Battery Charger Placement

jibes138 · Mar 18, 2015

Mine is in the engine compartment and I am about to replace it and have the same dilemma. I plan to put it where I can see it but protected from the weather. I may have to beef up the wiring for longer runs but that is a minor concern. So my vote is get it somewhere in the cabin where you can monitor it.

Stu Jackson · Mar 18, 2015

Dave's right. Get it out of the engine room --- electronics and heat don't play well together. Some have remote readouts. Extra wire length with proper sizing is the way to go. Small price to pay for longevity of both batteries and the charger. Good ventilation also helps. RTFM - Bruce, F stands for funny.

Maine Sail · Mar 19, 2015

Coyote said:
I searched all forums for any information on Battery Charger Placement, and came up with zip.
On my 1985 Oday 28, the current charger resides, mounted on the forward wall of the port lazarette, next to the water heater. It is an 18 year old Guest Model 2611,,,10 amp 2 -output, which I don't believe is designed for my newer Group 29 batteries.
It will be replaced tomorrow, THANK YOU West Marine 4-Day Sale Super Sale- Pro Mariner Pro Sport 12- amp -2 bank "Smart Charger"
Question is this -- Can or should this charger be placed INSIDE the cabin- along the wall of the captain's berth, by the battery access panel,,
SO I CAN see the battery condition LED's, and system condition info easily, OR, is this best placed where it is, out of the cabin, OUT OF SIGHT, in a dry location, but INCONVENIENT to access ---

suggestions as always, much appreciated!

cheers,
Coyote

I really don't see any reason to replace the Guest 2611 with the ProSport 12. Kind of like saying a Granny Smith is better than a Golden Delicious... They are really apples & apples and neither is really what I'd consider a smart charger. Sadly the term "smart", when applied to chargers, has been severely diluted by the marketing departments....

You will want to keep the charger out of the actual battery compartment and the cables as short as possible....

Maine Sail · Mar 19, 2015

Coyote said:
Here is another question, and one of the reasons for changing Chargers,,,

I have Group 29 batteries,, and the Guest Charger does not list that Group as "Recommended"

I JUST went and bought the ProSport and in the installation notes is states --
"ProSport is designed to be used with Group 24,27,30, and 31 batteries"

Is this a problem???? with my Group 29 bank,,,

thanks,
Coyote

A Group 29 is a Wal*Mart/Sam's Club etc. marketing term for a group 31 battery...... If you only have two group 31's there is virtually no difference between your Guest and the ProSport other than some flim/flam marketing and three voltage settings on the ProSport.....

Stu Jackson · Mar 19, 2015

Coyote said:
.......... I have been putting a lot of water (distilled) into these cells, about a pint +/- or so a month,,,sometimes, twice that, I noticed some water on the cell covers, and it was suggested that perhaps the Guest Charger was "Boiling" the battery water,

It's always "fun" when "someone suggests..." or "I heard that..." or "someone told me..."

If you're using a lot of water, one of the first things to check is the voltage being delivered AT the batteries by the charger.

The next thing to do is find out how the charger works, and how long it is keeping the batteries at bulk and absorption before float.

The other thing to do is fully charge your batteries and then disconnect from the charger. So many people leave their boats plugged in all the time when they're away and may fail to recognize that their batteries may be "suffering" and when they go out for more than a daysail find themselves with dead banks, because they never left them disconnected from a charger. It's a management issue. Try disconnecting the bank from the charger (after assuring they are full and going into float is NOT full) and check the battery voltage after a day or so to see if the batteries really do hold a charge.

Good luck.

Tom Potter · Mar 20, 2015

Coyote, I mounted mine in the same place. Its hooked to 2 - 27 Gel Cells

jibes138 · Mar 21, 2015

I've got my eye on that spot on my boat as well. Do you guys think it is out of the weather enough? Does it interfere with access to the quarterberth i.e. is it susceptible to damage when you chuck stuff in there for storage :>)

Battery Charger Placement

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