Marine Battery Chargers
Did you know that one of the most important and complicated decisions you can make in marine electronics is choosing the correct battery charging system for your boat? Charging your marine batteries is a simple process of driving electrical currents into your battery in the reverse direction as the discharge occurred. Although recharging batteries can be a simple process, many things do factor into your decision and play a roll in choosing the proper charger.
The goal of our experts is to help you make an informed decision when you replace or add an on-board charging system to your vessel. You are adding value to your boat by having an on-board battery charger. In addition, these chargers also offer you the convenience and the ability to charge multiple batteries at the same time. You no longer will need to drag out a portable battery charger every time your batteries need charging. Maintaining your batteries will be as easy as plugging in your boat to any 110 volt outlet.
The first step in the process is to identify what type of batteries you have on board your watercraft. You will need to look for some specifics about the batteries you are wishing to incorporate into the charging system. You will need to determine the following:
– Voltage
– Battery type
– Amp-hour capacity
Typically, in the marine world, you will be dealing with 12-volt systems. The battery’s capacity is usually listed on the battery as “ah” or amp hour. Marine batteries will be one of the following types:
– Flooded/wet cell lead acid
– Starved electrolyte AMG
– Maintenance free
Once you know a little about the batteries you are wishing to charge, it is time to pick a charger. I know from my years of experience tournament bass fishing, picking a charger is not where you want to cut dollars. Starting and trolling system batteries are very expensive. A good quality battery charger, backed by a top manufacturer, will prolong the life of these batteries and ultimately save you money.
Chargers typically come in single, double, triple and quadruple bank systems and should have independent outputs to charge each battery separately. The battery industry recommends charging your battery at approximately 15-20 percent of its capacity. For example, a 100-amp hour battery would be best charged at 15-20
1000
amps. For your safety, be sure the battery charger you buy is UL listed to Marine 1236 standards and FCC compliant. If you choose a charger that is too large or small for your batteries it could damage them and decrease the life by overheating, gassing and causing excessive water loss.
Depending on what type of boating you enjoy, you will need to make sure your on-board charger’s waterproof housing is designed for fresh and/or salt water. It is also important that you make sure it is vibration resistant and incorporates built-in reverse polarity protection. To prevent boil over or your battery over-heating, be sure the charger you purchase has an automatic temperature compensation, this feature adjust output depending on the temperature to assure a fast full charge in any weather conditions. We suggest getting a charger that will charge in three stages typically these stages are:
– Bulk or quick charge mode – gets your batteries charged quickly
– Absorption stage – brings your batteries to a full charge
– Maintenance or trickle charge – keeps your batteries charged and protects batteries
I personally like units that offer on-board diagnostics and LED indicator lights to let you know the state of charge or condition of your batteries.
Once you have purchased your new on-board charger make sure it is securely mounted in your boat using stainless steel fasteners. We recommend you clean your terminals, use dialectic grease and make sure all connections are tight. Following these steps will insure years of trouble free operations. We take convenience a step further on our tournament boats, we install a receptacle plug. You are then able to plug your extension cord directly into the boat without even unlocking or opening a compartment.
Before operating your charger, be sure your batteries are not run down too far. In some cases, your charger may show you have a bad connection, even though you are confident they are properly installed, if this is the case it may be necessary to apply jumper cables from another battery to the one showing connection issues, this will allow your portable charger to recognize your batteries. Our professionals have informed us that this condition occurs often during very windy days, usually when they are operating the trolling motor for extended time on a high-power setting. On these days, batteries typically are completely depleted by the end of the day. When they plug in the charger it will indicate a bad connection. Simply using a set of short jumper cables to connect the starting battery to the trolling battery for about 3-4 minutes the battery will be picked up by the charger and the bad connection light goes out. They repeat this process until all the trolling batteries are recognized by the charger.
Happy boating
By: Dan Mueller
Article Directory: http://www.articledashboard.com
Daniel Mueller
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As it gets older you car battery can start to lose its charge. When you battery is weak it can cause your car turn over slower and make for harder starts. There may be times when you have to jump start your car because your battery just can’t do it. This is very common when you only use your car for quick trips to the grocery or the weather gets bitterly cold. You could just buy a new battery but if you had a cheap battery charger things could be different. With a low priced battery charger you may be able to keep your battery going for a lot longer.
Pay attention to the warning lights on you car’s dashboard, there will be one that lights up if there is a problem with the electrical charging system in your car. If you have a fault in your alternator or elsewhere in your charging system you need to get it fixed without hesitation. Simply charging your battery won’t solve your problem. If your battery is an open cell type that you can replenish the water in you should open the cells and place a damp rag over the openings when you recharge your battery.
If you have sealed battery with a charge indication window on top of your battery you should only use a charger if the window shows green or black. IF there is nothing in the window (it’s clear) or is is yellowish you need to change that battery out for another one.
You can use a low amp charger, often called a trickle charger to add life to your battery. Trickle chargers are cheap and will refresh your battery’s power very slowly over an extended period of time. Your trickle charger will be equipped with two jaw type clips to connect to your battery posts and a plug-in cord that will draw power from a regular outlet. One of your alligator clips should be red (this is our positive clip) and the other will be green or black (this is your negative clip.)
You should only attempt to charge your battery with your car’s ignition turned to the off position. This first step is important, so don’t forget it. You will first connect the red clip to the positive battery post which will be marked with either a + or the letters POS. After you have connected to the positive terminal you will then attach the negative clip to the corresponding negative terminal. It will be marked NEG or -.
Once you have properly attached the battery charger to your battery terminals you will need to connect your charger to an electricity source via an ordinary outlet and switch it on. You will need to run the charger for a number of hours or overnight for good results. You should pay attention to the charger’s meter. When it reads less than one amp your charge should be complete. When you have finished charging your battery you should switch off, unplug you charger and disconnect it from your battery.
If your battery still will not start your car after recharging you should then attempt to jump start your engine. If you can jump start your car and you have no warning lights and your ammeter tells you that your charging system is working properly you will need to replace the battery with a new one.
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Now if you’re still searching for more car related info, be sure to check out either Mud King tires or car battery tester!
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