Battery charging/ charger

[spankybeanz]

newbie question. Do the boat motors (Yamaha 212s)charge the batteries when running like a car? Second how often does everyone have to charge their batteries? Looking to buy a charger and didn’t know how the system works.

 

[Marvin willis]

Yes the batteries are being charged while the engines are on. I think most ppl keep their boats on some sort of trickle charger when not in use.

 

[212s]

newbie question. Do the boat motors (Yamaha 212s)charge the batteries when running like a car? Second how often does everyone have to charge their batteries? Looking to buy a charger and didn’t know how the system works.

As Marvin said, yes the engines can produce about 25amps each and I rarely have an issue with low batteries unless floating for a long time with the tunes cranked up. With a stock system, I don't think you should ever have to worry about the batteries not being kept charged with regular use. It's the times when you leave the boat unused for weeks that you need a charger to maintain the batteries. Or if you have a big stereo upgrade with thousands of watts and run the house battery down, you will likely need to charge the house back up when parked as the stock charging system is designed to maintain, not recharge batteries that are down to 50%. My little digital amp doesn't draw that much so I rarely see the house battery drop below 12.5v when floating.

If you get a charger, make sure it's marine rated and ignition protected for safe boat use. I like the ProMariner and Noco brands for on-board chargers. They will charge your batteries, and will maintain them when the boat is not in use like winter storage, keeping them fresh for use next spring. I plug in mine during the week to keep them topped up and ready to go for the weekend. These chargers will not overcharge so no issues with leaving them connected for days or weeks or months.