Hi all. I wanted to ask those with more experience than I about battery chargers. I am thinking about putting an onboard charger in my boat and want to know...

(1) Do you just leave it plugged in when you are not fishing? How about for extended periods between fishing trips (like winter up here in Indiana)?

(2) If i have two batteries, what are the pros and cons of a two bank system, with one bank for each battery, or a single bank with one lead for each battery?


Thanks for all your advice in advance.

Fishinman

I've been using one of these Bass Pro Shops XPS i Series Advantage On-Board Marine Battery Chargers for several years with no problems. I have 3 batteries so I use the XPS 5/5/5. Some people will say you don't need a lead for the starting battery but I prefer to have one. Most outboards have very low charging circuits and many times the area I fish does not require running the big motor long enough to keep it fully charged. So by having the on-board charger connected, I am assured of always having a fully charged battery. And yes, you can just plug them in and forget them until the next time to go. I've heard a lot of good things about the Optima batteries and I use one for starting. But never tried them for trolling as I prefer the Delco Voyager batteries. Whatever one you get, get a deep cycle with the largest reserve amps you can. This will ensure you of max trolling time.

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Work is for people that don't know how to fish!

Bill H. PTC USN Ret
Chesapeake, Va

I know a professional on the bass circuit and he told me that you DO NOT want to leave your batteries hooked up all the time. He said the reasons is that the battery charger will drain the water out of your cells and ruin it over a prolonged period of time. He explicity said that it does not matter what type battery or charger that you are using. I have forgotten and left mine on charge for a week but that's about as long as I have done it.

Since I don't leave mine on charge all the time I have no real experience if it's actually true but I know the guy personally and don't think he would shoot me the bull.

I have 2 bank charger one for my trolling battery and one for my starting battery. Both fish finders are hooked to the starting battery and I don't run alot so that's the reason.

The Hound

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You can't charge a 24V system with a single bank. Get a bank for each battery and they'll always be ready to go.

A properly functioning onboard charger (or any "smart" charger will not boil a battery during long term charging. Water loss occurs during the faster charging cycles, and it is going to happen everytime you discharge and then recharge at least a little. Chargers switch to float mode when the battery is fully charged, which is a voltage and current below the gassing level of the battery so no accelerated water loss occurs. If you have a bad battery or there is a load on the battery that keeps pulling it down, the charger may remain in the faster mode which can result in accelerate water loss.

I plug mine in 24/7 unless I'm fishing, and leave it on charge from late Oct or early Nov until March every year. Everstarts are on their 4th season and seem like they'll make it through this year fine. You need to eyeball the lights on the charger and the water level in the batteries every 30 days to make sure nothing is going wrong.

Thanks for the advice. Cabelas has a good sale on the chargers. I just bought my first one, well see how it works out.

thanks again and have a great day.

I bought a 2bank charger for my tm batteries when I first bought my boat. Thats been 4yrs ago and have had it plugged in pretty much 24/7 with no problems and batteries still going strong. Last year I began having problems with the starting battery.Not being able to figure out what was pulling it down between outings, I bought one of those cutoff switches with the knob you loosen to disconnect the battery and a single bank charger. That cured that issue and all 3 batteries are going strong well into their 4th yr.

I bought two of the Guest 2 bank chargers from Cabelas..best thing I have ever done. Now instead of dragging out two battery chargers...getting in the boat hooking everything up...I make one simple plug in. The batterys stay on 24/7 and I have had exactly zero problems. I am happy with the bank chargers.

leave mine plugged in 24/7 also, usually buy new batteries every 3 years even though they seem to be ok

You all have been very helpful. Thanks again for everyone's help.

I'm pretty sure you can charge batteries wired for 24V with one set of leads from a charger. Had that set up in my boat with 2 batts on 24V and one set of leads going to my cranking batt. Had it that way for 2 years with no problems. Only catch was, that it took twice as long to charge the Tm batts. Now, the XPS has switching technology, so with my 5/5 set up, once the cranking batt was fully charge, the 5 amps going to that lead switched over to the other bank so after an hour or so, it pushed 10 amps to the trolling batts.

Wannabe...