Hi Jack! Great review and video. One thing we would like to add is that you can charge your battery without opening up the Smart Battery Box! You can simply connect your charger to the external posts to charge your battery. Hopefully this helps in your future builds.
I apologize for the mis-speak. With some battery boxes the outlets are power out only rather than power in as well. On previous Newport boxes, in the instructions it was not mentioned that you could charge through the lugs. However, after reading your comment, I reviewed the owner’s manual and, as they said, charging is available through the cable lugs. thanks for catching this.
Awesome mod , thanks for the info, wish I would have seen this before ordering mine . I haven’t received it yet ( ordered yesterday ) but would rather had you make me one custom . I will try to do the same mods you did .
Your correction above has a typo and it still reads like you can’t charge the battery without opening the box, which of course is not true. You need to change the word “correct” to “INCORRECT.”
Although not specifically for the fish finder plug, I did mention how I did it and showed where I connected it and how I did the wiring. Here is the link and it is explained at about 2:48. I hope this helps.
@@crude4u1948 Can I find you on Facebook? I'm trying to wire in a fish finder similar to what you did, with the inline fuse, but want to make sure I'm connecting it properly in the battery box.
If you'll read the previous comments, especially the one by Newport Vessels, the black and red lugs can be used to charge the battery without taking it out of the box. Also if you'll read the note above, I corrected that information.
Jack I just got off the phone with New Port Tech support and they say the opposite of what you are saying. They say 100 percent certain that you don't have to open the box to charge the battery and there you are saying you do? Why?
I would like to use one of these for a mobile solar power supply. Probably add some solar inputs and a digital volt meter. I’ll use a vmax agm 125AH battery. How does this box compare to the Minn Kota?
I have not had any experience with the Minn Kota box, however it appears to be nearly identical in every way to the Newport Vessels box. I landed on the NP box because I have one of their trolling motors and decided to stick with the brand. Also, I caught the NP box on sale one week and was able to purchase a half dozen for half the retail price. The only thing I don't like about either of the boxes is that they are not waterproof. or even water resistant. There is no seal between the box and the lid. This is probably necessary if you're running a standard lead acid battery sot that the gasses don't get trapped inside and cause an explosion. However I use the LiFePo4 battery which does not offers so I would prefer a water tight box. This is why for a larger battery I have gone to a larger ammo box. The convenience of using the NP box which is already wired for nearly everything I add, in most cases, overrides the cost of my having to build from scratch a completely customized box.
There are no circuitry wires anywhere except under the panel inside the lid. Not sure what you are referring to. When sealed up, there are basically three wires exposed. The red and black wires are the batterie connections and the other red one is a fuse for one of the added circuits. I leave it exposed so that if it needs to be replaced, it's not necessary to disassemble the cover inside to replace the fuse.
@@crude4u1948 the OEM wireing is tucked neatly between the inner cover of the lid and the lid itself. This provides a degree of seperation between the battery and the wireing spagettie. Your wireing is placed to lie between the innercover of the lid and the battery. Should hte cover pull down on the battery (which is one reason for having the inner cover on the lid) then your wireing is potentially subject to unintended mechanical forces. Hope this helps :)
@@johnallen3555 I'm still not sure that you understand. After replacing the inner cover to the lid, they only wires that are exposed are three. The original black and red wires for connecting to the battery and the inline fuse I installed for the one accessory plug I added. That fuse is completely covered and protected from coming into contact with any bare connection or battery post. And as I explained previously, All fuses should be readily accessible so as not to need to disassemble any of the box components to replace a fuse. I hope this clears things up for you.
Jack, I'm trying to decide about either Min Kota or new port battery box. I searched Newport manual and all over the web to find out if I have to take the box apart to charge the battery with the Newport. I see that with the min kota you don't' have to open the box. You said in this video you do on the Newport. Is that so? You can't charge the battery with opening up the straps? Please let me know. That's a deal breaker if so. Why would they do? I wonder. Thanks, I'm new to all this. I got myself an a SE9 Sea Eagle 11 foot inflatable with a trolling 7.5 to 34 AMP motor and a Diehard 27M 1 Marine battery. The New Port also seems a little big for the battery. The Min Kota is smaller.
I have built and sold more than 50 battery boxes using LiFePo4 and AGM batteries. I’ve built them using ammo boxes as well as the Newport Vessels battery box shown in this video. None of the boxes I’ve built have even had an issue with interference. All of my boxes have their power supply passed through a fuse block as well as a circuit breaker on it’s own separate circuit for the fish finder and the trolling motor is so equipped. I never undersize my wire or the fuses. Not sure why others have had issues but with mine, so far so good.
Any thoughts on using lithium iron batteries with NV trolling motors? It is discouraged by NV, but the difference in weight makes we want to consider the risk.
I’ve used the LiPoFe4 batteries in my boxes for two years. The only issue that might occur is an erroneous reading from their battery indicator. I use a battery meter specifically designed for this type of battery. However , I’ve built several boxes and only used the onboard built-in battery indicator and I’ve never had a reported issue. I would contact NV and speak to someone and ask specifically why they recommend against using this battery. Hope this helps.
@@crude4u1948 How about 200 amp hours put in a Minn Kota box? I use these boxes to build CPAP backup power for friends and needy. This is my own and I marvelled at doubling its power. I bet it would run a trolling motor quite well. The 10 amp outlet breaker was increased to 20 amps, voltmeter added and a trouble light was put on and portable 300 watt pure sine inverter was added. ua-cam.com/video/UwuC97gpng4/v-deo.html
Hello, I just found your channel, great video. Would you be interested in making a box for me? I would just need to have the female receptacle installed. I already have a trolling motor that has the Atwood male connector installed on it. Let me know if you would like to do it and the cost. I can send you my contact info.
Hi Jack!
Great review and video. One thing we would like to add is that you can charge your battery without opening up the Smart Battery Box! You can simply connect your charger to the external posts to charge your battery. Hopefully this helps in your future builds.
I apologize for the mis-speak. With some battery boxes the outlets are power out only rather than power in as well. On previous Newport boxes, in the instructions it was not mentioned that you could charge through the lugs. However, after reading your comment, I reviewed the owner’s manual and, as they said, charging is available through the cable lugs. thanks for catching this.
@@crude4u1948 Glad we could help! Keep the great box builds coming!
Awesome. I was looking how to add my fish finder to the box using SAE ✋😃
Awesome mod , thanks for the info, wish I would have seen this before ordering mine . I haven’t received it yet ( ordered yesterday ) but would rather had you make me one custom . I will try to do the same mods you did .
Jack, excellent explainer video. Could you include the volt meter when you do the next Newport Vessels smart battery box upgrade? Thank you, David
Really nice video and very nice neatly done work!
Your correction above has a typo and it still reads like you can’t charge the battery without opening the box, which of course is not true. You need to change the word “correct” to “INCORRECT.”
Thank you Michael. I've changed the wording.
Did you ever post a video of how to tie the fishfinder into the wiring of this box? I have the parts, but not sure how to wire it in.
Although not specifically for the fish finder plug, I did mention how I did it and showed where I connected it and how I did the wiring. Here is the link and it is explained at about 2:48. I hope this helps.
@@crude4u1948 Can I find you on Facebook? I'm trying to wire in a fish finder similar to what you did, with the inline fuse, but want to make sure I'm connecting it properly in the battery box.
@@jasonmcelvoy4743 I am the Jack Wall in Austin, Tx
isnt there a positive and negative port on the out side ofnthe box for younto connect your charger and not takeit out the box😮
If you'll read the previous comments, especially the one by Newport Vessels, the black and red lugs can be used to charge the battery without taking it out of the box. Also if you'll read the note above, I corrected that information.
Jack I just got off the phone with New Port Tech support and they say the opposite of what you are saying. They say 100 percent certain that you don't have to open the box to charge the battery and there you are saying you do? Why?
See my correction above. Thanks for the heads up.
I would like to use one of these for a mobile solar power supply. Probably add some solar inputs and a digital volt meter. I’ll use a vmax agm 125AH battery. How does this box compare to the Minn Kota?
I have not had any experience with the Minn Kota box, however it appears to be nearly identical in every way to the Newport Vessels box. I landed on the NP box because I have one of their trolling motors and decided to stick with the brand. Also, I caught the NP box on sale one week and was able to purchase a half dozen for half the retail price. The only thing I don't like about either of the boxes is that they are not waterproof. or even water resistant. There is no seal between the box and the lid. This is probably necessary if you're running a standard lead acid battery sot that the gasses don't get trapped inside and cause an explosion. However I use the LiFePo4 battery which does not offers so I would prefer a water tight box. This is why for a larger battery I have gone to a larger ammo box. The convenience of using the NP box which is already wired for nearly everything I add, in most cases, overrides the cost of my having to build from scratch a completely customized box.
Fantastic. Great video. Thank You.
why would you not run your additional wires under the cover plate ( concealed) instead of exposed to the top of the battery?
There are no circuitry wires anywhere except under the panel inside the lid. Not sure what you are referring to. When sealed up, there are basically three wires exposed. The red and black wires are the batterie connections and the other red one is a fuse for one of the added circuits. I leave it exposed so that if it needs to be replaced, it's not necessary to disassemble the cover inside to replace the fuse.
@@crude4u1948 the OEM wireing is tucked neatly between the inner cover of the lid and the lid itself. This provides a degree of seperation between the battery and the wireing spagettie. Your wireing is placed to lie between the innercover of the lid and the battery. Should hte cover pull down on the battery (which is one reason for having the inner cover on the lid) then your wireing is potentially subject to unintended mechanical forces.
Hope this helps :)
@@johnallen3555 I'm still not sure that you understand. After replacing the inner cover to the lid, they only wires that are exposed are three. The original black and red wires for connecting to the battery and the inline fuse I installed for the one accessory plug I added. That fuse is completely covered and protected from coming into contact with any bare connection or battery post. And as I explained previously, All fuses should be readily accessible so as not to need to disassemble any of the box components to replace a fuse. I hope this clears things up for you.
Jack, I'm trying to decide about either Min Kota or new port battery box. I searched Newport manual and all over the web to find out if I have to take the box apart to charge the battery with the Newport. I see that with the min kota you don't' have to open the box. You said in this video you do on the Newport. Is that so? You can't charge the battery with opening up the straps? Please let me know. That's a deal breaker if so. Why would they do? I wonder. Thanks, I'm new to all this. I got myself an a SE9 Sea Eagle 11 foot inflatable with a trolling 7.5 to 34 AMP motor and a Diehard 27M 1 Marine battery. The New Port also seems a little big for the battery. The Min Kota is smaller.
Thanks for catching that. I will go back and edit the video to correct it. You CAN charge the battery without opening the box.
@@crude4u1948 Very cool Jack. Thanks for getting back to me. All good. No worries.
You can charge while Inbox buddy
If you'll read the comment, You'll see that I edited that information. Thanks for the feedback.
material list would of been nice
Material listed posted. Thanks for the suggestion.
You should never run trolling motors and fish finders on the same battery. Will possibly cause interference.
I have built and sold more than 50 battery boxes using LiFePo4 and AGM batteries. I’ve built them using ammo boxes as well as the Newport Vessels battery box shown in this video. None of the boxes I’ve built have even had an issue with interference. All of my boxes have their power supply passed through a fuse block as well as a circuit breaker on it’s own separate circuit for the fish finder and the trolling motor is so equipped. I never undersize my wire or the fuses. Not sure why others have had issues but with mine, so far so good.
My trolling motor has a specific battery just for it and all other accessories use a different battery.
Any thoughts on using lithium iron batteries with NV trolling motors? It is discouraged by NV, but the difference in weight makes we want to consider the risk.
I’ve used the LiPoFe4 batteries in my boxes for two years. The only issue that might occur is an erroneous reading from their battery indicator. I use a battery meter specifically designed for this type of battery. However , I’ve built several boxes and only used the onboard built-in battery indicator and I’ve never had a reported issue. I would contact NV and speak to someone and ask specifically why they recommend against using this battery. Hope this helps.
@@crude4u1948 I appreciate the info, Jack. Just to be on the safe side, I thought I'd install a DC-DC converter (boost/buck) or a shunt.
@@crude4u1948 How about 200 amp hours put in a Minn Kota box? I use these boxes to build CPAP backup power for friends and needy. This is my own and I marvelled at doubling its power. I bet it would run a trolling motor quite well. The 10 amp outlet breaker was increased to 20 amps, voltmeter added and a trouble light was put on and portable 300 watt pure sine inverter was added.
ua-cam.com/video/UwuC97gpng4/v-deo.html
Hello Jack what is the cost for this mod ?
$245 without the battery. Includes Atwood trolling motor plug, external charging port
@@crude4u1948 How do i order one?
@@jacobholmes6082 Look me up and message me on Facebook, Jack Wall in Austin Texas. We can work out the details there. Thank you.
@@crude4u1948 I cannot find you anywhere... I found your company page but not your personal
@@jacobholmes6082 facebook.com/jack.wall.104
Hello,
I just found your channel, great video.
Would you be interested in making a box for me?
I would just need to have the female receptacle installed. I already have a trolling motor that has the Atwood male connector installed on it.
Let me know if you would like to do it and the cost.
I can send you my contact info.
Nice video, message sent to you facebook page. Thanks!!!