Two motors at the same?

[N2013]

Dumb question but can I run my main & kicker at the same time? I only have one battery (27 group), no ACR. Kicker charges the battery as well.

 

[zurk]

yes you can - just dont overspeed the kicker by going over hull speed.

 

[salmonkiller01]

Do it all the time by accident as my main is too quiet

 

[Sharphooks]

Dumb question but can I run my main & kicker at the same time? I only have one battery (27 group), no ACR. Kicker charges the battery as well.

Not a dumb question. I did that on and off all summer during a long boat camping expedition. Reason: between my electric windlass being used 3 to 4 times a day to get the dog to the beach, my HP downrigger and the thirsty refrigerator, power consumption management was an ongoing issue. Any voltage read-out approaching 11 Volts on my house battery would kill my chartplotters, both of which are really voltage sensitive.

I treated my Suzuki kicker as a genset: many times I‘d fire it up in tandem with the two main outboards just to have one more alternator helping to juice up the house battery

 

[Rain City]

In heavy wind I'll fire up one of my mains and throw it into gear just for the extra boost in speed. Still use the kicker for steering

 

[Ringo]

What RC said ^^
I have AP on the kicker and in heavy currents/wind, I just fire up the main and get that extra push- still use the AP for steering. Same deal when I'm caught in the freighters wake and need to get my bow out of the sh*t in a pinch. I also find use in the extra alternator after a full day of trolling with 2 HP riggers and using the fish finder, VHF and a tablet.

 

[ship happens]

It's DC current coming off those rectifiers/regulators. DC can be parelleed to an endless volume. Batteries only take what they take. Hope that helps