On Board Charger- Leave Them Plugged In or No?

[Deadeye]

Guys,

I have heard from folks with two lines of thought:

One group says that you plug in your Charger until the Batteries are Charged, then unplug it. Plug back in the night before you go to "top them off".

Other group says you plug in your Charger and leave it on until you go again.


Those that say to not leave it plugged in say you can burn up your batteries by leaving the Charger on and in effect Burn Your Boat Down.


What say you guys? Never had a boat that had one before.

[Donald Garner]

I charge my batteries up the evening prior to the trip.  After returning home I charge the batteries once again.  Once I see the charger indicating fully charged I unplug the charger until the day prior of the next trip.

[analfisherman]

Well it kind of depends on which brand charger you got.

Vast majority now days have microprocessors that controll
output.
These you leave or can leave on at all times.
Plug it in and forget about it.

Unplug go fish.

They wont over charge, period.
Actually they are better left on because they kind of drop into a trickle charge mode and from my understanding it is better  or batteries last longer trickle charged as opposed to being left uncharged and then brought back up to full.
Full becomes less and less doing this, hence the charge doesn't last as long after awhile.

Most anglers up north here where we 'winter storage' our boats ALL have the batteries taken out before storage and put indoors on a trickle charger ALL WINTER long.

[DonM]

Yes, what anal guy said.  I leave mine plugged in all the time, year round.  They are always ready when I am!

[Deadeye]

Well leaving them on and allowing the "maintain" mode to float was always what I thought. I didn't know they made them with and without that built in.

Reason I asked was since I got the new boat and it has a Ranger Charger built in, I have left it plugged in and the batteries charged. I went out yesterday to go and when I lifted the lid to unplug the Charger I felt heat coming out.

I checked the Charger and it was showing Green for the front battery and bouncing from Green to Red for the back one. I felt each and the front one was cool and the back one was Hot as Fire.

Luckily I had a spare one and switched them out and went fishing. After I got home I checked out the one I took out and it was dry. Wasn't that way less than 2 months ago when I last checked them. I then checked the Front one and it was almost dry too.

I filled all the batteries up again and put the Boat Charger on and hook my Portable Charger up to the battery I took out. I checked all 4 hours later and the ones in the boat were charged. The other one was showing 48%. I turned the charger off and back on and it was showing 1,2,3,4%, in other words it was not holding a charge and once again it was hot.

I'm wondering if keeping the Charger plugged in is over cooking them and making them go dry. Never had that happening before.

Glad It had only been 2 days since I last used it or this might be a different post as hot as that battery was getting, the boat might be burnt to the ground.

[jprism]

If you are using a charger made for boats i.e. Minn Kota then I believe it is safe to leave it connected year around. My only reservation would be if I lived in an extreme cold climate where the boat is not used for months at the time and it sits in this cold extreme then I would remove the batteries to a warmer garage location and hook them up to a battery charger that cycles off at full charge.

[Princeton_Man]

Well it kind of depends on which brand charger you got.

Vast majority now days have microprocessors that controll
output.
These you leave or can leave on at all times.
Plug it in and forget about it.

Unplug go fish.

They wont over charge, period.
Actually they are better left on because they kind of drop into a trickle charge mode and from my understanding it is better  or batteries last longer trickle charged as opposed to being left uncharged and then brought back up to full.
Full becomes less and less doing this, hence the charge doesn't last as long after awhile.

Most anglers up north here where we 'winter storage' our boats ALL have the batteries taken out before storage and put indoors on a trickle charger ALL WINTER long.

This^

I, like DonM keep mine connected 24/7. Only time she's not is when I'm fishing. It does depend on the charger though. Microprocessor controlled chargers that monitor the battery and only apply a charge when needed (float) are perfectly safe to leave connected 24/7, that's what they were designed for. Unless the batteries are sealed no maintenance batteries, you should check the acid levels and add a little distilled water to any cell that's low.

Deadeye, I'm not familiar with the Ranger charger but I'd guess that it's a state of the art charger. My guess would be a defective battery and that's where I'd look first.

[Deadeye]

Well keep in mind this is a 2004 boat and technologies I'm sure have changed since then.

This battery is done, no doubt. What concerned me was the other battery also being almost dry.

I have two Battery Tender brand chargers on my wife and I motorcycles and they stay plugged in all the time. That is what they are made for.

I'm wondering if back in 2004 the Chargers were not made to Float or Maintain like they are now today.

[Princeton_Man]

Well keep in mind this is a 2004 boat and technologies I'm sure have changed since then.

This battery is done, no doubt. What concerned me was the other battery also being almost dry.

I have two Battery Tender brand chargers on my wife and I motorcycles and they stay plugged in all the time. That is what they are made for.

I'm wondering if back in 2004 the Chargers were not made to Float or Maintain like they are now today.

That's a good question Deadeye. I think some of the first Promariner Pro-Sport chargers might have come out around 2004-2005. I'm not sure about the others. Maybe some old 2004 Ranger literature would help answer that.

[Deadeye]

I think maybe from now on, just to be on the safe side, I'll unplug them after charging then top them off before I go.

Hate to see my new boat going up in flames.

[Pferox]

If you keep your chargers plugged in for any length of time, make sure you use a surge protector at the socket, a line surge or brownout can toast the computerized chargers, and it can get messy after their controllers quit.

[merc1997]

all battery chargers are not built equally.  with battery chargers, the saying "you get what you paid for" really applies.

a top quality modern charger will shut itself off when batteries come to full charge, and then periodically kick on to check and will top off again.  you can leave these chargers hooked up all the time.  batteries will last longer, and you will see your water loss in the battery loss not be as much.

checking the fluid level is something that is neglected on trolling batteries.  keep your fluid levels up, and this will prolong the battery life.

bo

[Capt. BassinLou]

Guys,

I have heard from folks with two lines of thought:

One group says that you plug in your Charger until the Batteries are Charged, then unplug it. Plug back in the night before you go to "top them off".

Other group says you plug in your Charger and leave it on until you go again.


Those that say to not leave it plugged in say you can burn up your batteries by leaving the Charger on and in effect Burn Your Boat Down.


What say you guys? Never had a boat that had one before.

Fred, I use portable chargers. I connect it when I return from a trip and don't connect them again until the day before a trip. I make sure my batteries stayed topped off with distilled water each month, and til this day my batteries run strong for 6 yrs or more. I actually get rid of them before they start showing signs of wear.

[Oldfart9999]

My charger,a Minn Kota stays plugged in 24/7 and I don't have any battery issues.
Rodney

[Kris]

Well keep in mind this is a 2004 boat and technologies I'm sure have changed since then.

This battery is done, no doubt. What concerned me was the other battery also being almost dry.

I have two Battery Tender brand chargers on my wife and I motorcycles and they stay plugged in all the time. That is what they are made for.

I'm wondering if back in 2004 the Chargers were not made to Float or Maintain like they are now today.

The on-board marine charger and the Battery Tenders are two different designs.  The Battery Tender is designed to keep a fully charged battery, fully charged during non-use time.  Many motorcycles and other things have computers, radio memory and such that will continue to discharge the battery.
On the other hand the on-board marine chargers are meant to recharge a discharged battery like your trolling motor batteries.  Some are also designed to keep the trolling motor and cranking batteries on a float charge to maintain a full charge.
Depending on the charge curve of that charger it might give your batteries a high amp charge at first and then slowly back off to a minimal charge.  The high amp charge will tend to boil the electrolyte in the battery and it will escape as steam leaving the battery low on water eventually. 
I would search on the internet for the specs of your charger by manufacturer and model to see how it works.  You need to keep checking the fluid level in the batteries every two to four weeks.  As you can see, low level can cost you a battery.
I presently have portable chargers that I use on my boat when I come back from fishing.  Like many here, I hook them up the day before to make sure they are fully charged.  I also have my own solid state battery tester to keep check on the condition of the batteries.  I am installing a used 3 bank on my Ranger and will continue to check those battery levels and condition.  I will also charge them the same way with the on-board charger.

[blkfalc4]

AGM and forget about it.

[Deadeye]

Well It looks like the Original Charger had ended it's workable life. I have no idea how it was originally designed to be used, but in any case the other battery was cooked as well.

I purchased a new Pro Mariner Pro 20+ Charger 3-Bank and 2 New Batteries. Everything should be good to go now. This design charges each bank equally until the Starting Battery is Fully Charged then converts that power to the Trolling Batteries. Does a Charge & Condition each time it is used. Did a lot of research and this is the one I went with.

BTW, The new Charger states it is TO BE LEFT PLUGGED IN and it actually does a maintain and also a Conditioning every 30 days if the batteries are not being used.

Really don't see my boat ever setting for that long, but ya never know.

[Princeton_Man]

I have that same charger in my Stratos and I'm very happy with it. It's also the same charger I installed in my Tracker back when I had it.

[BigDBasser]

AGM and forget about it.

^^^ That ^^^ 

[DonM]

Well It looks like the Original Charger had ended it's workable life. I have no idea how it was originally designed to be used, but in any case the other battery was cooked as well.

I purchased a new Pro Mariner Pro 20+ Charger 3-Bank and 2 New Batteries. Everything should be good to go now. This design charges each bank equally until the Starting Battery is Fully Charged then converts that power to the Trolling Batteries. Does a Charge & Condition each time it is used. Did a lot of research and this is the one I went with.

BTW, The new Charger states it is TO BE LEFT PLUGGED IN and it actually does a maintain and also a Conditioning every 30 days if the batteries are not being used.

Really don't see my boat ever setting for that long, but ya never know.

That's the one I have also.  Can't believe my batteries still seem to be strong.  They are at least three years old and I never unplug the charger except when I go fishing.  They set a long time when I was in hospital and recuperating, at least four months.

[muskyman]

I have a Dual Pro 4 bank 40 amp charger. I have excide orbital 31 series batteries. When I lived in chicago, this set up was plugged in pretty much 24/7, especially in the winter, I did not pull my batteries out of my boat, it was left in the garage and it was not an insulated garage. I got the batteries and charger in 2008, I installed it and they still work fine today.

[Deadeye]

There is no doubt that keeping your batteries charged makes a big world of difference. I used a Portable Charger with my old boat, but I charged them each time I used them and I had the Wal Mart batteries last for over 5 years with no problem.

With this new to me boat I now have all three new batteries and a new charger, I should be good to go for quite a few years now.

[airraid1999]

dual pro and forget it