Please help with charger question...
Ok, I have three batteries in my boat, and only a two bank charger. I want
to buy a small charger for the cranking battery since it usually runs all
the accessories and starts the engine. Here are my thoughts...Option 1: I can get a 6 amp charger/single bank, wire it in and forget about
it. Option 2: I can get an 8amp charger/ 2-banks (4amps * 2) and hook both leads
to the starting battery and hope that I'm getting 8 amps. Does anyone know what the output would be when connecting the leads together
in option 2? Do I still get 4 amps or should it be 8 amps?? Next question... 6amps or 8amps... does the 2amp difference matter? |
Charles
May 15
2005
|
| Sell your 2 bank on Ebay, and get a 3 bank and then forget about it..... My .02 Doug |
Doug
May 16
|
| OR, simply move your accessories onto your trolling motor batteries. That's
what I did, it works great and I don't have to worry about running my
starting battery down. I've never had both batteries pulled down so much to
cut my fishing day short either AND I'm guaranteed that my starting battery
is at full charge too. Charles, on the lakes you're running on, your motor's alternator should keep
the starting battery up. You run more on the outboard than I do and I don't
have problems. |
Steve
May 15
|
| The 2 amps should only make a difference if you need to charge the
batteries quick to get back on the water. I tend to just plug the cord
in when I get home and forget about it until I go out again which is
almost never less than 12-16 hours later. That should be plenty of
time for a 6 amp charger to do the job, especially since the charging
system on the engine is helping out somewhat. I would be more
concerned with the performance of the charger once it reaches full
charge. Is it rated for continous use or do you need to disconnect it
after a day or so? You can ruin a battery pretty fast if the charger
is left on too long and doesn't "float" properly. I would have to agree with the earlier advise to get a three bank
charger. It will make life simpler for you and probably won't be that
big a cost difference. Its nice to be able to concentrate on fishing
and not wonder whether your boat will start when you get ready to
leave. |
irbfishin
May 15
|
| You know... you'd think that with our larger lakes I'd make longer runs, but
actually, I probably don't. On a normal fishing trip of about 6 hours, I'll
maybe put 15-20 miles on my boat, and I can't tell you how many of those are
put on with the trolling motor. A quick walk through on Fishing Hotspots
showed that on a busy night, I'll only put on 11 miles. That's with the
running lights, black lights, GPS and two fish finders working most of the
time. Add a livewell pump if I'm lucky enough to put a fish or two in the
boat during a tournament. I'm thinking about moving a few things over to the trolling batteries, but
haven't done that yet. I went ahead ond ordered the 6 amp charger after
getting some pretty good advice after posting this. I'll see what happens. |
Charles
May 15
|
| Buy the smart 2-10-35 amp Vector charger from Wal-mart. About $60-80 Works
much better than my 2-10 amp Shumacher charger. The Shumacher used to cook
the batteries until I ran it through a timer. The Vector just stops
charging when they are full, and they seem to be fuller. |
Bill
May 16
|
| I have a couple of those (I think the same) that I got at Wal-Mart. I use
them to charge the batteries on my Waco. They work great, and they even
have a switch setting for regular or deep cycle batteries. I think I will go ahead and put an onboard charger back on it when I get
some extra cash. I used to have a Promariner, but after it cooked a couple
batteries I got a little gun shy. Bob La Londe
www.YumaBassMan.com |
Bob
May 16
|
| Bob you need to try Guest Chargers. I have used mine for my trolling
batteries and its been running since 2001 and charging day & nite all year
and never a bit of trouble.Going on 4 years on the trolling batteries. Guest
worth looking into
|
Chris
May 16
|
| Thanks. My new boat came with a Guest 3 bank charger. So far I like it. Bob La Londe
www.YumaBassMan.com |
Bob
May 16
|
