question for permy owners??/

[ipilot]

going to be building one,  i am curious how everyone "powers theirs up".   do solar panels work worth a darn for recharging.any input is appreciated on the subject.  thanks.

[dsrkrum]

i just run my shack off of twoo deep cell batires which runs the heater and the radio . i have tried solar dose not work when it is cloudy though. good luck fishing!!!

[damdiver]

going to be building one,  i am curious how everyone "powers theirs up".   do solar panels work worth a darn for recharging.any input is appreciated on the subject.  thanks.

I've got 3 - 15W solar panels on mine.  In theory, that should provide more than 3 amps of charging current (at 12 volts).  During the winter on the brightest of days, when the sun is high in the sky, I only acturally get 3/4 amp.  Usually it charges about 1/10 amp on a cloudy day.  It gets a little better in the summer, but the shack doesn't pull well with a boat.

It will extend your battery life a little while on the ice, but don't expect it to fully recharge your battery in a day, or even a week. 

[sloughshark]

I carry a 1200 Watt generator and for electricity, My furnace runs on 12 volt gel cell batteries, i just plug in the battery charger every so often to charge em back up.

[bonethug]

I got a 2000 watt honda and it is more than enough to power my shack. I can run tv vcr/dvd all the lights and my shack is bright, the heater and the toaster which does make the honda really crank up. I also have one deep cycle battery if I am not running a lot of things. If the battery starts to go dead I charge it with the generator. To be able to run off the battery and the generator you need power inverters. The honda 1000 watt would be plenty for most I would think but I didnt know when I got mine.

[gunner]

I have regular 12 volt lights that I run with a deep cycle battery.  One complaint is that the 12 volt lights are hard to come by and cost alittle extra

[TLA]

When I had mine on Mille Lacs I used 12 volt bulbs on the ceiling and 12 volt automotive white bulbs above each hole. Also had two pernamently wall mounted propane laterns and the copper tubing was hidden behind the walls just like in a real house.

I used a deep cycle 12 volt and it would last a few days. Ran my vexi off ot too. Had a spare battery and when the first one would go dead I'd hook jumpers to the first one and charge it with my vehicle and use the second one.

If you can find some of the high light output led's for 12 volts they hardly take any electricity at all and throw a lot of light. Lol, I had a fit when I bought my first 12 volt full sized light bulb. Was like 6 bucks for one freaking bulb.

[ipilot]

hey you guys that use generators.   do you just use it to recharge batteries or do you run it basically the whole time you are in your permy?  i know they are quiet but doesn't that "scare the fishies" a little.   let me know.  thanks.

[TLA]

Might in shallow water. I don't know. The guy who was usually next to me up on Mille Lacs always ran his generator and it never seemed to bother his fishing. Lol, of course he had a tv, microwave, refirgerator and other things that were electric. I suspect it's sudden noises that scare fish more than ongoing noises. Whatever, you can catch perch ten feet away while drilling a new hole at the same time.

[fishnuts]

I use a inverter to convert my energy from 12 volt to 110. Then I use the 60 watt high energy fluresent bulbs that only use 13 watts of energy.

I bought my inverter at sears. These are the same ones you use to boost a dead battery, or inflate a low tire. The good ones at sears are about $110. and well worth it. I can run a radio all day and a light all night on one charge. If I run low on energy I plug it in to a $25 inverter plugged into my cig. lighter in my truck and recharge it.

Don't buy a cheap one. My first one was a cheapy from menards and it did not hold a charge worth a darn.