Minn Kota DC Alternator Charger

[TallPaull]

Does anyone use one of these chargers? I have my boat on a slip (the slip does not have power to charge my trolling motor batteries). I was thinking of installing one of these to recharge my trolling motor batteries. I use my trolling motor about 8 hours a week and boat with the family about 20-30 hours a week. I was hoping the time that we are boating (tubing, etc) it would provide enough of a charge to the batteries so I wouldn't have to lug them home each time after fishing.

Any insight is appreciated.

[PerchJerker]

DC chargers are a really neat item, but for the majority of anglers there's a few concerns that make DC chargers not very effective.

1. A lot of guys don't run their outboards long enough to charge their trolling batteries. Many times these are guys who are taking a trip to a remote lake, where they plan to fish all day every day. They're only running their outboards for 30 or 60 minutes a day. That is not enough time to recharge batteries that are used for fishing all day every day.

2. A lot of guys who want a DC charger just don't have a big enough alternator on their motor to make them effective. I don't know what the "magic number" is, but if you have a 50 hp or 75 hp or 90 hp motor, it's probably not putting out enough amps to make a difference in your batteries. Big alternators and long run times are needed.

3. Also, a common question is if a DC charger will work if they they leave their motor idleing at the dock to recharge the batteries. The problem here is that at low idle the alternator is hardly putting out any amps at all --- it puts out its max amps at wide open throttle.

However ....... the good news in your situation is that it sounds like you're running your main motor quite a bit, and at pretty high rpms. That is the best situation for a DC charger.

The Minn Kota DC chargers are really nice, and so are the Dual Pro Charge-On-The-Run series. You can see them both HERE if you want.

[Triple_D]

Perchjerker,

I was thinking of upgrading motors from a Honda 90 to a new 115. The new 115 advertises more alternator output, I think it was 50 amps. Would that be enough to charge the batterys with normal use?

Question 2, what do you think of the Guest Pro charge on the run chargers?

Question 3, do install as well as sell?

Thanks