Battery charger wiring

[Rick]

I have 2 deep cycle batteries on my Catalina 30. I'm now hooking up a Statpower 10amp charger. It is suggested to hard wire the charger into the AC. However. I'm not sure if I want to leave the charger on all the time, as it's sometimes as much as 3 weeks that I'm away from the boat. Is there any reason why I can't plug the charger into an outlet, so I have an option as opposed to hard wiring?

 

[Joe]

Install a switch....

I have similar set up on my C27, with a simple on/off switch for AC power. By the way, I rarely turn it off.

 

[Tom Senator]

Statpower charger should do no harm

In fact it is better for the batteries to be connected to a good 3 stage charger that can keep a "float" charge on the batteries. I leave mine all the time and I believed it has greatly extended my battery life. take a look here -->http://www.windsun.com/Batteries/Battery_FAQ.htm#Battery Charging

 

[Doug]

Same unit

I have the same boat and the same charger. I installed a 15 amp breaker as the manufacturer suggested. I use the breaker to turn the charger on and off.