2 Band Or 3 Bank Charger?

[H2O]

I will soon be adding an on-board charger and I'm looking for reccomendations on which brand to buy and whether I need a 2 or 3 bank. I have two batteries for my trolling motor in addition to the battery for the starter. So do you guys hook the charger up to your starter battery (which means I would need a 3 bank) or do you only recharge the trolling batteries?

[Rost]

I have a two bank charger for my 24 volt system. And to be honest, there has only been a few times where I wished I had another bank to charge my cranking battery.

However, that extra $50 for the security of knowing all of your batteries are fully charged might be worth it...

[MikeYager - Suzuki]

In all the years I've had my 3-bank I don't think I ever needed the starter battery charge but it's nice to know it's there. I run my electronics off the starter battery so it is possible to accidentally leave something on and drain it.

[EJ]

Additionally, unless you trip your breaker after each trip a lot of todays electronics, especially GPS's, can draw down the battery even when turned off. Get the 3-bank.

EJ

[Ihateriversnags]

I just got and installed the 3 bank charger from Bass Pro Shops. the XPS 5/5/5 charger. Works great and easy to install. for a small fee of 109 with shipping it was certainly worth it.

[JWB475]

I went with the 2 bank just for the trolling motor batteries, and within a year added a 1 bank charger for the cranking battery.

If you do any amount of nite fishing without the big motor running, you will eventually draw down the starting battery.

[delmuts]

go with the three bank. then you know all the batt. are charged.

[NBR]

Go with the 3 bank. A bit more cost and considerably less haggle.

[TSCTSC]

Just go get the Minnkota 3 bank. I think it is less that USD150. You will love it!

But remember to check the battery water regularly. Also, when you rigging it, do not hook it to the battery until all the wires are done, else you will short the fuse and wonder why it is not charging when it is all rigged in and you would have to pull the wires again to change the fuse out...which was what happened to me.

[caseymcq]

I will put another plug in for a three bank charger.

[H2O]

I'm adding another question to this: Should I spend the extra bling on the 15 amp vs the 5 amp or the 10 amp? I think the 15 amp is about $180 more than the 5 amp (Minnkota). Seems like a lot of money to basically speed up the charge time. Maybe it's worth it?

[TSCTSC]

In my opinion, I would just go with 5 amp. It has worked real well for me. In reality, the Minnkota charges turn green after a couple of hours most of the time. That has been my experience. So unless you are a professional, and fish really heavily and need to turn around in 1-2 hours, that extra amp could make a difference. Otherwise, I would just stick with 5 amp.

[caseymcq]

I bought a 3 bank, 20 amp charger from Cabela's last year for $170. It works great so I think I got a pretty good deal. I bought the extension kit to run cable back to the starting battery but I don't remember what that set me back.

[TSCTSC]

the cable I think costs about 20-40 USD. I bought it too and still think it is too expensive.