OnBoard Battery Charger/Maintainer

[TayTay]

I need to get some sort of charger/maintainer for my batteries on my boat. I have two optima blue top deep cycle batteries. I orginally was just going to get them for the garage but after doing some thinking I figure I might as well look into onboard. I am wondering what recommendations there are out there about this kind of setup. Ideally I would just want to be able to plug a cord into the wall in my garage or in a slip at a marina. Any info would be appreciated!

[tg0824SSVGG]

TayTay,

Did you check this thread out?

http://supraboats.com/bbs/showthread...hlight=battery

I have a guest on-board charger - from batterystuff.com

Don't know if the Optima's need something special or not.

[TayTay]

TayTay,

Did you check this thread out?

http://supraboats.com/bbs/showthread...hlight=battery

I have a guest on-board charger - from batterystuff.com

Don't know if the Optima's need something special or not.

Ok, so I checked that out, thanks. What kind of batteries do you have? It says you can use it with AGM, which Optimas are, and it is a plug in and forget system so I am thinking that it would work for what I am looking for.

[tg0824SSVGG]

My batteries are whatever Supra put in at the factory. I can't get to them right now, but when I take the boat out in spring, they are nice and full and ready to go (at least they were last year).

[ssmith]

I use the junior Battery Tender and it seems to work very well ...$30.

[tg0824SSVGG]

Scottie,

I use that on my motorcycle, but my boat has 2 batteries ... don't you?

[jonyb]

The battery tender jr is a trickle charger. The output is .750A/hr. With the way we use our boats and the low output of the alternator, I'd recommend something that's at least 6A/hr. That way you can re-charge overnight. Think of it like this, the alternator barely puts out enough to run the boat, so you're batteries are constantly discharging.

I used Stinger On-board chargers in my boat with Stinger batteries, but that's in the other thread.

[tg0824SSVGG]

I agree John. The battery charger I have from batterystuff.com
(shown in this link: http://supraboats.com/bbs/showpost.p...5&postcount=17 )
is a 6 Amp, dual bank charger.

They make the same one for a single or triple bank setup.

Todd

[ssmith]

Unfortunately I only have a single battery. I hope to upgrade to a dual setup soon. I worried my charger was under powered but I've never had problems with a dead battery. The "GUEST" charger appears to be a 6A/hr charger for dual batteries but when used for 2 batts it only supplies 3A/hr to each battery. So if you need 6A/hr like Jony indicates are you getting enough with the "GUEST"? Unless, you have a charger for each batt and can dedicate the full 6A/hr to a single batt? Nice setups to both you guys. I'm kinda clueless about this kinda stuff but looks like I may need a new charger...dang I have to buy something else for the boat .

[tg0824SSVGG]

Normally, I only use the charger when it's in "storage" ... like now.

I am not drawing the kind of power that John is --- so I don't need it all the time.

I found a LOT of choices at batterystuff.com, not just the one I purchased,
I have also heard that if you call them - they are quite knowledgable about
the products they carry.