Onboard Battery charger

[Bryan Martini]

I know its been discussed and I don't mean to sound dumb, but can I just hook my new charger ( Dual bank Minn Kota) straight to the batteries or do I have to worry about the VSR.

I have a 2016 AR240 with the stock batteries and battery switch

 

[davel501]

You have to worry about the VSR. The cheap and easy solution is to put a switch in the little thing black wire that goes from the VSR to the house negative to disable the VSR while charging. The easy bit is relative because you have to remember to flip the switch back and forth...I have learned that remembering to do things like that is not a skill I possess reliably.

 

[Bryan Martini]

You have to worry about the VSR. The cheap and easy solution is to put a switch in the little thing black wire that goes from the VSR to the house negative to disable the VSR while charging. The easy bit is relative because you have to remember to flip the switch back and forth...I have learned that remembering to do things like that is not a skill I possess reliably.

I just cant wrap my head around the whole VSR thing.

I still need to put in a switch even if I charge with both batteries off?

I trailer the boat everywhere so I wont ever charge it on the water

 

[MattFX4]

Interested as well as I installed a prosport multiple bank onboard charger on my 242 limited s not too long ago and have not had any issues. I hooked a lead from the charger directly to each battery and make sure all the switches are turned to the off position before plugging in the charger. Mine charges my batteries with no issues. Hope I'm not doing something wrong!

 

[Bruce]

I do not have a VSR. I let the stators charge whichever battery is switched on but I do not have a typical house / starter setup.

The new Blue Seas BatteryLink charger is an all in one product that solves all these issues and provides shore power charging https://www.bluesea.com/products/7605/BatteryLink_Charger

 

[davel501]

The issue is that any intelligence in your chargers is defeated by the VSR when one of the batteries hits the right voltage (13.2 IIRC) and combines the banks turning it into a single battery. Most chargers are smart enough that this does not damage them but it kicks the charger into a higher power mode than it should be on the charged battery. It really is more important for folks that spend a ton of money on fancy chargers to make their batteries last longer and those that regularly deplete one or more of their batteries.

That BatteryLink charger looks awesome.

 

[davel501]

With the switches off you should be good.

Here is the wiring diagram. The VSR gets power from positive leads that it joins and the negative lead that goes to the house battery. With all of the switches off, the house battery will power the VSR but it will not get power over to the start battery. You should be fine, even if the (D)VSR indicates that it is engaged. Your battery charger would show independent statuses and a voltmeter should show different readings between the banks when they are in different states of charge.



The batteries are at B and C. A-B is the start switch. C-D is the house switch. The bars connect to the parallel switch and the VSR is that thing with all of the silicone.

 

[Bryan Martini]

With the switches off you should be good.

Here is the wiring diagram. The VSR gets power from positive leads that it joins and the negative lead that goes to the house battery. With all of the switches off, the house battery will power the VSR but it will not get power over to the start battery. You should be fine, even if the (D)VSR indicates that it is engaged. Your battery charger would show independent statuses and a voltmeter should show different readings between the banks when they are in different states of charge.

View attachment 37168

The batteries are at B and C. A-B is the start switch. C-D is the house switch. The bars connect to the parallel switch and the VSR is that thing with all of the silicone.

View attachment 37169

Thanks for all the replies. This is what I'm hoping happens

 

[jlcj7]

just to be clear, if you hook a a 2-bank charger directly to both batteries with the battery switch off, does this damage anything or not?

 

[davel501]

just to be clear, if you hook a a 2-bank charger directly to both batteries with the battery switch off, does this damage anything or not?

I don't know your setup, but if you are running the BEP setup that matches what is above then you are fine with all of the switches off.

 

[jlcj7]

i have a similar setup... the Blue Seas 7650 (with ACR)

 

[swatski]

I know its been discussed and I don't mean to sound dumb, but can I just hook my new charger ( Dual bank Minn Kota) straight to the batteries or do I have to worry about the VSR.

I have a 2016 AR240 with the stock batteries and battery switch

If you have an onboard charger for shore power charging - these are meant to be hooked up directly to battery terminals, bypassing everything else. Unless your batteries are different age and/or design - follow factory recommendations for dual bank hookup, they may have different Amp rating for larger and smaller bank.
@txav8r , @ChargerGuy

 

[davel501]

i have a similar setup... the Blue Seas 7650 (with ACR)

@txav8r can speak to that setup.

 

[Bill D]

Hooking the charger directly to both batteries terminals should not cause any damage to anything. The main concern is that both batteries are the same type (AGM, Flooded, Gel...) Some smart chargers don't even care about that. Follow the installation instructions and you should be fine. If you don't have the manual, most of them can be found online with a simple google search.

The "problem" with putting the charger on each individual battery and having the ACR relay close is that the batteries are not isolated anymore. The batteries will even the charge out between the two.

 

[Bryan Martini]

just to be clear, if you hook a a 2-bank charger directly to both batteries with the battery switch off, does this damage anything or not?

That was exactly what I wanted to know.. I'm assuming as long as my switches are off and I hook each bank up separately to separate batteries I should be fine

 

[Bill D]

Yep, but for your own benefit, I would recommend tracing out your wires and understanding your battery setup.

It will be a huge relief if you ever have an issue come up while on the water.

 

[Island Jay]

Waterproof smart chargers are always wired per bank right to the batteries. No switches, etc. This way they can read each battery bank and act accordingly.