On Board Chargers

Anyone have ideas on what would be the best type of system for an on board charger? Bought an 18ft Lund Fisherman LY with a 150 Merc. and a 24 volt system for my trolling motor.
Tired of hook-ups back in the garage, and not so easy for overnight charging at the dock when traveling. Should I go with a 2 or 3 Bank system? Any Brand Preferences? Where do you mount the charger? Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Dave Coughlin

“Guest” brand seem to be the top choice. I’ve had one of their 3 bank chargers for about 3 years now with no problems. And they have a super reputation for service if you ever do have a problem. An on board charger is the best toy you can add to your boat!

I would go with the 3 bank Guest charger. I have 2 model 2620s in my boat and have had zero problems. This will be my 5th year using them. It is great to come off the water and just plug them in and forget it. I also rig clients boats with Guest chargers and zero problems from any of them. I have mine mounted in the battery compartment. I just made sure to give it as much clearence for air flow as possible. If you have any other questions give me a holler.

I run a Guest 2 bank charger. I love it !! If your puttin it in now, go with the 3 bank charger, that way your totally covered.There were times I could have left my batteries in the boat this winter and left the charger on(keeping them from freezing up with out over charging)but instead I had to bring it into the house.

Thanks for the input. Heading to Cabela’s Wed to pick one up. Any idea who Cabela’s uses for their own private label charger? Dave C.

On the flip side, I just replaced a “guest” two bank charger on my boat. The internal 110v fuse was blown and the service dept. from “guest” told me to replace the unit because it probably had damage somewhere else on the board. The charger was three years old. I went to Gander yesterday and replaced it with a Minn Kota MK220. They’re priced at 179.00 and you then get a 20 dollar mail in rebate. Good luck with whatever you buy, on-board chargers are the only way to go regardless of what type you buy.
SEDNERB

Brand wise is up to you but I would definitely go with a 3 bank charger. I put a 2 bank in (MinnKota) several years ago and I love the convenience. I wish I would have went with the 3 bank so my starting motor was charged also, I could leave hooked up continuously.

Ditto on the 3 bank charger. If you run a bigger motor the starting battery will seldom run down during the season.(at least mine never has on my 115 Yammy 4stroke), but in cold weather or for long drydock periods you’ll be glad you had the 3 bank. I run a Guest.

Guest 3-bank. First one broke just after warranty was up and Guest still replaced it for free. That was 4 years ago. No problems since. Try to put the plugin where you can reach it outside of the boat. Best money ever spent. I got 5 seasons out of my last set of regular lead batteries. I attribute that to the charger and always plugging in after fishing.

This could open up a whole new thread but I use the 3 bank Pro series. Many of you may remember seeing it under water in an aquarium at sports shows…because it is completely sealed. It has been flawless for me, but the down side is its weight, must be at least 20#. Bass and Walleye Magazine had an article on chargers a while back, you’d be amazed at the differences in output given line voltage “in”. There are times we have to run long cords to the boat at a resort which means low input voltage. Some of these so called 10 amp chargers are hardly more than trickle chargers in those conditions. Check out the specs of the unit you buy, it should tell you in the fine print section.