Onboard Charger Question

[clark9312]

This might be a dumb question but here it is. I pulled the trigger on a new pro team 190 last weekend. I go to pick it up this Saturday. The only upgrade I did was the trolling motor. Went from a 12v to 24. Before I left I asked the guy if I need a 3 bank charger and he said no. He said the 2 bank would charge the trolling motor batteries and the alternator should take care of the starting battery. Does this sound right? This is my first boat so I'm not very knowledgable about these types of things. Any other tips are welcomed!

[Ski213]

He is correct. The alternator will charge the starting battery.  Some people like to have a third bank just to keep the starting battery topped off though. If you don't run the outboard much but run electronics, livewells, etc a lot the charging battery can get drained. I use a 2 bank and occasionally pull one bank off the trolling batteries and charge the starting battery if I've been doing a lot of fishing with not much running. 

[Further North]

"Should" is the key word in the sales guy's statement.

I would (and have) install a charger to top off all the batteries every time i plug the boat in.

If you run your starting battery down while you're on the water, it's a long way back on the trolling motor...or with a paddle.

[WIGuide]

Get the 3 bank. You could squeak by with a 2 but you run the risk of being dead on the water. Sure your motor will charge while you're running, but it doesn't do it very fast and with locators and pumps running off your starting battery they get drained down more than they used to. 

[Fisher-O-men]

We could use some Charger help here in San Diego!  Oh and yes, get the three bank!

[clark9312]

Are these chargers easy to hook up? 

[S Hovanec]

Go with the 3 bank.  For the last 2 seasons, I ran 4 batteries off of a 3 bank charger.  I hated it.  The alternator didn't charge at a high enough rate.   I always had to put a charger on the starting battery to get it to full.  Going back to a 3 battery system this year to make things more simple.

[Further North]

10 hours ago, WIGuide said:

Get the 3 bank. You could squeak by with a 2 but you run the risk of being dead on the water. Sure your motor will charge you're running, but it doesn't do it very fast and with locators and pumps running off your starting battery they get drained down more than they used to. 

I forgot all about pumps because I never use mine...even better reason to go with the 3 bank.

6 hours ago, clark9312 said:

Are these chargers easy to hook up? 

Yes

3 hours ago, S Hovanec said:

Go with the 3 bank.  For the last 2 seasons, I ran 4 batteries off of a 3 bank charger.  I hated it.  The alternator didn't charge at a high enough rate.   I always had to put a charger on the starting battery to get it to full.  Going back to a 3 battery system this year to make things more simple.

Good choice - I went the other way (from a 4 battery, 4 bank system to a 5 battery, 5 bank system).  Belt, suspenders and a rope tied around my waist!

[S Hovanec]

11 minutes ago, Further North said:

I forgot all about pumps because I never use mine...even better reason to go with the 3 bank.

Yes

Good choice - I went the other way (from a 4 battery, 4 bank system to a 5 battery, 5 bank system).  Belt, suspenders and a rope tied around my waist!

 

If it wasn't for the fact I needed to replace my batteries this season, I would have bought a one bank charger for the starter.  More economical to replace 3 batteries than 4 plus a charger!  I'm eliminating the accessory battery and I got a bigger starter this time. 

[DodgeRamWax]

You should go with the 3 bank. when you bought the 2 bank did you look at the amps? lets say you bought a 10 amp 3 bank charger. the trolling motor hooks up would have 4 amps a piece while the starting battery would only get 2 amps from the charger. so If your 2 bank is a weird amp one of your batteries might not get fully charged as fast. 

[clark9312]

3 hours ago, DodgeRamWax said:

You should go with the 3 bank. when you bought the 2 bank did you look at the amps? lets say you bought a 10 amp 3 bank charger. the trolling motor hooks up would have 4 amps a piece while the starting battery would only get 2 amps from the charger. so If your 2 bank is a weird amp one of your batteries might not get fully charged as fast. 

I didn't really look at it. It came with the boat. I'm going to pick it up this weekend and won't be doing much fishing. Just testing it out and stuff so within the next few weeks I'll probably try to Change it. Also what brand do you guys recommend? I don't need the top of the line. Just a good one i know will last a while and do what it's suppose to do

[SDoolittle]

Years ago, I was in the same situation after upgrading from 12v to 24v trolling motor. I just used a little trickle charger from time to time on the cranking battery, and I never had an issue.

[Ski213]

5 hours ago, clark9312 said:

I didn't really look at it. It came with the boat. I'm going to pick it up this weekend and won't be doing much fishing. Just testing it out and stuff so within the next few weeks I'll probably try to Change it. Also what brand do you guys recommend? I don't need the top of the line. Just a good one i know will last a while and do what it's suppose to do

I don't necessarily think you need to change out the two bank. To each his own but I would probably just add a single bank charger for the starting battery assuming there's not some kind of space issue. When it's time to replace those chargers I would go to a 3 bank unit but not before.