Stay-n-Charge

I don’t know if any of you have tried this, but let me tell you it works great. I installed mine a couple weeks ago and actually took out my on board charger. I’ve been fishing at least 4 days a week and the drive to and from the access has been more than enough to recharge my batteries. Easily worth the $60 in my opinion.

Mike, Do you have any more info on this product ? A link to it perhaps ?

Tell us more please.

Gator Hunter

Saty-n-Charge
Here’s a link to their website. Basically it charges your boat batteries with your tow vehiclwsalternator while your drive. Easy install and works slick.

Mike , would this work with an on board charger still attached for home use ?

Yep. But it really wouldn’t be needed. After a full day fishing on Tonka my battereies are recharged by the time I get home.

I have a unit sitting in my garage. After I did a little checking on the product I decided not to install it. I was warned by several mechanics that I trust, that the way this unit charges batteries is not good for your boat batteries. Just a warning I guess, I don’t know much about batteries. That is why I went to the experts first.

Why did they say it wasn’t good? I figured it would actually be better than force feeding them with a regular charger. I kind of looked at the fact that my truck battery outlasts my boat batteries. I don’t know much about batteries either and the last thing I want to do is hurt something.

The system is similar to what has been used while towing rv’s. There is a difference between the deep cycle marine battery and a regular car battery. last year I talked in depth with the owner of company about charging batteries. He convinced me that much research had been done on the product. He made a comparison to when your car battery is dead. It only takes a short time for the battery to charge after the vehicle is jumped.
Maybe Jim or Tom Miller can give us some insight. I know they used the unit on there boat last year.
I was also told that some of the major boat brands were now offering this system in their option package.

Did anyone give any information about WHY it was a poor method to use for charging marine batteries? I’d be real interested if there is someone on board here who could tell us if these are going to be okay or not. I am planning to put one on my truck & boat. I’ve been talking to Jim Payne about these (he’s the developer) and they sound real good to me. I wanted to try one out before we start selling them to the public. I read some good testimonials and it sounds like Mike Finke gives it the thumbs up. If there is anyone out there who can explain why it would be good or bad, I’d love to hear from ya. Thanks!

This is what I was told. Something about deep cycle batteries are meant to be charged slowly, similar to the way an onboard charger does. A deep cycle battery is different then your car battery which can be charged very fast by the alternator. I have no idea, remember I am just passing the info along. I am sure there is someone on this sight with lots of knowlege about batteries that can clarify. I was told that deep cycle batteries are meant to be charged slowly. This came from a mechanic that I trust, not from the manufacturer of the product.

I know several people that are using that product and are happy with it. I also know quite a few that have them sitting in their garage, much like I do.

Scott, Thanks for getting back to us on that. I have to admit, I don’t know enough about deep cycle versus cranking batteries to even make a decision here. If there are other folks out there who have knowledge about these please share it here. Your help is appreciated. Meanwhile, I will be searching high and low for answers.

Thanks!

There is a web site that attempts to answer questions about deep cycle batteries here. Deep cycle batteries.

I have looked at these units also, but they seem to good to be true. One point that is fact is that they are limited by a 30 amp circuit breaker as per their website. If you have 2 batteries that you are charging, the max you will put in each one is 15 amps. The website claims that you can charge 2 batteries from dead to full charge in something like 30 mins.. I have 2 105 amp hr. batts in my boat and if they were 50% discharged I would have to put 105 amp hrs back into them to bring them to full charge. At a 30 amp charge rate it would take 3.5 hrs to fully charge them. (30 amps for 1 hr.=30 amp hrs.) To charge them in 30 mins would require a charge rate of 210 amps and would boil your battery dry in no time. I have tried to cheat the laws of physics many, many times and have not succeeded yet. I seriously doubt if this product do it either.

Thanks for the info. I took a look at the website on Deep Cycle Batteries and it leads me to think these might be a bad idea, but I am left wondering if it makes any difference that this is a DC charge instead of an AC charge. I heard back from Mike who says his buddy has used one for a year and been okay. (Thanks for getting back to me Mike!) I have no idea myself, so I have sent two emails, one to the Battery Council in Chicago, IL and another to the Marine Electronics Homepage. Hopefully I get a response and I will pass it on here if I do.

Thanks All!

I have also been told by the experts that a slow charge is best. Here is a pic of my on board charger, it puts out 1.5 amps a very slow charge. You can pick one of these up at fleet farm for around $29. This one works good for me because I do not fish every day so there is plenty of time between trips for them to charge up. This is also a good unit for when you store your rig in the winter as it will maintain and prolong the life of your batteries. If you fish almost every day this might not be the unit for you. I plug mine in when I get home and forget about it and I am good to go the time out

“Fast” and “Slow” are relative terms.

While I’m no expert, I have heard many times from people who know what they’re talking about that deep cycles won’t take a fast charge. Now what that means is that they won’t take the full capacity of an automotive alternator, which is typically in the 60 amp max output range.

Deep cycles are not made to provide (or take) surge current of that magnitude. They are meant to supply a relatively low amount of current for a prolonged period of time. For instance, most trolling motors are running in the 20-40 amp range.

In contrast, starting/cranking batteries, due to their construction/plate shape, size, and spacing/etc, are designed to put out high amounts of current for short bursts, and are fairly inefficient (bleeding energy) when under a small load for an extended period. — Think about leaving your dome light on – dead battery in 1 day in spite of the 115 amp hour rating, right?

It doesn’t seem that this unit, with a 30 amp breaker, could be charging quickly enough to damage any of your boat batteries, deep cycle or starting. I might question some of the claims on their website, but by only claiming a 98% charge, they’re taking advantage of certain charging properties of lead-acid batteries (charging curve is asymptotic, with the last 2% taking much longer, if that makes any sense <– it's all geek stuff).

As far as the AC vs DC, all chargers are DC at the battery end. AC chargers are just a big tranformer/rectifier that produce a regulated DC output voltage to the battery. Likewise the alternator in your car and the stator on your outboard all produce AC, which is rectified and regulated to provide a charging voltage.

The short of it all is, between all your charging schemes (outboard, onboard, A/C, and now this one), you want to keep your batteries ‘topped off’ with a full charge without overcharging to maximize the life. If you don’t have a lot of time, this could be a great product.

Gianni, that was a great post! Thanks for sharing it with everyone. You hit all the nails on the head. One other thing to think about….while it might be a good product for someone in a hurry, it should NEVER be used as a replacement for an on board charger. In additon to…maybe.
Think of this. What happens when you go to Canada for a week and your boat sits at a dock between uses. You just took your on-board charger out and replaced it with Stay-n-Charge. Now what??? I doubt you’ll want to put it on the trailer every night and take it for a spin.

Great post Gianni, I am a building power tech as well as other hats i have to wear depending on what day of the week it is . I dont see anything wrong with using this charger, but as stated, I dont think this would be sole charging unit for a boat, too many different situations where it’s not pratical.

Cattin_Addict

Guys, Thanks for all the great information here! That is why I love this site. Lots of good information and you don’t see anybody cutting someone else down for their opinion!

I did get a repsponse from the Battery Council stating that they are forwarding my email to their technicians. If I hear from them I’ll pass it on.

And that is a great point about using an on board charger. The StayNCharge might very well be a suppliment but not a replacement for your charger, depending on your situation.

Thanks and everybody have a good day – Wade