Dual Batteries - charging??

[adamncincy]

Hey guys, so I've charged many batteries in my life and have also fried about 2. Since we don't have alternators, what are everyone's tips on battery charging?

I know Amazon has some amazing small, portable battery jumper/chargers, but I don't want to ruin the batteries. Looking for a safe suggestion where someone's charged and not ruined the battery capacity.

Thanks, Adam-

Looking for tips as well as proven chargers.

 

[FSH 210 Sport]

The modern chargers that you mount onboard are all smart chargers. They charge hard initially then back down as the battery gets charged up, then switch to maintenance mode once fully charged. That’s probably your best bet for great battery charging that is no muss no fuss.. just plug it in when you get home and the charger does the rest.

I run a MinnKota PC 220 on board charger for my start and house batteries.

So, we do have alternators on our boats, they are just different than the automotive kind. Ours are three phase AC alternators but with a fixed magnetic field. Our boats use a voltage regulator / rectifier, this device rectifies the AC voltage to DC voltage. The regulator shunts the excess voltage to ground to provide the correct voltage.

The automotive kind of alternators have a variable magnetic field on the rotor, thats how they regulate the output. These types of alternator use diodes to rectify the voltage to DC voltage. The automotive kind have higher output, but they also require more power to generate that power.

 

[adamncincy]

Hi @FSH 210 Sport ... I don't have anything like that unfortuantely (2010 AR210). Do you have a less expensive alternative? Thanks for the feedback!

 

[FSH 210 Sport]

Sure!

Does your boat have two batteries from the factory? BEP battery switch with DVSR?

 

[adamncincy]

@FSH 210 Sport yes it does. Like this

 

[FSH 210 Sport]

@FSH 210 Sport yes it does. Like this

View attachment 150627View attachment 150628

Okay that is not the BEP with a DVSR set up…. Having said that you could just go with a auto parts store 10A or 20A automatic charger. Just clip the leads on one battery at a time until the charger turns green, then move the leads to the other battery. That is the cheapest way to go I think. Does that make sense?

 

[AZMark]

Any 2 bank smart charger will work on your boat. You can find one for about $100.

Your boat does have a charging system on the engines but it’s always good to charge while off the water too.

 

[lowd77]

I got this one. Works great.

 

[AZMark]

Here’s a good but weak one at 2amps per bank. If you’re just charging between trips and you have at least overnight it should be fine.
If you need to charge faster you’d need more amps which cost more.

https://www.amazon.com/NOCO-GENIUS2X2-Fully-Automatic-Temperature-Compensation/dp/B08F37P7H3

 

[FSH 210 Sport]

@FSH 210 Sport yes it does. Like this

View attachment 150627View attachment 150628

I’m assuming that 1&2 is on the bottom where the picture doesn’t show… if that is the case you’d leave the switch in 1&2 while underway and then select either 1 or 2 when just hanging out…

I didn’t address your comment about the jumper packs. Anti Gravity makes an excellent jumper pack that you could keep on board for emergency back up. The motorcycle size jumper pack will start a modern V8 pick up with a low battery.

 

[biffdotorg]

Since we don't have alternators, what are everyone's tips on battery charging?

I know Amazon has some amazing small, portable battery jumper/chargers,

This is correct, as someone else described in automotive terms, we don't have a belt driven alternator, so to speak, we have a Stator, that is directly on the drive, but it is enough to top a cranking battery, but not to top a well drained deep cycle house battery.

On that same note, anything between 2-4a as far as chargers go should be called a maintainer, as the one listed from Noco is just that, a 4a single bank or 2a dual bank maintainer. It only gets a charger designation as over a very long period of time, it will put a charge on a large battery.

Anything like these little lithium jump boxes are not for charging, they are an emergency use only jump box to get you started to get home. Don't expect anything more than that out of them. And since our boats are all powered with waverunner engines, it will take nothing more to start them.

Do yourself a favor and purchase a charger with at least 10a per bank and you will be good.

Good luck,

 

[adamncincy]

Guys, this info is great and what I was looking for, so thank you. I love the small starter boxes ($60-80), but didn't they'd do the job. In my mind, something with a small trickle charge would be best.

So, avoid the ~2 AMP chargers and go with at least a 10, is that what everyone's consensus is?

 

[AZMark]

Guys, this info is great and what I was looking for, so thank you. I love the small starter boxes ($60-80), but didn't they'd do the job. In my mind, something with a small trickle charge would be best.

So, avoid the ~2 AMP chargers and go with at least a 10, is that what everyone's consensus is?

Depends how fast you need to charge. I just posted the 2 amp because it was the cheapest high end. You can get 2, 4, 5, 10 etc.

I don't have a big stereo to drain my house battery and I never go to the lake 2 days in a row so I use a smaller one (4a) and it works fine. If you needed to get a battery charged up quickly overnight for the next day then it would be wise to go with the 10 as @biffdotorg suggested.

 

[biffdotorg]

Guys, this info is great and what I was looking for, so thank you. I love the small starter boxes ($60-80), but didn't they'd do the job. In my mind, something with a small trickle charge would be best.

So, avoid the ~2 AMP chargers and go with at least a 10, is that what everyone's consensus is?

What you need to do is tell us more about your boating habits. Is your stereo stock, do you have other electronics and how many hours per outing do you run it at 11? And how soon do you want to run it at 11 again?

Because, Yamaha didn't design a boat that cannot run what it brung. If you are all stock, and listen while cruising, you will never need a charger at all. Those stators will top your battery while running, tubing or boarding. It's when you start adding things, or you stop cruising and just sitting with every thing on that will drain it down.

But yes, if you drain them on a regular basis, and go out and do it all over again the next day, the stators will never top big deep cycle batteries.

 

[Tobes]

NOCO dual bank onboard charger w/ a plug installed on the outside of the boat. Pull it in the garage, plug in the extension cord. Simple as that for charging.

 

[VitaminSea]

Promariner Prosport 20 Gen 3 Heavy Duty On-Board Marine Battery Charger - 20 Amp - 2 Bank

PROMARINER PROSPORT 20 GEN 3 20 AMP2 BANK BATTERY CHARGERProSport 20 Gen 3 Heavy Duty Recreational Series OnBoard Marine BatteryCharger 20 Amp 2 Bank 1224VIncreased Power PerformanceHeavy Duty Recreational Series OnBoardMarine Battery ...

www.hodgesmarine.com

This is a discontinued model, and it’s a great price in my opinion. They have recently introduced “gen4”.

 

[adamncincy]

I'll snap a photo of my batteries. Going outside to put a nice coat of ceramic here soon on her.

Twin engine, 1.8L
Sony Deck aftermaket, built in amp
amp with 4 additional speakers
I've got a sub
LED's
added switches to turn off/on lights
added the 3 prong plug to plug into if needed

 

[Maineiac]

Can the NOCO chargers be connected directly to the batteries if you have a dual battery switch installed?

 

[HangOutdoors]

Yes. They can. Recommend the Gen 5. 1 on each battery and then turn your switch to off. Each will charge independantly. Or one to each post pf the switch, up to you.

@adamncincy Also I Didnt see an ACR. If you install one, you wont have to screw with the switch on the water for charging.

 

[RobbieO]

Here’s what I have...works great and dependable.

Reliable marine charging solutions | ProMariner

ProMariner has 40 years of marine battery charging expertise. Our range of marine battery chargers, inverters and isolators provide powerful charging solutions.

www.promariner.com