On-board Chargers ??

Would any of you mind taking the time to explain to a novice how on-chargers work, and are they a good idea for the price they get for them. I run a 12/24 volt trolling motor, and have to put on the charger in the garage when I get home after a long day. Do on-board chargers eliminate garage at home charging ??? thanks Jack.

They do not eliminate garage charging, just make it easier. They are always hooked up and just need to be plugged in. Quick and easy. If you were looking to avoid charging at home you would want to check out the Stay-n-Charge system that charges your boat batteries from your tow vehicles alternator. Awesome unit.

Jack,
I think they are one of the best accessory that I added to my boat. I have had the Guest model 2620 for five years of trouble free, no fail use. They do not elimanate garage charging though. What they eliminate is the hassle of and the overcharging problems of regular chargers. Just plug them in and your batteries will be ready to go the next time out. The on board chargers will charge and then monitor your batteries. I leave mine plug in whenever I am not on the water. I also know guys who just charge up their batteries and then unplug the charger.
If you want to elminate the garage charging completely check out the Stay-N-Charge system. http://www.stayncharge.msn.com.

I agree with the others. Best accessory I have. Just plug in after every fishing trip. My plug-in is right inside the bow so I can plug it in to the ext cord from outside the boat. I generaly unplug mine after the batteries are charged but don’t have to. I use a Guest charger too. I just got 5 years out my two trolling batteries and they are just basic lead acid batteries. I attibute that longevity to keeping them fully charged all year.

I just bought a boat and cannot afford much after paying for school, so what does a system like this cost? Is there any cheaper models out there that do the job? Any help you could give me would be great. thanks

Skip,
One to two hundred dollars will get you a nice two bank on-board charger. The “two bank” means that you can maintain two batteries at one time. i.e. two trolling motor batteries, or one trolling motor battery and one starter battery.
They’re definately worth the money if you can afford one. I picked up a MinnKota MK220 a while ago for 179.00 from Gander, plus I got a 20 dollar mail-in-rebate with it.
Hope this helped you out.
SEDNERB

I posted this awhile back also. This is the unit I have and maintain 2 batteries with it. They run around $120.00 at Cabelas. After having one, I wont go without again. You can justify the cost of the unit with the battery savings as they will last longer without overcharging. Plug it in, ready for your next outing.

Cool. Have been thinking about getting one of these as well. I have a 12/24 system. The one from Cabela’s sounds good and have seen BPS advertising them like crazy. Are there different power levels, charging rates, etc. and what should a person look for?

I agree , the on board charger is the way to go.On a regular deep cycle battery the work great but on a AGM battery like “Trolling Thunder”they do not. The battery itself is good and has held up going on its 5th season. But it eats on board chargers for breakfast.I have tried several from Guest and Motorguide with poor results.

I recently got a 24 volt trolling motor and bought two new batteries last weekend. If I go with an on board charger do I need to go with a 3 bank charger or will a 2 bank charger work. I don’t usually charge the starting battery and have had no problems with it. Also how do I do the wiring with the on-board charger with the trolling batteries hooked together? Or is that not a problem? Last fall I didn’t feel as though both batteries were getting charged fully with my regular charger.

I have a 3 bank Guest charger. You’re right basspack, the starting battery usually takes 5 minutes of charging and then the light turns green. You would probably get by fine with a 2 bacnk charger. however, one of the biggest reasons people get on board chargers and especially the 3 bank charger is that if you have access to electricity where you store your boat in the winter, you can leave your batteries in your boat and your charger plugged in. In the spring when you get your boat out, you’re all ready to hit the water with fully charged batteries.

Good Fishin’
Crossin’

Basspack,
No problem on the batteries being hooked together, each bank takes care of a battery. I would go with a three bank for reasons stated above. Good luck.

Dave, what do you mean by “eats battery charges up for breakfast” , now you got me worried. I also have Trolling Thunder baterries with a Guest 2611 charger and I’m wondering what problems you had.

LK

I’m thinking of going with 4 batteries. Two for the bow trolling motor, one for starting, and one for either accessories or a transom mount electric. Would you guys go for one 4 bank charger or two 2 bank chargers?
Thanks!

I just ordered a 3 bank charger from Bass Pro this week. Hopefully it will be here today. It was on the cover of the sale flyer is recieved last week, and sells for $99 on sale. It is their own XPS bass pro brand engineered by Mariner Marine. I will be giving you all a report on it soon.

basspack, a 2 bank charger will have two sets of wires, a positive and negative set for each battery. When you install, just connect positive wire to positive pos and negative wire to negative post of each battery and leave them on. Main concern is where to position the charger. Be sure it has good ventilation around it and the plug-in wire is accessible to you so that you can plug it into a electrical outlet.

LK

Thanks Guys for the good discussion on On-Board chargers, that is the way I feel I need to go. Two bank should fill my needs, thanks again. Jack.

Be sure to look at the output specs on the charger you wish to purchase. Some of them have a 5 amp per output and some are 10 amp. This will be a factor in the charge time you need to bring your batteries back to full. If you are looking for an overnight charge will 5 amps be enough?

I’ve never seen a 4 bank charger.
If you have 3 batteries get a 3 bank charger. Most accessories are run from the starting battery and if you run the livewells much the alt. on your outboard will not be able to fully charge the battery by the time you get off the water. A little more expense for that piece of mind is well worth it. Don’t be afraid to go as high as possible on the charging amp output either. It WILL NOT hurt your batteries.

Leo Kam,
I also use to have a trolling thunder got it from Cabelas, they stopped carrying them because there are very few chargers on the market that will charge them properly. I ended up calling the company that makes the trolling thunder, if I remember correctly they stopped offering this battery for marine use, but they sell the same battery to the military that is what this battery was originally made for. There was a charger that they did recommend I think it was called Battery tender but it was over $400, I had there web page bookmarked but now it comes up page not found. I now have an Optima dry cell for my trolling motor, all the same benefits of the trolling thunder. See the following post.
http://www.in-depthangling.com/forums/river/showflat.php?Cat=&Board=equipment&Number=43696&page=0&view=collapsed&sb=5&o=7&fpart=1#Post43739

I posted something in another section about this- I have a dual pro 2 bank charger and 2 optima batteries- from what I have read above and other places it is perfectly ok to leave them plugged in for extended periods(ie winter). I have a little anxiety about over-charging these batteries as they cost a pretty penny. I bought my boat used, so i dont have the charger’s manual.

by the way, I have been pleased with my optima batteries, got them 20% off so I figured i would splurge- ran my 74 lb thrust motor 15 hours at 75% with no apparant loss of power.

In answer to the original question I echo the above- it is a great time saver and also makes it quick and easy to charge when raining/etc. I have been on vacations where I just plug into extension cords and run them up to 150 feet to the nearest outlet. I dont have the 3 bank, have not needed it yet, but it would be nice for peace of mind to have the starting battery fully charged each day. thanks, sorry for the rambling.

Steve,thanks for the reply. I know they quit making them for puplic usage. Thats because they got that miltary contract. Heard nothing but good reports on Optima batteries. I’m starting my 4th year with the TT’s. That include the starting battery also. I also figured it was time to start looking for replacements this year. You hear anything on NAPA’s gell cell batteries?

LK

Leo Kam,
I have not heard anything on the NAPA batteries, maybe someone else has some info on them. One more thing on the TT’s I think you can still order them direct from the company but they will cost you more.

Leo

Gould/GNB used to make a gell battery that was not very well liked by most that used it. The rumor was that the gell near the plates would cook and the rest of the electrolye wouldn’t get charged. I’ve got almost 5 years on my AC Delco marine batteries and have been very happy with them.

Jack,

I’d go with a 3 bank charger, but it depends on how you fish and what accessories you run.

If you make a lot of short runs with the outboard and run the livewells, etc. for extended periods, the alternator may not keep your starting battery at full charge.

If you troll with your main engine or make just a few long runs with it most of the time, the battery will probably be fine just charging from the alternator.

The bottom line is that you’ll get more years use from the starting battery by keeping at full charge instead of having it be a bit under charged for extended periods, and to get the charging system that matches your needs.

Dan

The reason I’m looking for gel cell batteries is because I leave them in the boat during winter storage and dont have to worry about the electrolyte freezing up, but the main reason is I’m getting too old to lug a pair of 70 lb. batteries off the boat and store them indoors.

LK

Leo Kam,

I have good and bad to report on the NAPA orbital maintenance free batteries that run about $150 bucks each. Bad is that I had one go bad quick…less than a year. The good thing is that there was a 18 month free replacement and a 48 month warranty. They gave me a free replacement after showing the reciept and now it’s just fine. TGIF

Thanks for the reply, tgif. NAPA has a store in town and its convinient to get to. As far as I know, my TT batteries are still good. I’ll be checking them this coming week when I get my boat ready for the river.