Battery Chargers

[Jason Essary]

My question is does anyone use the onboard battery chargers and how do u like them? Have one on my old boat and it has never failed me. But talking to a buddy that goes alot says that they dont charge the battery enough or hot enough if you run them down all the way to get it back to 100%. With my old boat, being a bass tracker, never had the problem he says because it never toke much of the battery life to pull it around.

What do u guys use and what would everyone suggest? Want to set up the new boat the best I can the first time.

Thanks

[Flippin]

mine is a 3 bank charger and seems to work just fine

[fishinwrench]

For the best charge percentage and battery life a 10 amp manual charger is best. At 10amps you aren't boiling it hard enough to loose much water, plus, staying at 10amps until it is fully charged (instead of automatically shutting down to 2 - 5 amps at 75%)keeps the reserve capacity strong.

But the majority of people like the convenience of an onboard 15amp automatic unit, and get satisfactory service from them.

[Dutch]

For you to be able to tell about your buddy's setup you need to know the age and power of the tmotor, the age and reserve capacity of the batteries, and the size of his charger.

I have been running an onboard 3 bank with an 82# thrust tmotor for 8 years. I have a 15 amp charger with 200 reserve amp batteries. Sometimes I fish every day for 2-3 weeks in the wind. My batteries are always ready to go the next morning.

[jeb]

I use ProMarine onboard automatic chargers for the 3 batteries in my Skeeter. They seem to do a great job. I have my boat in the garage and hook the power cord up to a timer. I have it set to turn on every night at like 1am for 3 hours or so just to keep them topped off. Pretty painless way to go with no downsides I've found. I sure never come close to running my batteries down.

I did have a charger go bad recently. It was about 1.5 years old. I had the reciept from Cablea's and ProMarine handled it really well. They sent me a new one promptly and no questions asked.

[Jason Essary]

Thanks for the info guys, anyone else got more?

[Nitroman]

Have been using an on-board ( 3 BANK 10 AMPS PER BANK ) chargers for years now with no problems. I got real tired of carrying around & screwing around with 3 battery chargers so years ago when they 1st. came out I purchased one & installed it on my RANGER, never had a problem. When I purchased my NITRO I lhad them install one @ the factory again, no problem. I strongly suggest that you purchase a " GOOD OUALITY " automatic 3 BANK 10 AMPS PER BANK unit that will either automatically shut off or drop to a maintenance ( TRICKLE CHARGE ) when your batteries are charged & like wise increase the charge rate when needed. If you do, you simply plug it in & forget it. Next time you get to go whether it be a day later or a week later your batteries " ALL OF THEM " will be one thing you won't have to worry about. They are well worth the money & simple to install.

[zipstick]

I agree with Nitroman. Get the highest quality that you can afford, and having an extra bank for the starting battery is a good thing. I have had at least three of these automatic chargers go bad in one of the three charging banks and all were different brands. If you get five or more years out of one with hard use, you are doing well.

Some guys leave their chargers plugged in (on trickle charge) constantly, but I've had bad experiences with this procedure. The battery loses its water(acid) level too quickly which can ruin a battery.

I also use the a simple timer switch for indoor lighting which activates my charger for 2 hours every night when the sun goes down. This keeps them topped off without overdoing it.

I have a small boat with just one battery, and I've had the best success with the 10 amp charger with the timer shut off device. I know I won't overcharge one that way. I have had bad luck with the Schumacher automatic type, but maybe others haven't. And by the way, I don't recommend leaving these units out in the rain.

[bigredbirdfan]

For the best charge percentage and battery life a 10 amp manual charger is best. At 10amps you aren't boiling it hard enough to loose much water, plus, staying at 10amps until it is fully charged (instead of automatically shutting down to 2 - 5 amps at 75%)keeps the reserve capacity strong.

But the majority of people like the convenience of an onboard 15amp automatic unit, and get satisfactory service from them.

Which one do you use?