Battery Charging from Shore Power

[Offtwice]

Just acquired a Vision 32 (1989) and was faced with replacing all batteries. Now I am questioning if I should be leaving the battery charger on at all times when at the dock. Will the factory charger keep from overcharging the $400 in new batteries I just purchased? Is it safe/ best practice to keep these batteries charged with shore power battery charger on during the week or longer that I am away?

Thanks.

 

[Steve Dion]

I suggest that you dump that charger. Xantrex has the XC model which I purchased a couple of years ago. It will all you to have multiple battery types on a single charger and it also takes good care of them.

Considering your current charger, I would turn it off until you find a suitable replacement. If you need a charge on the batteries, you could leave it on for a few hours a day when you are present.

What type of a battery bank do you have?

 

[Ken Palmer]

I agree. The old battery charger technology kept a continuous charge on the batteries, eventually causing them to over-heat and evaporate the fluid. If you have a refrigerator running on-board at dock-side, I would invest in a new automatic charger such as the Xantrex. I bought mine reconditioned on E-Bay and saved a bundle. It works great!

Charged batteries will hold their charge for a long time with no load. Make sure your battery switch is off when leaving the boat. The only thing that should bypass the battery switch is your bilge pump.

 

[Benny]

Start by determining the brand and model of your current charger. If you just acquired a 20 year old boat it is possible that charger could have been replaced by a PO. Look up the specs of that charger and determine if it has a maintainer cycle. If it doesn't then replace. If you have a refrigerator I always like the convenience of keeping a few cold beverages and keeping it cold to be able to get underway at a moments notice without having to preecool it at the dock or from the batts. Also should your bilge pump decide to run 24/7 it will not kill the batteries and perhaps keep the boat afloat. It also nice to know that batteries are fully charged and ready to go.

 

[Don S/V ILLusion]

I agree with Benny. I think the first two comments presumed you have an old charger not capable of properly maintaining the batteries. It will cost you nothing to verify you need a new charger before you just to the conclusion you need one.