Dual Pro Xrtra II Battery Chargers???

[minnesotamusky]

Wondering if anyone uses this battery charger? This unit utilizes boat engine charging current to charge trolling motor batteries while the engine is running. There are no connections to the ignition system or engine. Just connect to starting battery and trolling motor batteries. Fully waterproof with reverse polarity protection and short circuit protection. I'm looking for a way to keep my trolling motor battery charged while I'm on the lake. Is this worth the money? It's about $140. Any advice????

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[Giant_Jackpot]

How many amps does your engine put out to charge the battery? My 70 Suzuki 4 stroke puts out a max of 20 amps. You would have to put out at least 10 amps for this to do much good. I’m sure it will buy you time on the water but you would have to run the engine an awful long time to get a full charge. I would be interested to hear if others have had good success with this type of charger.

[NAGORSKI]

I have this charger in by boat. The original one that came with my boat when I purchased it used was not hooked up. I hooked it up and going down the mississippi river my radio started to smoke I found out it was from the charger. I got a new radio and smoked it as soon as i Hooked up the caharger. then I knew it was the charger grounding out the radio. So... I called Pro charge and 2 people couldn't understand why until I talked to the head guy who said he would send me out a new one with a REMOTE START LINE.that connects to the ignition. FOR FREE! now remember I bought it used. talk about customer sevice! Anyway that did the trick and works fine ever since. So yes the work fine but I really don't know how much more time i get in between charges. But I will say it would be nice to just plug the batts it at home right into the wall instead of taking those batts out every time . I hate doing that. hope this helps . remember get the one w/ the purple remote cord.

[Boedigheimer]

Lonewolf, I use the Dual-pro chargers and have found them to work great! I have never run out of power, not once, the amps from my outboard is able to replace whatever I use at my trolling motors. This year I had to store my boat outside and my boat filled with water/ice over the winter. I thawed the boat out and feared the worst, since my chargers were submerged in water/ice for who knows how long. They still work like a champ!!!

[marine_man]

Pro Chargers are completely sealed... sometimes you'll see them at a dealer with the charger in a aquarium filled with water charging some batteries...

They're a great charger in my opinion and they stand behind their product...

marine_man

[hitthebricks]

Are these chargers used in addition to onboard chargers? HTB

[minnesotamusky]

Boedigheimer, so you use the Pro Xtra II charger? Have you had any problems with it at all, like he said earlier with his radio? A buddy at work said that it will probably end up draining both my batteries. Ever happen to you? Is it possible to put a bigger alternator on my outboard? One that puts out more amps? I would hate to waste the money on it if it doesn't work or causes problems like frying my radio or a dead starting battery on the water when I'm miles away from the boat landing. Thanks for the feedback.

[marine_man]

Did your buddy elaborate why it will drain both your batteries? I don't know for a fact, but am fairly certain that there are relays in the box you buy that does not allow the starting battery to draw from the trolling motor batteries and vice versa... that would defeat the whole purpose of the box... otherwise you could just as well connect your starting battery to your trolling motor batteries and skip the charger box all together...

It is not typically possible to put a larger alternator on your motor... what brand and size of motor do you currently have? That will make the biggest difference on whether this will work or not.

marine_man

[NAGORSKI]

I would still say that if it does not have a purple remote line that connects to the ignition don't get it. It will ground out the weakest shortest ground, and blow fuses.

The newer models should have this line and work fine.

[minnesotamusky]

He didn't really say too much about it. Not sure if he even knows what he's talking about. All he said was that when he was working in alaska on a crab fishing boat, that they had seperate batteries for starting and for running all the equipment on the boat. And the captian said that it's not a good idea to connect the two or they will drain each other.

I have a 50 hp Yamaha four stroke. Not sure how many amps it puts out. I'm going to try and find my manual, that way I know for sure.

[Satchmo]

These are battery isolators that are designed to send any extra alternator charge to the trolling motor batteries AFTER the unit determines that the main cranking battery is fully charged. A couple of things to think about. Your main engine will not release any significant charge to any battery until it reaches about 1800 RPMs, so essentially you will have to be on plane for your alternator to put out any decent amount of charge. First, it will top off your starting battery, then the battery isolator will send the extra charge to your trolling motor batteries. The only people who will gain any real amount of benefit from these type of units are the guys who do a lot of running around on plane. A typical isolator unit will only put out 5 to 10 per hour of running time. This may add a percentage of time between charges, but will in no way replace your charging system. You can actually get far more charge by plugging in your on-board charger when you go in for lunch. Make it a long lunch.

[marine_man]

This is somewhat dependent on if your 50hp has fuel injection or not, but in the end it's not really going to matter very much... the current 50hp 4 Stroke w/fuel injection has a 17 amp alternator at WOT. If you don't have fuel injection it's likely smaller than that.

I agree with satchmo...you'll only going to see a little improvement per charge, and will have to run above idle for quite a while to get any beneift. If you had a 30 amp alternator, or something along those lines I think you'd see more of a benefit...

marine_man