36V Charging

[Aluma-Bass]

was wondering if i can charge one battery and it charge the rest of the batteries that are hooked to it? Or do i have to charge each individual battery? Thanks!

[Long Mike]

No you can't. Your batteries are wired in series to produce the 36 volts. Charging one battery will not induce a charge to the others. You must charge each individual battery. That's why companies manufacture 2,3, and 4 bank chargers. One bank for each battery.

[Aluma-Bass]

gotcha, thank you sir!

[FD.]

Just a note on 36 volt motors. Get yourself a cheap volt meter and periodically check the voltage on each battery after charging. All batteries should be over 12 volts when fully charged. Two hot batteries and one weak one = no trolling motor for the day. Learned that one the hard way.

[AndyTN]

You can get a lot of quality information by actually contacting a battery manufacturer. Just a few of them produce most of the batteries out there under different brand name and configurations. They won't tell you that there brand X is better then their brand Y but they will tell everything you ever wanted to know about battery chargers and maintenance. In the words of one engineer I spoke to " most of the so called smart chargers are pretty dumb". His list included one that I had been using. It pays to invest in a quality charger designed for charging and maintaining deep cycle batteries.

[scrutch]

A good multi-bank on-board charger is a very worth while investment.

[K_Mac]

A good multi-bank on-board charger is a very worth while investment.

+1

It is a very efficient and effective way charging and maintaining a charge in all batteries. At the cost of good batteries it is an excellent investment.

[greyleg33]

I backup the recos for on-board chargers--one of the better things to happen to bass fishermen. If you're going the v-meter route, a fully charged battery should maintain 12.4 volts after under going a short, moderate load.