Battery Charging

[Bear]

Just curious to see what people use to charge their deep cell batteries.

A lot of what I've found tells me that intensive charging can actually do more damage than a longer trickle feed. I've actually been using a Mobitronic by WAECO which is an 8A 14.1V unit.

What else is everyone using and what have they found.

Thanks,

[don]

I'v got a trojan 115 amp per hour battery and I use an old little orange trickle charger that puts out about 2amps on low and I leave it on for about two days and it will bring the battery up from around 11.5 volts to 12.8. (full).
So far it seams to be doing the trick.The solar panel puts out 2.7 amps and it too will recharge the battery back up to 12.8 volts if the boat is left out for two days.

If all else fails there is always the enviro net

rgds
Don

[BoofHed]

I've got a trojan 115ampHr battery and a telwin autotronic 25 charger witch as the name sugest is automatic cut of when bateryis fully charged and u can leave it on the battery and if it thinks the battery needs a top up it will do it automatically.
The charger has also got a boost facility so if someone leaves there lights on in the car put it on boost and u can start the car on the charger so it works great for me. Very expensive charger but acording to the batery guys it was the best 4 the battery to make it last.
Bruce

[Tony]

Bear,

The battery charger debate will go on and on, Me I have bit the Bullet and headed O/S to get a Guest Onboard charger with either 12/24 volt set up. That meaning just a Charger with 2 banks of leads. Each with a ten apm output. These cahrgers are three stage fully automatic and waterproof,shockproof,and no dram's with warranty. I have been down the track of small Arlec chargers and they take too dam long. Over a weekend comp come home and plug in and fully ready the next day,what if the wind picks up and you only had yours on charge with a 2 apm charger,This would see you heading home under petrol and not a happy camper. With what we spend on Boats/tackle.
Have spoken to a tech in a few shops and for what we use the batteries for you need at least 10 percent pushing back into them to get them back up and then the other stages of the charger take over and fill them up then matain them. So on a 130amp hour battery at least 13amps to get it going. 105 amp at least 10amps and so on. If you get my drift.

[Traveller]

Did the same.... went o/seas and got myself a ProMariner 3 banks charger..... 30Amp baby......... well its arriving in a few weeks and going on the boat then.... will let you guys know after.

[ausbill]

A Guest 2631-230 from OS 3 x 10Amp outputs charging 2 x 115AH gel-cells and the lead acid, crank and house batteries.

Being assembled as I type, so time will tell.

Bill

[madsurfe]

I use a BeeHive BH-2-1214 12Volt 14Amp 2-Stage Charger
for charging from mains and as a general rule the charger on full boost needs to run at least 10% of the battery AmpH to desulphate the plates. Using a trickle charger will charge the battery ok early on in it's life but is detrimental to the long term health of the battery. The BH-2-1214 is fully automatic and generally gets me recharged in 4 hours.

I was put onto this info by another member in an earlier post (maybe 15 mths ago) about chargers

Full specs and a heap of useful info is available here:

Bee Technical

[madsurfe]

here ya go I found the original thread, it was just on 12 months ago!

charger questions 12 mths ago

phew... I'm glad I found that one

[Tony]

I have a GUEST 2622-230 2 bank charger now for about a mont. It is fantastic and charges battery in no time. 3 stage charge, and just leave it on all the time if you wish.

They are well worth the money, onboard,water and shock proof. Come on we spend over $1000 to set our Bowmounts and batteries and you want to skimp on a charger,me i can not see the reason to.

It is 10 amps per bank.

[Angry]

This is an interesting topic. Iv'e just bought two 130amp Trojans for 24 volt system, And after those sort of dollars i want to keep those batteries in "primo" condition for as long as possible. Am looking at a 24v fully automatic charger, but will check out some of these other names mentioned here.
I have been told about the sulphite buildup from constant trickle charging. Have also been told that rapid charging will not charge as well (to the same level) as trickle charging. I don't know the full truth, but I do believe the people giving me this info were genuine (if not 100% accurate).
Assuming that a "staged" charger means rapid followed by trickle charging, then this would seem to be the best allround answer.

[Traveller]

I went looking around for ages for the best charger and spoke to a few people on the bass sites in the US, and decided on the ProMariner Tournament 300L 3 bank charger 30amps unit... The unit have a maintenance mode and whole bunch of feature which are great.

For anyone interested.....
http://www.promariner.com

According to the boys from Cabela's they're the best of them apparently... We'll don't know until I get them I suppose.
End up getting it directly from them, great customer service, even manage to find an Aussie in the tech support department. They changed the voltage and extended the battery leads for me and took care of everything else... so I'm happy...

[Angry]

Ok Tony And JP, can you say where you got your respective chargers from and how much they cost. Pm me if you wish.

thanks

[Tony]

This is the one Glen is talking about ,-
----------------------------------------
Protournament 300 Battery Charger
30 Amp 3 Bank


Manufacturers' Minimum Advertised Price (MAP) Shown.
Click on the icon for further information



30 Amp 3 Bank Waterproof Charger
The fastest charger in its class!
Designed for the professional grade fisherman in mind!
Will charge your batteries 2 to 3 times faster than leading traditional chargers.
Automatic, 3 step charging with 100% of the amp output with our patented distibuted on demand technology, distributing the full rated output to all battery banks without any bank limitations.
All metal construction allows for superior heat dissipation. LED charge cycle indicators, reverse polarity and engine protection.
For use with 12v, 24v, or 36v systems.
Designed for safe long and short term storage.
100% waterproof and prewired for easy installation.
Manufacturers limited lifetime repair warranty with a 1-year replacement warranty.

Manufacturer: Professional Mariner
Model: 51030
Status: CALL FOR AVAILABILITY



Catalog Description Ship List Price MAP Price Enter Quantity To Order
204387 ProTournament 300 12 lbs. $349.00



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[Tony]

this is the one i am talking about.

They have a three bank 30 amp also but it will be dearer and i like Guest as it is 2 year warranty and the place to buy from is just around the corner from factory if any hassels.

Shipping can get dear as they weigh 12lbs each

The ones for AUSSIE are dearer as they are made for 240 volts, and When i rang Cabelas and Bass pro they will and do not stock chargers for Aussie. ?
----------------------------------------
Waterproof Series Battery Charger
20a 12v 2b
Waterproof Series

Available in models for applications ranging from casual cruising to high-stakes tournament fishing, these rugged, fully potted units are waterproof, shockproof and impervious to rust, corrosion and caustic gases.
They offer some of the fastest recovery times on the market. Engineered for 12V, 24V and 36V systems, these three-stage chargers first charge, then switch to storage mode, extending the life of your battery by keeping it fresh and ready to go.
The portable, three-stage electronic chargers feature built-in thermal and overload protection, reverse polarity protection and LED ready indicators. Prewired with a 6' AC cord and 4' DC outputs. Alligator clips can be left connected indefinitely.
The new "Smart Leg" cruising charger/converters (noted with an asterisk in the chart) are for permanent mounting.
They're engineered to supply the changing power demands of your batteries by automatically delivering the power necessary to optimize the battery recharge cycle.
They provide different amperages to each battery depending on its usage curve. When you're stuck at a dock or other location with sub-standard AC voltage delivery, the Smart Leg chargers will still charge your batteries efficiently.
Prewired with individual 10" DC battery cables and easy access studs.

Manufacturer: Guest
Model: 2620
Status: IN STOCK



Catalog Description Ship List Price Selling Price Enter Quantity To Order
200033 Water Proof Series 12 lbs. $199.99



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[Traveller]

Guys, The Pro Mariner charger for Australian condition are best purchased directly from them. Based on the charging curve and model I think they're best bang for bucks... but I'm biased I already bought one.....and I liked the people to deal with.

The people at ProMariner was happy to adjust the voltage to 240V and 50Hz (be careful that its set to this cycle not just voltage), and extend the length of the battery leads.

I don't have anything against the Guest charger and was one of the one that I was considering but the people at Cabela and BassPro were soo hard to deal with and the company that makes them didn't respond to my email so I looked around some more and decided on the ProMariner which is a more expensive but I think more capable unit.

Just before anyone flames me, I want to again iterate that I don't have any affliation with this people....apart from finding a Cooper Pale Ale drinking Aussie amongst their people.........