Battery charging?

[jekern1015]

I've had my batteries plugged in for the last couple of days and I believe my Cabela's on board battery charger has gone kaput. My batteries are hooked up in series (red on red, black on black), if I put the positive from the charger on one battery and the negative on the other battery will I charge both batteries or just one. Anyone have any recomendations for a new on board charger, this one only lasted three years.

 

[red]

you will charge both battery

 

[SuperD]

You should be running a dual bank charger which puts pos & neg leads to each battery.

 

[dragonfly]

like red said you will charge both batts that way. this is what I have been using for the last 4 years it's sealed and water proof

it is usually hard mounted in the boat but I have everything out right now redoing my wiring but I have 4 batts hooked to it plus jumper my motorcycle batt over the winter to keep it up.

and it has worked great with no problems and it's plugged in when ever it is in the garage, dfly

 

[DLM]

I use the battery tender also, both on the boat and on the motor home. These little guys work great. I leave them hooked up all winter and believe it has extended the life of the battery a good deal, just make sure you check he water level periodically.

 

[SuperD]

A quality onboard charger not only brings the low battery back up to full quickly but it also works as a "tender". It should remain plugged in on a full time basis. Further, onboard chargers charge or stop charging based on resistance. Jumping a single bank charger the way you described is not a good practice. Low water or a bad cell in one of the batteries and you're done. No charging of either battery will take place. Get a variable, 2 bank charger.

 

[dragonfly]

the battery tenders are not like trickel chargers that shut off when a certain voltage or resistance is met and then recharge when the batts self drain. this is what the mfg says about mulitable batts. Both the BatteryTender® Plus & Junior battery chargers do not turn off after they charge the battery. They automatically switch to a safe float voltage level that keeps the battery charged and yet does not do any harm to the battery. In fact, in most cases, this type of charge maintenance will extend the battery’s useful life by at least 50%The nominal battery voltages must be the same on each battery, and the batteries must be the same lead acid type (flooded, AGM, or Gel Cell). Also the batteries must be close to the same size in terms of amp hour capacity, and they must be close to the same level of discharge. It is also a good idea that the batteries be approximately the same age and that they be in relatively the same general condition.If all 4 of these conditions are met, and if the total voltage of the pack is 12 volts then yes, the Battery Tender® Plus battery charger can be used to charge more than 1 battery simultaneously. the key point is to check your batts. mine keeps my batts at 13.2 volts all winter long and ready when ever I am. dfly

 

[jumperzee]

This may be a real dumb question (newbie here), but do solar chargers work? I've got a 15' smokercraft with 25hp elec start johnson and an electric trolling motor. I've been running 2 batteries, one for the outboard, one for FF and trolling motor. Seems like I can get about 3-4 hrs of trolling out of a battery before it loses too much juice. I can swtich over to the outboard motor battery for some more time, but I'm afraid of going too long and not having enough battery to start the outboard. Would any of the small portable solar chargers help to maintain juice?

Any thoughts or help appreciated.

 

[kok-head]

This may be a real dumb question (newbie here), but do solar chargers work? I've got a 15' smokercraft with 25hp elec start johnson and an electric trolling motor. I've been running 2 batteries, one for the outboard, one for FF and trolling motor. Seems like I can get about 3-4 hrs of trolling out of a battery before it loses too much juice. I can swtich over to the outboard motor battery for some more time, but I'm afraid of going too long and not having enough battery to start the outboard. Would any of the small portable solar chargers help to maintain juice?

Any thoughts or help appreciated.

you'll find that a smaller portable solar charger will take a very long time to charge a battery and really won't keep up with the drain on the battery during normal trolling motor use, many factors involved but still in my opinion generally not practical for marine use unless you have a battery hooked to a good-sized solar panel and then you start running into problems of where to put the panel if you are using it while you are on the boat fishing

 

[T K]

Hate to thread jack, but while we are talking batteries I'd like to know a couple things.
I have a starting battery and a trolling battery. Is it possible to hook the two together so when the engine is running the alternator will charge the trolling battery? Or should these two different types of batteries not be connected together? Will this put too much stress on the alternator or drain and charge my starting battery reapetedly shortening its life?
I'm just always bummed when my trolling battery runs out after a few hours.
Thanks.

 

[dragonfly]

ideally they should be the same kind and size, and it will stress the alt. they are made to top off the battery after starting and and then maintain the battery. is your main an outboard or inboard the automotive type on the inboard will take more abuse than the one in an outboard and could be beefed up to do what you are asking. but to be safe I would put it on the charger for now. dfly

 

[lowe1648mt]

If you use a battery switch ( for dual batteries) you can start your motor on the starting battery. Then if the trolling battery is low, turn your batt. switch to the position the trolling motor is on. That will charge your battery. Do not leave your batt. switch in the all position. If you do, most of the charge will go thru the battery that has the least resistance. That would be the battery that has the fullest charge, not the battery that needs it. Also if you have a short anywhere, both batteries can be ruined at the same time. When changing the batt. switch from 1 to 2, never go thru the off position( with the motor running). Some switches can not be turned thru the off position and some can. It is also possible to blow the fuses or rectifier by going thru the off position with the motor running. And correct, always check the fluid levels in each cell before charging. For a good wiring diagram, go to the Perko site(or the Blue Seas site) A 4 battery system is a little more complicated.