Thinking about making a portable charging/jumping station. Ideas?

[RJSakowski]

A few years back, I bought a pair of Black and Decker portable charging stations. The Li ion batteries died in relatively short order and when I did need them, the were useless. One unit was kept in my boat and the second in my van. In both cases, the environment routinely reached temperatures well over 100ºF which killed both batteries in short order.

The problem that I have is that I use a deep cycle battery on my boat for both running the trolling motor and the electronics and for starting the outboard. It is entirely possible that I could discharge the battery enough so it couldn't start the outboard.
However, I have a bow mounted trolling motor and a second deep cycle battery on board.

My solution was to buy a 20 amp DC to DC converter.. It is capable of converting an input voltage greater than 5 volts to an output voltage that I set to 14 volts. Even with a "dead" deep cycle battery, it is possible to squeeze enough juice out to charge a second dead battery enough to start the outboard.

I placed the converter in a small shop made aluminum box, along with a digital volt/ammeter. The input leads are long enough to reach my front battery terminals and I used short leads on the output, I actually had the occasion to use it a few weeks back. Unknown to me, my rear battery died at the end of a long day of fishing (it was a 12 y.o. battery; go figure). A ten minute charge was enough to start the outboard and get me home.

 

[pgmrdan]

R J,

I really like the look of the device in your photo. Thanks for posting!

I'm glad you posted this. I wondered about the Li ion batteries, how they hold up, how long they last, how expensive they are, etc. A car battery holds up a long time with very little attention. I slap a battery maintainer on it and plug it in the wall. Occasionally I check the fluid level in the battery and add a little distilled water if needed. It's always ready for action.

My battery charger will probably last forever so that's no problem. The jumper cables will last. The extension cord will last.

The decision is a 'no brainer' for me.