS can run for a very long time on battery. Probably much longer then you will ever need to worry about on a day trip with a couple of stops in between. However, I agree with Charlie and, if you don't already have one, you should think about setting up a house battery. They you won't have to worry about whether the engine will start because you want to listen to some tunes.

Doug.

 

[SlackwaterJack]

I may be mistaken , but don't the 21EC's come from the builder with a switched, 2 battery setup? and a third if there's a bowthruster or AC?

 

[rt11002003]

My 2009 R21EC with AC and a bow thruster (and every other option, I think, except the cockpit enclosure)has four batteries. Two in the aft storage area (near the fuel tank), port side for the AC. Two more under the engine cover for the house, bow thruster and engine start. I thought they were wired so that one was reserved for engine starting, the other for house and bow thruster? :? Usually, one finds a manual switch that allows selection of the batteries. Not on my R21EC. Perhaps I should consult the wiring diagram again. I'd hate to think I'm sitting here "fat, dumb and happy", thinking I don't need to be concerned about the battery for starting.

Vicki, do you suppose our tugs are identical twins? 😉 They're both named Tuglet. 😀 Mine was named by a play on words, both Sublett (my last name) and piglet because it's a baby tug. How did you select the name? I suppose they can't really be identical twins. Mine is blue with a white waterline strip. Even if yours is blue, its waterline is probably the light tan.

Back to the thread, find the amp hour consumption of the accessories. Then find out the battery(ies) amp capacity (see my comments above). Divide the battery amp hour capacity by two (2), that gives you the amp capacity available to use and still maintain the battery health. Divide that number, by amps used by the accessories; that will tell you the max number of hours to run the accessories. Whew! Feel free to contact me via PM for R21EC questions. And if necessary, I'll be glad to talk via telephone; number to be provided via PM.

Gene

 

[SlackwaterJack]

oops! ...probably caught with my antiquity showing :?

The current model EC probably uses the one of the automated combiner/isolator/equalizer charging systems and no longer needs to rely on the often faulty memory of the operator to turn the right switch the right way at the right time.
Now.... Where do I hook up the jumper cables?? :? ??