Is it safe to keep engine connected to battery while it is charging/ stored?

Gents,

New boat owner here. It was a relatively big investment for me so forgive me if I am being a bit overly protective.

But, I wanted to know if it is safe to keep the motor connected to the battery while also charging the same starter battery at the same time?

I have the boat in outside storage during the week and take it out on the weekends. So the charger is connected for a relatively long time. I did get a nicer onboard battery charger from Bass Pro that regulates/ trickles/ and shuts off when needed.

What is your take on this?

Re: Is it safe to keep engine connected to battery while it is charging/ stored?

Why are charging the start battery every week?

Re: Is it safe to keep engine connected to battery while it is charging/ stored?

I would go with not a big issue, batteries are made to be charged while the engines running.

Re: Is it safe to keep engine connected to battery while it is charging/ stored?

I don't see a problem with leaving the battery hooked up to the engine, as long as your charger is designed to go into shutdown mode when the battery is fully charged.

I understand there ARE valid reasons why you would need a charger to constantly top up your starter battery, but just to round out this thread, why are you doing this? Are you keeping the battery online to power bilge pumps, or electronics that you don't want to shut down?

If there's no reason to keep the battery online, it might be better to install a cutoff master switch. These switches shut down all power so that little items like the stereo and nav system don't drain the battery over time.

Grouse

Re: Is it safe to keep engine connected to battery while it is charging/ stored?

Jerryh3 said:

Why are charging the start battery every week?

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It's not the starting battery so much as the trolling motor battery that I drain that is also connected to the 2 bank charger. But, I wasn't sure if I should just disconnect the leads for the engine from the starting battery because of any issues that I wasn't aware of.

I would like to just park the boat after a day out and plug it into the wall socket via my charger and forget about it for a week without having to disconnect/ reconnect anything. Then when I am ready to go next weekend I simply unplug from the wall and go.

I am not powering any bilge pumps or electronics.

Re: Is it safe to keep engine connected to battery while it is charging/ stored?

shark1998 said:

It's not the starting battery so much as the trolling motor battery that I drain that is also connected to the 2 bank charger. But, I wasn't sure if I should just disconnect the leads for the engine from the starting battery because of any issues that I wasn't aware of.

I would like to just park the boat after a day out and plug it into the wall socket via my charger and forget about it for a week without having to disconnect/ reconnect anything. Then when I am ready to go next weekend I simply unplug from the wall and go.

I am not powering any bilge pumps or electronics.

Click to expand...

Ok. That makes more sense.

Re: Is it safe to keep engine connected to battery while it is charging/ stored?

Do you think it would be OK then for me to leave everything connected to the battery?

Re: Is it safe to keep engine connected to battery while it is charging/ stored?

Leave it plugged in with everything connected. You'll be fine.

Re: Is it safe to keep engine connected to battery while it is charging/ stored?

marc c said:

Leave it plugged in with everything connected. You'll be fine.

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Thanks, all of your comments are appreciated.

Re: Is it safe to keep engine connected to battery while it is charging/ stored?

I may mention to keep a eye on the trolling motor battery acid level, dont let it get below the plates. This is for both batterys, but the trolling motor battery will be taking more charging, and sometimes, the cells will start to get low. Once the plate sit without acid, that part of the plate is junk.

Re: Is it safe to keep engine connected to battery while it is charging/ stored?

I read somewhere official sounding that you shouldn't charge a battery while hooked up to an outboard and you should never jump start an outboard. However, I've been doing both all my life with no apparent ill effects, except I'm losing some hair and gaining weight.

That's one of the examples of how it's hard to tell from boating information, what matters and what doesn't.

Nonetheless, if you have two batteries you will have a battery switch, so I'd cut off the power to the boat. PLus boats, at least in salt water/air, often have trickle leaks (I even had one at my house, which is on salt water)

Re: Is it safe to keep engine connected to battery while it is charging/ stored?

No electrical genius here, but it seems to me, if something should go awry ( lightning bolt), the potentential for extended damage is increased with the number of attached components.

Re: Is it safe to keep engine connected to battery while it is charging/ stored?

Yes

(To answer the question)