onboard charger

Pipepro · March 22, 2021, 06:47:29 PM

My Stratos came with a Dual Pro 2 bank charger installed. For the first few years everything seemed to work as advertised. Plug it in, lights came on, and after a while the green charged lights came on.

Last year it started acting up, and the led lights would go red when connected and then after a while one bank would show green and the other no led light would be lit, neither charging nor charged (Red or Green). I called Dual pro for some assistance and the unit was several months out of warranty. So no help. No biggie, I just kept using it and it seemed like it was keeping up just fine.

I upgraded my trolling motor to an Ultrex last fall. While I love the spot lock feature I feel like it must put a larger strain on my older batteries. Batteries from 2017 and a suspect charger have me wanting to replace my old 2 bank charger with a 3 bank (2 x 12v for trolling motor, 1x 12v for starting).

The internet reviews are all over the place and as usual no help. I am not going to upgrade to lithium or anything fancy any time soon, all I really want to do is upgrade to a 3 bank so I can charge my starting battery and condition my trolling motor batteries as well. So, Long story short, what onboard chargers have you all used and had good luck with?

Donald Garner · March 22, 2021, 07:35:05 PM

I've owned my 2004 Stratos since 2009 and have upgraded the On Board Charging System twice since then. The original factory install charger lasted 6 yrs.

There are a lot of On-Board Charging systems out there and it just depends on how much you want to spend.

My first upgrade was to a BPS ProMariner ProSport HD Series Waterproof Battery Charger. I paid $199.00 dollars for it back in 2010. I ran with this one till 2019 it decided to stop working. All the lights would come on etc and it would show fully charged. I get out on the lake and I'd have a dead trolling motor 4 hours later.

I replaced all the batteries and upgraded to 31 series. I went shopping for another on board charger. I decided to go with MinnKota Digital Model 3150. Its a 3 Bank Charger and so far I've not had any issues with it. Its going on 3yrs old now and still running strong. I bought it at Academy for $215.00 dollars back in Sep 2019.

The reason I went with MinnKota Digital was I have a MinnKota Digital 210D in my G3 1548. I installed it back on 13 March 2013 and its still running strong. This one is a 2 Bank Charging System.

Good luck getting your On Board Charger System replaced. I'm sure there will be others that chime in on this posting also. Like I mentioned earlier its going to come down to how much you're willing to pay for the system.

Bud Kennedy · March 22, 2021, 07:39:14 PM

A few years ago I Upgraded to a Pro Mariner 3 bank charger it is the Pro tournament model series the specific model is pro tounrnament triple It has worked very well for me. Several other here have raved about their Norco Genius chargers . If I understand correctly your batteries are from 2017 so they too could be at the end of their life. A quick check with a load tester could provide that information.

BassmanRudy · March 22, 2021, 07:56:41 PM

I bought and installed the Minn Kota 315D back in late Oct and it's been a great charger so far. Went with this particular model as it's compatible with Lithiums which is what I might get on the next battery change. Also had really good reviews on several sites.

Before that I had a Bass Pro 3 bank and it had lasted 5 years or so. Would have gone with it again but the reviews were really Bad...

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Princeton_Man · March 22, 2021, 08:15:13 PM

When my Pro Mariner Pro Sport 3 bank decided to drop one several years ago, I replaced it with a Noco Gen3 30amp 3 bank. My group 31 Duracell TM batteries are over 7 years old and still last all day.

Pipepro · March 22, 2021, 09:00:20 PM

Thanks for all the replies!

I'm not overly concerned about the cost, I have seen some from $200 to $500 and I never mind paying for quality.

Bud, you are correct the boat is a 2017 but the batteries could have been from a bit before that depending on how long they sat on the shelf. No doubt they are in the last few years of their lives.

I see lots of good reviews for the Genius chargers, and reasonably priced as well. I'll also take a look at the minn kota charger as well

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Bassinkorea · March 23, 2021, 04:23:59 AM

I hope I'm not going to jinx myself, but I've had the same Minn Kota 3 bank charger in my boat for the 10 years that I've owned the boat, and it wasn't a new charger when I bought the boat and it has held up perfectly in all that time. I am looking at replacing it with the PowerPole Charge when it does eventually give up working.

Oldfart9999 · March 23, 2021, 06:53:51 AM

Minn Kota Precision.
Rodney

Pipepro · March 23, 2021, 09:43:00 PM

Thank you all for the replies.

I took the boat out today with the wife for the first run of 2021. 70 degrees, windy and slightly overcast. Water was 47 degrees, and we managed to catch a couple before my trolling motor batteries died.

Not totally dead, but enough that I wound up with the speed on 10 just to keep up with the wind. Never been much past 5 before unless I was getting away from angry swans.

I went and got 2 new batteries, popped them in and hooked up my charger. 12.4 before plugging in the charger, and after turning it on the voltage increased to 14.5 over the next few hours. So I think my problem was old batteries all along, the charger seems to be working as advertised.

I just went out and checked on the charger, the green light is on and each battery was sitting at 13.5v which I suspect is the floating voltage for keeping them topped off. I unplugged the charger and they dropped to 13 volts. Based on all this, I think the charger is fine, and these new batteries should do the trick for a year or 2

Princeton_Man · March 24, 2021, 07:01:13 AM

Quote from: Pipepro on March 23, 2021, 09:43:00 PM
Thank you all for the replies.

I took the boat out today with the wife for the first run of 2021. 70 degrees, windy and slightly overcast. Water was 47 degrees, and we managed to catch a couple before my trolling motor batteries died.

Not totally dead, but enough that I wound up with the speed on 10 just to keep up with the wind. Never been much past 5 before unless I was getting away from angry swans.

I went and got 2 new batteries, popped them in and hooked up my charger. 12.4 before plugging in the charger, and after turning it on the voltage increased to 14.5 over the next few hours. So I think my problem was old batteries all along, the charger seems to be working as advertised.

I just went out and checked on the charger, the green light is on and each battery was sitting at 13.5v which I suspect is the floating voltage for keeping them topped off. I unplugged the charger and they dropped to 13 volts. Based on all this, I think the charger is fine, and these new batteries should do the trick for a year or 2

Awesome! With all the money you saved not having to replace the charger, you should be able to buy a new Dobyns Champion!