Battery Chargers

[Worm Angler]

 my onboard charger died over the winter it was a guest 2631 3 bank(10 amp per )
I was looking at new ones but do not know what to get
do I need to stick with the 10 amps per bank or can I go less I see a lot of 5 apms per
what should I do

[Mike Cork]

Worm Angler   it kinda depends on your needs. It has been my experience that batteries will last longer on the water and in total life if you slow charge them. Meaning use a charger that will put out about 2 amps, but that is going to take about 12-14 hours to fully charge your batteries. Where the 10 amp was probably charging your batteries in about 6 hours. So a 5 amp will charge them in about 8 hours. Where it needs to fit your needs is, if you plan on doing multi day tournaments, you are likely not to have a full 12 hours to let your batteries sit on charge, but if you only fish every couple of days with few next day outings then you could go with the 2 amp. So balance your needs against based on how long you can charge your batteries between trips and go with the lowest amps you can handle time wise. Just my experience. Hope this helped

[Kal-Kevin]

Thanks Mike I never knew that about chargers I have all ways went 10, from now on it is down to 2 for me.

[Mike Cork]

I always try to use the 2 amp setting as well, the new chargers will adjust to the condition of the battery which is a way cool thing. Meaning they start of with a boost and then as the battery tops off it will drop the amps and give you a great efficient charge But still if I have the time and option I will go with the slow charger

[tway]

This may sound like a dumb question, but I just bought my first boat. How do you know if it has an on board charger since the guy I bought if from knew nothing about the boat at all?

[Kal-Kevin]

look in the back compartments and look for a box with two wires running to the battery and one to the hull or up to the deck. what kind of box is it? and how old is it?

[tway]

I must not have one. All that is back there is 3 batteries and the gas tank,

[Mike Cork]

Sometimes the charger is really hidden. Do you have any wires attached to the battery other than the ones for the trolling motor? The trolling motor wires will be a much larger gauge than the battery charger. If you have one though you should have a place to plug it in as well.

[Kal-Kevin]

as for a dumb question, there are no dumb question just dumb answers

we love all question it shows that we are not as dumb as others might think.

[tway]

Thanks Kal-Kevin. Thats what I like about this place. I see a lot of questions that I may not have asked.

[Mike Cork]

Please don't ever hesitate to ask away, we always learn something from each other. Even when I think I have the right answer I still learn from all the posts