Battery Charger

[Maine Sail]

Seems to me, I remember gel batteries do need a little extra voltage, what 14.2 or something like that. I have a gel battery in a motorcycle, and the battery system in the bike will not give it a full charge. I use a manufactures battery charger made by the battery company,

Actually just the opposite. Gel bats usually should not be charged at any more than 14.1V while some wet cells can be charged as high as 14.8V - 15.2V. If you over charge gells the Jello like electrolyte forms bubbles, which are permanent, and this destroys the battery. Gels are the most over-voltage sensitive and AGM's are next..

Most AGM's can be charged at 14.2V to 14.6V in absorption but the vast majority can not and should not be equalized. Lifeline is the single exception. Using that Ship-N-Shore would ruin most AGM batteries too $$$$$$$...

 

[beamreach]

Check out the MinnKota line of chargers. Bass fisherman use batterys for all of their activities, the equipment sold to them is rugged and works well. If you are buying a charger, you might consider a charger that has at least 3 charge stages, and look for a battery conditioner stage as well. Chargers are matched to the number of batterys or battery banks.

I installed a new minncota 2 bank charger on my 26S and it was fed through an onboard ac panel. The boat was in my barn fed by an outlet through a proper 30 amp shorepower cord into a proper shorepower inlet. Both batteries are glass mat. I researced onboard chargers until I was half blind before I bought this one. Everyyhing went hunky dory for about 2 years. Then one day I noticed one bank had a yellow light on the charger showing it being charged when it didn't need it. I felt the battery under the sink and it was literally hot to the touch. Unhooked it and got it outside. Luckily it was not destroyed, put it back in the boat, and it's being charged in a slip by a solar panel. The rear one is charged by the motors alternator. Whatever you do, believe me, no onboard charger is a plug it in and forget it, like you read in some reviews.

 

[timebandit]

When at home I just use a plug in timer in the garage that turns the charger on for an hour a day when docked in the driveway.

Seems to work ok.

 

[Sail123]

This is my favorite battery system. May put this in one of the boats this spring, if I have to replace any existing equipment.

http://www.odysseybattery.com/chargers.html

http://www.odysseybattery.com/marine.html

I placed this battery in a V8 motorcycle, that has always given me fits getting it started because of the limited size of my battery compartment, and the high compression of the 10:1 compression ratio. This battery starts the bike every time.

 

[Maine Sail]

This is my favorite battery system. May put this in one of the boats this spring, if I have to replace any existing equipment.

http://www.odysseybattery.com/chargers.html

http://www.odysseybattery.com/marine.html

I placed this battery in a V8 motorcycle, that has always given me fits getting it started because of the limited size of my battery compartment, and the high compression of the 10:1 compression ratio. This battery starts the bike every time.

While they do have GOBS of current I am currently in a holding pattern on Odyssey batteries until they have proven themselves in the marine market. I currently have three customers with Odyssey batteries and the oldest set just finished it's third season. AGM technology has been hit or miss in the deep cycling marine market so I am holding out hope for the Odyssey batteries. Thin plate batteries generally don't do so well with deep cycles, though this is a different thin plate technology. Only time will tell how they hold up to the abuses of boaters. If I start seeing 6-7+ years, on average, then they are probably worthy of the price premium.

What ever you do be sure to FUSE Odyssey batteries using Class T fuses!! Short circuit current on a single group 31 is 5000A ! FIVE THOUSAND AMPS!

I have one customer with four in parallel which is 20,000 short circuit amps.. Short a bank of these puppies and you've got a fire going in just a few split seconds....

 

[Sail123]

I placed one in a portable battery jump pack to jumpstart vehicles, and in both my motorcycles. One bike has a sidecar, where I have one battery in the bike, and an additional, larger battery in the sidecar behind the seat. The alternator does not put out enough current to fully charge these batteries, so I top them off from time to time with a wall charger. The GOBS of current is right, these things are like bottled lightning. The proven marine concept, well, it is proven by me on land sea or air in all that I have read about these batteries and the use they have given me. Correct on the fuse idea, great idea doing a pro install on so much power. These have power to spare in small portable, nonspillable , fume free design that can be mounted anywhere. The battery holders they make, are perfect for keeping the battery stable, exactly where you want it.

I know this thread is on chargers and not batteries, so we can go back to that, just showing what is serving my needs so well.

While they do have GOBS of current I am currently in a holding pattern on Odyssey batteries until they have proven themselves in the marine market. I currently have three customers with Odyssey batteries and the oldest set just finished it's third season. AGM technology has been hit or miss in the deep cycling marine market so I am holding out hope for the Odyssey batteries. Thin plate batteries generally don't do so well with deep cycles, though this is a different thin plate technology. Only time will tell how they hold up to the abuses of boaters. If I start seeing 6-7+ years, on average, then they are probably worthy of the price premium.

What ever you do be sure to FUSE Odyssey batteries using Class T fuses!! Short circuit current on a single group 31 is 5000A ! FIVE THOUSAND AMPS!

I have one customer with four in parallel which is 20,000 short circuit amps.. Short a bank of these puppies and you've got a fire going in just a few split seconds....