Sharphooks
Well-Known Member
I was wondering if anyone out there has switched over to electric steering actuators and if so, how do you manage 12V power consumption when trolling?
I have twin Suzukis, each of which is steered by a Seastar (now, Dometic) electric actuator (EPS)
Here’s the issue: each actuator is wired to its respective Suzuki starter battery for power. According to Dometic’s spec sheet, the average current draw is 8 Amps per actuator , with a ”peak” draw of 40 amps per actuator
The guy I bought the boat from did not own a kicker motor—-he trolled on the big Suzukis....so you can guess—-the power consumption of the EPS actuators was constantly being managed by the two Suzuki alternators
I bought the boat last summer and being a kicker kind of guy, mounted a Suzuki 9.9 and tied it in to the Dometic EPS steering system with a tie bar
My favorite type of fishing is to overnight on the hook on the fishing grounds, wake up a O-dark-thirty, fire up the coffee, then fire up the kicker and start fishing
So I did that twice last summer, two days in a row and what happened? I did not know at the time that the EPS actuators were hooked up to the starter batteries (duh...) and after two straight days of EPS actuator use (steering the Suzuki kicker while trolling) , the starter battery’s voltage dropped below 12V and I lost not only steering capabilities, but I also lost fly-by-wire so I couldn’t shift the twin Suzuki’s into gear. They would run, but I was effectively dead in the water
So the question is: how does one safely operate under those conditions without running up the operating hours on the twin Suzukis?
I bought the kicker to keep hours off the big Suzukis...but now it appears that if I don’t run the mains, I run the risk of being dead in the water from EPS power draw
Yes, I have a Blue Sea ACR.
Yes, I have a house battery (I have the mega-deep cell 4D installed.......
Yes, I have the option to switch the battery switches to “Both”
What would you do in those circumstances? I’m thinking of maybe mounting a solar panel on the wheelhouse roof but that’s not a project I want to do right away and I’m not sure what size panel would be able to keep up with the twin EPS actuator power draw
Speaking of putting a battery switch on “Both”, when specifically should I be doing that? Just when I troll???? The Suzuki kicker alternator definitely will not make up for the EPS power draw So if switched to “Both”, wouldn’t I then be running the risk of pulling down voltage in not only the starter batteries but also the 4D house battery???
Any comments on how to handle this situation?
thanks!!
I have twin Suzukis, each of which is steered by a Seastar (now, Dometic) electric actuator (EPS)
Here’s the issue: each actuator is wired to its respective Suzuki starter battery for power. According to Dometic’s spec sheet, the average current draw is 8 Amps per actuator , with a ”peak” draw of 40 amps per actuator
The guy I bought the boat from did not own a kicker motor—-he trolled on the big Suzukis....so you can guess—-the power consumption of the EPS actuators was constantly being managed by the two Suzuki alternators
I bought the boat last summer and being a kicker kind of guy, mounted a Suzuki 9.9 and tied it in to the Dometic EPS steering system with a tie bar
My favorite type of fishing is to overnight on the hook on the fishing grounds, wake up a O-dark-thirty, fire up the coffee, then fire up the kicker and start fishing
So I did that twice last summer, two days in a row and what happened? I did not know at the time that the EPS actuators were hooked up to the starter batteries (duh...) and after two straight days of EPS actuator use (steering the Suzuki kicker while trolling) , the starter battery’s voltage dropped below 12V and I lost not only steering capabilities, but I also lost fly-by-wire so I couldn’t shift the twin Suzuki’s into gear. They would run, but I was effectively dead in the water
So the question is: how does one safely operate under those conditions without running up the operating hours on the twin Suzukis?
I bought the kicker to keep hours off the big Suzukis...but now it appears that if I don’t run the mains, I run the risk of being dead in the water from EPS power draw
Yes, I have a Blue Sea ACR.
Yes, I have a house battery (I have the mega-deep cell 4D installed.......
Yes, I have the option to switch the battery switches to “Both”
What would you do in those circumstances? I’m thinking of maybe mounting a solar panel on the wheelhouse roof but that’s not a project I want to do right away and I’m not sure what size panel would be able to keep up with the twin EPS actuator power draw
Speaking of putting a battery switch on “Both”, when specifically should I be doing that? Just when I troll???? The Suzuki kicker alternator definitely will not make up for the EPS power draw So if switched to “Both”, wouldn’t I then be running the risk of pulling down voltage in not only the starter batteries but also the 4D house battery???
Any comments on how to handle this situation?
thanks!!
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