charging batterys

[crappie52]

my on board charges have quit working, i bought a diehard charger today at sears, do i charge my batteries on 10 amp or 2 amp? i have 3 batteries 1 crank 2 accessories, please help.

[chigger]

Crappie, If your in a hurry use 10amp, if not I would recommend 2amp.
10 amp is quicker,but harder on the batteries. Iv had better battery life since I started using 2amp only.
The only advantage to 10 is if you are in a fizz to get to the crappie hole and the batteries are dead.

[grubby]

Like chigger said if you got the time use the 2 amp. I've been told by a lot of people that the slower you charge the longer it will last. you vent more of the fluids out of the battery at higher charging amps.

[1weezer]

Hey Tim,
The 2 amp charge is not really for charging a low battery. It is good if you are wanting to top off your batteries. But if you go fishing today and want to charge your batteries for tomorrow, you need to charge on 10 amp. 10 amp is probably the best to use for charging. If you get higher than that, then it really is not good for them. But 10 amp will be just fine. Most of your onboard chargers are 10 amp.
One thing to keep in mind. If you are using a portable charger, you will need to remove the cross over wire before charging and you will only be able to charge one battery at a time. If you are using an onboard charger, then you don't have to worry about the cross over wire. Most onboard chargers are designed to charge more than one battery at a time. If you have any questions, give me a shout.

[old fuzzy]

may have been cheaper to just go to a bps and replace the on board charger for all the work you are getting into with a single charger ,jmo

[ky-slabseeker]

On alot of the on board chargers if your battery voltage drops so low your charger will not kick on and charge your batteries.If this is the case just put a charge in them with a regular charger and then hook the on board back to them and see what happens.I hope this helps you out...Good luck...

[crappie52]

old fuzzy i think you are right, thanks guys for the help.

[gabowman]

I've always charged with 10 amp trickle chargers. I think batteries are made well enough to take it without harming 'em. If you're just maintaining your batteries then set the chargers on 2 amps. J/M/O

[CatFan]

my on board charges have quit working, i bought a diehard charger today at sears, do i charge my batteries on 10 amp or 2 amp? i have 3 batteries 1 crank 2 accessories, please help.

As your batteries age, 2A may not even be able to charge them. Most of the time, the 2A is a trickle charge that doesn't cut back on the current when the battery is charged, and it will boil them dry if left on too long.

Even at 10A, one of your batteries will be setting overnight without being charged, which is about the worst thing you can do to it.

If your charger doesn't say something like "3 stage" or "Smart Charger" or "Microprocessor Controlled", I'd recommend returning it and getting one that does. Any extra expense will be saved pretty quickly on batteries.