Charging Flashers

[Sandmannd]

When you hook up a flasher to charge, how long can you leave it on the charger. I was going to build a spot that I could just plug them in when I get home so they would be ready the next time out. Will it hurt the battery if you just leave it plugged in a few days at a time.

[JohnMickish]

That depends on the charger you have. I have some that shut off after the battery is charged and some that put out a constant charge as long as they are plugged in. I believe with the Marcum charging system you are good to go but am unsure of how Vexilar does it. You can always just hook everything up to a timer and not worry about it.

[Sandmannd]

Timer, there ya go. You rock, I don't care what anyone else on here says about you dude!!

[eurolarva]

The timer may not work. When the timer kicks off the wires connected to the battery are still connected to the secondary of the transformer and probably across a capacitor. If the power is not on for the charger it might start discharging the battery. The best way is to charge the battery for a couple of hours then use a cheap volt meter to test the voltage. 12.75 volts DC or better is where you want to be a couple of hours after you have removed the charger. Battery chargers tend to run over 13 volts and battery needs a cool down period of a couple of hours before you can get an accurate reading.

[PierBridge]

The Vexilar Charger has a Red light on it. While charging it remains illuminated and when the battery is completely charged the light goes out.

[Rivernut]

The vex charger I have has a light on it also. May be an older one, but the red light only comes on when fully charged.

[honda4life]

my red lights on all the time... i think its broken lol

[Cold_blood]

the new charger has the red light on when its charging and when its fully charged it turns on a green light that says maintaining

[spotchecker]

The new humminbird ice45 charger has a single led that is orange while charging & green when fully charged.They're located in mankato also.

[NCLaker]

I would recommend you get an automatic charger that goes into trickle charge mode when it is fully charged. Then you don't have to ever worry about over charging.

FYI ... All newer Vexilars should come bundled with their updated automatic charger. It has a red light when charging, and seperate green light when fully charged. Goes into trickle mode when fully charged.

[chris63]

If your charger is 12v500ma(1/2 amp)output you should figure 1/2 amp rate per hour.So if you have 7.2amp/hour battery it will take approximately 14.4 hours to charge a completely dead battery.I just go with the amount I used the battery and charge it twice that long.c63

[shizzy]

I rely on my cheap multi meter. many times I think I need to charge a battery I really dont.

usually when I get back I bring My VX-1P in to the house, let it warm up for a while then I check it with the multi meter. if it needs a charge I toss it on for a few hours. I never just leave it plugged in.

[marine_man]

I bought a marcum digital charging system and replaced the setup that came with my vexilar. It shuts itself off when it's fully charged and gives me a % readout... I've been 100% satisfied with it.

marine_man