Gfloridafan93 Posted June 21, 2020 Posted June 21, 2020 Hello all, What offboard marine charger do you guys recommend for trolling motor batteries? The dock where our jon boat is currently doesnt have electric run to it (I will hope to fix this in the future), so for now my only option will be to take the batteries off the boat to charge them. What is the recommended charger for this? This is my first boat, so I apologize if this question is silly. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Quote
OnthePotomac Posted June 22, 2020 Posted June 22, 2020 I am in the same situation in that there is no electric in our state Park boat yard, so I have to pull the TM battery (size 27 Deka) and bring it home. During the season it goes on a 10amp Schumacher automatic charger in the garage immediately and I learned long ago that a 10amp charger is the way to go. If I cannot get back out for several days it stays on a battery tender after the automatic brings it up to snuff. Pain in the neck for many years, but I get a few years out of a TM battery by doing this. Quote
Super User WRB Posted June 23, 2020 Super User Posted June 23, 2020 If plan on having a onboard charger soon buy it now and use it in your garage. Tom 1 Quote
Global Moderator TnRiver46 Posted June 24, 2020 Global Moderator Posted June 24, 2020 I use a 3 amp maintainer for the 3 batteries in my boat. It only cost $20 and it works Quote
Super User WRB Posted June 24, 2020 Super User Posted June 24, 2020 Can't charge a battery using 3 amps, maintain a charge yes. The op needs power to the dock where he keeps boat. Solar power chargers don't work charging a deep cycle marine batter, maintain a charge yes. Tom 1 Quote
Super User Jig Man Posted June 24, 2020 Super User Posted June 24, 2020 On 6/23/2020 at 12:57 PM, WRB said: If plan on having a onboard charger soon buy it now and use it in your garage. Tom If that is your plan, Tom has a good idea. Quote
Super User NHBull Posted June 24, 2020 Super User Posted June 24, 2020 I keep a 1k Yamaha generator to charge my onboard chargers from the dock. Store it on the boat when not using it. I also added an alternator to the boat to send the charge to the TM batteries when the Cranmer is charged. My batteries are usually charged by the time I put my cover on and have a cup of coffee 1 Quote
Gfloridafan93 Posted June 24, 2020 Author Posted June 24, 2020 On 6/23/2020 at 1:57 PM, WRB said: If plan on having a onboard charger soon buy it now and use it in your garage. Tom Thanks for all the responses everybody. This is a great idea. Thanks for the feedback. Quote
Navrik Posted June 25, 2020 Posted June 25, 2020 Here in South Africa we have a brand called called Victron. They make an excellent range of battery for charges both home and commercial use. (I even have 2 battery backup systems at work to power all our servers and network during power load shedding that we sometimes experience) I use a 15A model. Beauty of this unit is that you can use it standalone or mount inside your boat as it is waterproof. It also has Bluetooth built-in whereby you can monitor the charge of your battery from an app on your phone called Victron-Connect. The charger is even future proof in that you will even be able to charge Lithium Ion batteries when they become cost effective enough in the future. Charger has a 5 years warranty. The general rule of thumb is to take you Ah rating of you battery say 105Ah and divide that by 10. This will give your the charger you need to effectively charge and maintain (in case of full automatic chargers). Anything less will take a long time or not be able to fully charge. If you have a 24V system e.g. 2 x 12V batteries in series you can charge both at the same time with a 24V charger. I prefer having a single 12V charger per 12V battery. In case of battery charger failure you only have to replace the single charger and not the whole unit if it is a 2,3 or 4 bank charger. Quote
jaimeastin Posted June 27, 2020 Posted June 27, 2020 Just, just buy the onboard charger you will want on your boat. This way, you can use it on the boat when you get the power run. I use ProMariner and Minnkota on my boat Quote
Global Moderator TnRiver46 Posted June 28, 2020 Global Moderator Posted June 28, 2020 On 6/24/2020 at 1:36 PM, WRB said: Can't charge a battery using 3 amps, maintain a charge yes. The op needs power to the dock where he keeps boat. Solar power chargers don't work charging a deep cycle marine batter, maintain a charge yes. Tom It brings them back up to 12.7 or 12.8 volts overnight from almost any condition. I have a big charger on wheels if I need it but the 3 amp maintainer has kept me fishing several times a week for years on the same batteries 1 Quote
Super User Tennessee Boy Posted June 28, 2020 Super User Posted June 28, 2020 14 hours ago, TnRiver46 said: It brings them back up to 12.7 or 12.8 volts overnight from almost any condition. I have a big charger on wheels if I need it but the 3 amp maintainer has kept me fishing several times a week for years on the same batteries It’s amazing to me how clever marketing can convince fishermen that something simple and cheap needs to be replaced with something complex that cost ten time more. I’m sure battery stratification is a real thing. I can see where it could shorten the life of a battery in a boat that’s only used a couple of times a year. I’ve never seen any evidence that it’s a problem in a boat that’s used regularly. I used a cheap charger for years. Seemed to work great. Maybe my batteries would have lasted ten years instead of seven if I had used a high end charger but I doubt it. 1 Quote
Jay B. Posted June 30, 2020 Posted June 30, 2020 On 6/24/2020 at 1:36 PM, WRB said: Can't charge a battery using 3 amps, maintain a charge yes. The op needs power to the dock where he keeps boat. Solar power chargers don't work charging a deep cycle marine batter, maintain a charge yes. Tom I store my boat in a field at the campground where I am seasonal (no power nearby) and hook the TM battery to a 100 watt solar panel and waterproof charge controller with a quick-disconnect and it will charge the battery. I've run the TM all day, maybe 6-8 hours, hooked it up when I got back and within 12-24 hours it would be at full charge again (depending on the sun, of course). The location does get full sun all day long, so your mileage may vary. Quote
Super User WRB Posted June 30, 2020 Super User Posted June 30, 2020 27 minutes ago, Jay B. said: I store my boat in a field at the campground where I am seasonal (no power nearby) and hook the TM battery to a 100 watt solar panel and waterproof charge controller with a quick-disconnect and it will charge the battery. I've run the TM all day, maybe 6-8 hours, hooked it up when I got back and within 12-24 hours it would be at full charge again (depending on the sun, of course). The location does get full sun all day long, so your mileage may vary. 100 watts @ 12V = 8.3 amps. Divide amp hours needed to charge your battery. The problem with 3 amps is a false surface change that reduces the life of deep cycle marine batteries that should be discharged before recharged. 100 amps / 8 = 12 hours, 100 maps / 3 = 33 hours. Tom Quote
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