onboard battery charger

[captdave]

How do these things work to charge the batteries? Thanks in advance.

[CrappiePappy]

How do these things work to charge the batteries? Thanks in advance.

The same way any charger does, except that all you have to do is plug them into a 110V AC elec outlet. Once a specific level of charge has been reached, the indicator lights will show you whether the battery is charging or totally charged. Once totally charged, the charger will "monitor" the charge level & maintain it at that level.

NOTE: you shouldn't charge a battery when the water level is below the tops of the lead plates, until you add enough distilled water to cover the plates. And you should wait until the battery is charged before adding distilled water to "top them off" ... and don't add distilled water until it reaches the bottom of the hole over each cell, either, because a battery being charged will cause the liquid to expand and it may overflow out from under the caps. Always use distilled water, as tap water may have minerals, chemicals or particulates in it that will eventually reduce the charge capacity of the battery.

... cp

[Crestliner08]

You might want to take a look at the "Stay n' Charge" set up offered by a company of that name. You can google it. Basically what this does is to charge your battery, using the tow vehicles alternator system, as you drive to & from your destination. I had one on my last Crestliner for over 5 seasons. Never gave the battery (2) a second thought. Not a good system if you are docked however!

[Tarzan]

I have a Minnkota Dual Bank charger (Model MK 210D) that I really like.

It has 3 stages of charging and indicator lights that show the progress of each battery.

Stage 1: Bulk Mode delivers full current until battery reaches 75%. Has a Solid Yellow light to indicate this mode.
Stage 2: Absorption Mode the current tapers down while the battery voltage is held at 14.4 volts (Yellow light changes to flashing)
Stage 3: Maintenance Mode. After battery reaches Full Charge, the voltage drops to 13.4 volts and a Green Light flashes, and battery/s are ready for use. (after 24 hours in this mode, the charger automatically shuts off and the Green light changes to Solid, indicating battery is in Long Term Mode Maintenance. The charger will automatically turn on when the voltage drops below 12.6 volts.)

I like being able to see the charging progress on each battery separately. I've had this charger for years and it still works great. Kudos to Minnkota for designing a fine product!

[Royalwapiti]

How are the Nico chargers, I was told that is the kind to get.

[spartannation]

I've had two pro mariner 3 bank chargers and both went bad shortly after the warranty had expired. In talking to them on the phone they seem like nice guys but 2 years is 2 years and they couldn't help me other than to sell me a new charger at a reduced price. When they worked they were great but 200.00 every 2 1/2 years for a new one got old.