Battery Charger

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Zman18

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Mar 12, 2011
5
Hunter 27 Clearwater
I just purchased a used Hunter 27 and I got some mixed messages on charging the battery charger when on shore power. Do both battery banks (engine start and house) charge when on shore power and should the battery switch be set on all? In looking at the batteries, the charger only appears to be hooked on to the house batteries. If only the house batteries charge on shore power, is the engine start battery only charged when the motor is running?
Thanks
 
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Benny17441

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May 24, 2004
7,176
CC 30 South Florida
Could very well be and that should not be a problem. A healthy starting battery should only discharge lightly in normal engine starting operation and should recover quickly from the alternator output. Have seen many installations like the one you describe and they work reasonably well.
 
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Steve Dion

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Dec 2, 1999
15,184
Hunter Vision-36 Rio Vista, CA.
How the batteries charge/discharge is dependent on how they are wired. Everyone has different ideas about this, but my opinion is that the battery charger should bypass the switch and the batteries should be charged regardless of the position of the switch.

I really cannot imagine why anyone would want it any other way.
 
Bill1565

Bill1565

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Jan 22, 2008
1,483
Hunter 37 C sloop Punta Gorda FL
Easy enuff to tell. Do what it takes to turn on your charger, check the voltage on the starting battery. Chargers put out 13+ volts. Stable batteries are fully charged at 12.6 .

FWIW my charger is switched on the ac panel. Must have AC main on then switch on charger. Charger is only wired to house bank. Alternator charges starting battery
 
Bill Roosa

Bill Roosa

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Jun 6, 2006
6,990
currently boatless wishing Harrington Harbor North, MD
Hey Zman, you should check out both situations, charging the batts off the charger and the alternator. There are situations where you would want to charge the house bank off the alternator and you need to understand how to do that. The start battery does not NEED to be chargable by the battery charger but there is no harm in being able to do that. Put a volt meter on each battery in turn and, with the charger on, measure the voltage across it. you will want to play with the 3-way switch so you know which setting does what. Repeat with the charger off and engine running at fast idle
 
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fifedog

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Jun 21, 2009
110
Hunter 27 Sparrows Point
On my H27, the factory Ditech charging unit had apparently gone kahput. The previous owner had done some wiring that I still haven't figured out, and there was once an aftermarket inverter. Now, I shorted out 2 ProMariner charges trying to use the shore power thru the boat (power from outlet on pier could be culprit, but I'm not an electrician.) However, my newest ProMariner 12 will charge both batteries via extension cord. I also set up a little bench in my garage, to keep the batteries charged during the winter.
How old are your batteries?
 
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