On-board chargers----Advice Needed

[JDM_88]

Hello everyone. I have been reading the posts on this site for a little while now and just wanted to say what a tremendous resource this site is.

I have a question regarding on-board chargers. My dad and I recently bought an 80lb 24V Terrova and are now looking at picking up a 2 bank on-board charger.

Andbody have advice on some of the better models out there?

Would a MinnKota be a good choice?? Are there other choices that offer good quality that are little less expensive??

We have never purchased an on-board charger before and any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

[harvey lee]

Welcome to Fishing Minnesota and Hot Spot Outdoors. If you page back through this forum, you will see many answers to this question. Others will chime in on what model has worked well for them also.

Again, Welcome.

[PerchJerker]

Welcome to Fishing Minnesota.

Dual Pro and Minnkota are good, Guest is good also. Like so many other things, you get what you pay for in terms of longevity and reliability.

You should really consider a 3-bank charger and put your starting battery on it as well.

[BoxMN]

You should really consider a 3-bank charger and put your starting battery on it as well.

Ditto on the three bank. We have Guest brand, I think 2623. Amps per bank are 10/10/5 (5 for starting batt). We have had good luck with Guest. We also have a dual bank Cabelas brand in our duck boat, and it works fine.

[delmuts]

i agree with spending the extra for a three bank. then you know all batt. are fully charged.

[taw]

Stay with the Minnkota three bank with at least 10 amps per bank. The Minnkota charger is the fastest charging due to its temperature compensation combined with three step charging and is UL listed so it is waterproof. Less then 1 percent returns to the factory. Simply the best charger on the market period.

[walleyewild]

2 bank Cabela's here, what I like about the chargers that Cabela's sells is the fact that it is a fully distributed 20 amp charger, which means that if one battery only needs 6 amps the other 4 is added to the other bank and gets 14 amps.

A nice bonus when recharging the batteries over night to fish with full power in the morning.

[ricqik]

Eveyones got an opinion on whats best. Most mid and higher priced units are excellent. I've beem running a 4 bank dual pro for 4yrs and it's been flawless. I'm not saying you should go out and buy our prefered brand. You should look at the specs of each unit, some have stuffs others don't. Decide from there. You can't go wrong with a well priced popular units, but there will always be duds among them. In your case, I'd recommend a 3 bank, don't rely on the motor to charge the crank batery.

[bucketmouth64]

I bought a MinnKota single bank charger. Make sure you have the space to install the size you are getting. I wanted a two bank, but the space where the batteries are was too small to handle a two bank size.

[eyebjim]

Welcome to FM.

I would agree the 3 bank is the way to go. I have a Guest 10/10/10 that I bought in the fall of 2000 and it has worked flawlessly for me ever since. You can leave it connected all the time and it will just trickel the once the batteries are fully charged. Youc an also leave the batteries in the boat all witer and the charger will keep them from freezing.

It is soooo much easier to just plug the boat in when you get home instead of getting out the charger and dealing with the batteries.

Good luck.

[Farley]

Cabelas 2 bank has worked good for us so far going on 2 years.

[Sandmannd]

Get enough banks to charge all the batteries in your boat. If you have three batts, get a three bank. Well worth the investment. Get home, plug the boat in and she's ready for the next outing.

[JDM_88]

Thanks for the input everyone.

The size of the unit is definetely a consideration for me and the three bank chargers that I looked at in Cabelas were quite a bit larger than the two banks. Am looking at trying to mount it somewhere under the console. I would like to go with 3 banks, but I will have to check the specs on a few models and see what might work the best.

If you go from 5 amps to 10 amps on a bank, do you basically cut the charging time in half?

[Whoaru99]

If you go from 5 amps to 10 amps on a bank, do you basically cut the charging time in half?

Yup.

[Musky_Madness]

Can't beat a Minn Kota on-board charger! Fast and easy!

[marine_man]

Here's a thread from earlier this year:

Onboard Charger

marine_man

[Heartman]

I've a Minn-Kota 460 on the big boat, and a single 110 on the duckboat. They are great the 460(4X15A) gets the job done very easily overnight - no trouble yet.

[92python]

I have been using a MotorGuide Maxi 26 (2 bank, 6 amps per bank) for the past several years and it has been flawless. It is small so it fits in the battery compartment in the floor of my Warrior and costs under $100. 6 amps per bank gets the job done in a few hours.

I have heard many good things about Guest chargers as well but they were physically a bit big for where I wanted to mount it and were quite a bit more money.

[JDM_88]

I took a look at the ProSport II 20 Plus at Cabelas.

They were fairly small in size, which is a plus, and the price was attractive. The only concern I have is will 20 amps spread over three banks be enough, or would I regret not getting more amps?

Anybody have any experience with this model? How has it worked out?

[delcecchi]

A typical battery is about 80 amp hours, and a big one is maybe 105 Amp hours. If you run it down to half, that is 40 amp hours per bank. If you have it charging overnight you probably get at least 8 hours which is 50 amp hours at 20/3 amps. Since the starting battery doesn't usually take that much you get some more if it is the kind of charger that diverts unused current.

So it should do the job unless you really drain your batteries every day and don't sleep much.

[Hookmaster]

I'm going on the 9th season with a Dual Pro from Charging Systems International. No problems. It does not produce much heat (just gets warm) so no mounting restrictions. It is temperature compensating and handles low voltage for those 100-200 foot extension cord runs out to the dock.

[jigginjerk]

I have the pro sport 20plus and it charges both deep cycles and the starting battery overnight, approx. 8-12 hours. Forth year on the charger, works great!