Battery chargers

[Neng1987]

What is the difference between a 2 bank charger and a onboard charger? I want to run dual battery both 12v. One for outboard and other for stereo and accessories. I plan to install a perko battery switch and a fuse block. Both batteries is under center consol which making it difficult to remove (small space), what’s the best way to charge battery?

 

[roscoe]

You can get onboard chargers with up to 4 or 5 banks, this is what the professional bass fisherman use on those $100,000 boats.

Get yourself a 2 bank onboard charger.
Hook it up to the 2 batteries.
When you get back to dock, or trailer it home, take an extension cord and plug it into the charger and let the batteries charge.

Actually. you only need a single bank charger, because the outboard should keep the starting battery charged.

Either way, when you get back to shore, or home, you plug in the charger.
A 5 amp per bank charger will require 20 hours to charge a depleted battery.
A 10 amp per bank charger will take about 10 hours, and a 15 amp per bank charger will need about 7 hours to fully charge.
So buy the charger with enough amps to meet your needs.
You can spend anywhere from $79, to $200 on a basic onboard charger.


https://www.iboats.com/shop/promari...oard-marine-battery-charger-8-amp-2-bank.html

 

[dingbat]

All depends on how much you run the boat.

If you run the boat 12 minutes out to the sand bar and back every weekend a built in battery charger is the way to go.

If your like me that puts 5-6 hours of runtime on the boat each time your better off getting rid of the Perko switch, installing an ACR and letting the boat charge the batteries.

If desired. a single battery charger connected to the starting battery will charge both batteries

 

[Neng1987]

Basically there’s no diff in the 2, both charges multiple batteries, one is built into the boat. I’ll stick with a portable 2 bank. Will it be okay to charge 2 diff battery at the same time? My bilge pump is wire directly to battery using the auto wire so as depth finder. Can I leave them connected to battery while charging?

 

[JASinIL2006]

Yes, you can leave the batteries in the boat and connected to stuff as you charge them. If the charger is set up to handle two batteries, you should be able to charge them simultaneously.

 

[Silverbullet555]

Keep in mind that if the batteries are connected together. A single bank charge will do both at the same time. A two bank charger connected to both batteries while the batteries are connected together won't give you the benefit of two separate banks (individualized charging). I'm not 100% sure, but in that scenario, it could create some issues as both banks are trying to charge both batteries.

My batteries are on an ACR so I have a two bank charger and wired a switch to disable the ACR when charging.