the water, the converters supply enough current to run the lights
and keep the batteries charged. When I park the boat I plug the converters into household power and the smart charging system keeps the batteries topped off.
Converters should be kept in a dry location on the boat, prefer-ably close to the battery to keep wire runs as short as possible.
The configuration of the con-verter is relatively simple. There is a positive and negative output and each wire should be sized to carry the rated current load between the converter and the battery.
I have used converters to directly power static draw devices like my LED floodlights, where the current needs do not fluctuate, but I would not recom-mend using only converters to power a trolling motor. There is a chance that higher voltages could be present than a battery would produce and it may shorten the life of the trolling motor. The use of a battery as a buffer is recommended (tip: If you plan to run the generator most of the time you are fish-ing, you may be able to use smaller batteries, running silent only when necessary)
Along similar lines, given the option to run silent at the begin-ning of the night vs. the end of the night, I would lean toward the end of the night. By running the generator and converters from the start it will keep the batteries topped off. As the night winds down, you can shut off the generator and use the batteries to finish out the night in silence. This is a great option if you ever fish around houses into the wee hours of the morning.
In regards to LED lighting, there are lights available with 12/24V DC drivers (what turns them on), as well as 120V AC models.
Running a 12/24V LED at 24 volts may be a good option if you would like to reduce the size of the wiring in your setup, saving money, or if you have a 24V trolling motor. Converters that produce up to 50A @ 24 volts are readily available.
Many bowfishermen that choose to run their generators all the time often go the route of 120V AC lighting. These lights reduce the load on the generator compared to halogen, high pres-
sure sodium (HPS), or metal halide (MH) light options, while still producing sufficient light to fish by.
AC folks still have the option to run silently by using a DC to AC inverter. With an inverter the DC current from the battery is converted to AC and allows the lights to run without the need for a generator.
Inverters come in many shapes and sizes, with power ratings from 150 watts to 3,000 watts, or more. The best ones offer an output that is cond-itioned to work well with
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April, 2015