Can't find the right charger

[heichel]

Hi, I have a pontoon houseboat that I'm upgrading to 3 batteries. 1 will be for starting only for an outboard and will not require an external charger. The other 2 are deep cycle marine batteries that I plan to connect in parallel to run the cabin luxuries and lighting for those all-night fishing expeditions. The cabin bank will be approx 200 amp hour rated. I'm looking for a battery charger and I've been told that I need a 3-stage 30 amp charger to optimally charge this bank. My problem is that I can't seem to find a charger that will deliver 30 amps to a single bank. Should I be going about this in a different way? I've looked at battery isolators but that doesn't seem right either since this bank will not be charged by the alternator. Any help or advice would be appreciated. Thanks!

 

[LubeDude]

Re: Can't find the right charger

Well, Im not an electrical engineer, but I think whoever told you that has his head where the sun dont shine. You are trying to make this a whole lot harder than it is. Any good automatic charger will serve you just fine and you can charge both batteries together but make sure they are of the same age and type.

 

[steelespike]

Re: Can't find the right charger

You should check right here at iboats first.<br /> There are probably 20 chargers listed.Also check this item on ebay 3626444737.

 

[heichel]

Re: Can't find the right charger

According to the charging math formula, a 200 amp hour battery bank discharged to 50% capacity will require a 15.62 amp charger rated at 80% efficiency to recover in 8 hours. From what I have read, 8 hours is the optimal recovery time for a flooded battery. I haven't yet found a reasonably priced battery charger that will put out more than 10 amps per bank. I currently have a 5 amp charger but that will require 25 hours to charge. Anybody have any other ideas?

 

[LubeDude]

Re: Can't find the right charger

You actually shouldnt run your deep cycle batteries down to 50% anyway, and I doubt that you will very often, but you seem to know what you want.

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Can't find the right charger

There are a bunch of dual bank chargers with 10A output each. Parallel both banks to one of the batteries and you are good to go. Consider adding a battery maintainer (Schumacher) for the start battery. These are 1.5A smart chargers and since you need to be plugged in to charge the other batteries, why not keep the start battery topped off. Works great -- both of mine are on all winter.

 

[heichel]

Re: Can't find the right charger

Can the charger's banks be combined without damaging the charger? So I could get a 2 or 3 bank charger and connect all the leads to a single bank? That maintainer sounds like a good idea as well. Thanks!

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Can't find the right charger

Absolutely they can be "paralleled". In fact some are combined in series for 24V operation (although in that configuration they need isolated grounds or you get sparks). Dual and triple bank chargers are like two or three separate chargers in one package.

 

[heichel]

Re: Can't find the right charger

That almost seems too easy...what prevents the second bank's charge lead from sensing a false (fully charged) reading while the first bank is charging? I hope it doesn't sound like I'm being argumentative, I'm just trying to understand it better because I have a few friends that are interested in this same setup and I know they'll have questions about it. Thanks for the help!!!

 

[steelespike]

Re: Can't find the right charger

Just checked that charger on ebay. States 2/10/30 amp 85 boost. fully automatic battery type select,digital diagnostics,battery-alternator voltage check,shows charge rate,operating mode,fault codes and when charged.reverse pol. indicator,3 stage highfrequency switch mode,automatic rapid charging.It appears to be exactly what you want.<br /> at about $97 buy it now.+ $17 shipping to my address.<br /> Considering a cheap 2/10/55 boost is $30.This doesn't seem out of line.I've been buying on ebay for 3 years with no problems with new items.

 

[heichel]

Re: Can't find the right charger

Thanks Spike, I'll check it out when I get home. They have ebay blocked at my work.

 

[heichel]

Re: Can't find the right charger

In case anyone else has my same issue, I just got off of the phone with Xantrex customer support. They indicated that the Truecharge 20+ provides 20 amps of charge to the bank or banks where it is needed. So, it can provide up to 6.66 amps each to 3 different banks or 20 amps to a single bank. Best of all, it has a display panel that can be mounted remotely to monitor status and also a battery temp monitor which adjusts charge to prevent battery damage.

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Can't find the right charger

The battery takes what it wants from a charger -- the charger doesn't force feed the battery. When paralleled, both outputs receive the same feedback from the battery and charge identically. One side does not provide more output than the other. If that still bothers you, connect them separately to both batteries and install a switch to open the positive jumper between batteries when charging. You now have two separate banks. No magic here.

 

[Dunaruna]

Re: Can't find the right charger

Just out of curiosity - what motor are you running and what size alt?

 

[heichel]

Re: Can't find the right charger

I have a 2004 Mercury 30 HP 4 stroke. I'm not sure what size alternator. The lake I am on is only 1300 acres so I don't really run the motor long enough to charge the batteries. Plus my boat is 40 feet long and the house batteries are near the front. We mostly just go out and park all day then go back to dock and plug into shore power at night.

 

[Dunaruna]

Re: Can't find the right charger

You have an 18 amp alt.<br /><br />I also go out and park all day.<br />I also have a 40fter. I run 1 motor batt. & 6 house batteries totalling 1400amps (3 banks of seriesed 6volt golf cart batts). 2 solar panels (18amps) plus the motor alt. takes care of everything no problem. It all runs through a controller and VSR.<br /><br />The initial set up costs for the solar is high, but it's a once only cost - for at least the next 25 years.