Onboard chargers?

[Neverenough]

I'm considering an onboard charger for convenience and to extend the life of batteries . I have two banks both with two batteries. I've had a big Minn Kota in an old Hatteras we had and seemed to work great. Just checking what you all have used and what worked for you before I buy. Looks like the best Minn Kota in digital for 2 banks is about 350.00 bucks.
Thanks.

[Dandy21]

The Pro-Sport chargers are what come installed from the Nautique Factory. I have had these on a couple of boats and have had good luck with them. I am sure you can get them from other locations, but below you will find a link to one source.

http://www.delcity.net/store/ProSpor...rgers/p_807644

[trip33]

Mine came with the ProMariner Prosport 12. Worked fine. I am in the process of upgrading to 3 Optima group 31 batteries so I ordered the Promariner Prosport 20 plus for $165 off Amazon. Should be here today.

[nyryan2001]

I had a pro sport 20 burn up. Call their tech service and they said yep they'll burn up if there's too many amp hours for what they are rated? WTF? I should be able to put 15 batteries and it not burn up. Poor design and engineering. And poor tech service.

Pro sport 20 goes in the trash and I bought a sealed Genuis 40. 10amps on bank 1. 1 Srm29. 30amps on bank 2- 4
Srm29s.

And its waterproof sealed, so you can put it in the bilge, fits perfect in the 3" gap on top of the gas tank on a G boat... All you need is 3M double sided tape to keep it in place.

[MLA]

I had a pro sport 20 burn up. Call their tech service and they said yep they'll burn up if there's too many amp hours for what they are rated? WTF? I should be able to put 15 batteries and it not burn up. Poor design and engineering. And poor tech service.

So its GM or Ford's fault if a half ton truck trans fails cause you tow more than its rated for? Ignorant customer IMO.

[nyryan2001]

so you are the expert vendor. A PS20 isn't even spec'd to charge 2 group 29s.... And if it burnt up on 2 29s, like you conclude above is a legit reason and a legit result, you think that's awesome product?

Or OP can buy a quality designed one that won't burn up, any number of other brands Genuis, Minn Kota...regardless of the bank size, for the same price that will last. That's sealed. And doesn't get hot like a class AB amp. Ask yourself why they look like big amplifiers and other brands don't. Yes if you exceed capacity you should justifiably expect less performance charging...Not burn up and self destruct. Call their tech service, they will tell you they burn up! Bad design, there are better products available.

[Neverenough]

Thanks for the help guys. The old Academy Sports has Minn Kotas in stock.

[swankster]

Seams like a lot of power just to keep the batteries 'topped off' but then again you are probably driving monster amps. I'm using a solar charger and it appears to work fine but I'm just keeping up two batteries with factory amps.

[Beg4wake]

I had a pro sport 20 burn up. Call their tech service and they said yep they'll burn up if there's too many amp hours for what they are rated? WTF? I should be able to put 15 batteries and it not burn up. Poor design and engineering. And poor tech service.

Pro sport 20 goes in the trash and I bought a sealed Genuis 40. 10amps on bank 1. 1 Srm29. 30amps on bank 2- 4
Srm29s.

And its waterproof sealed, so you can put it in the bilge, fits perfect in the 3" gap on top of the gas tank on a G boat... All you need is 3M double sided tape to keep it in place.

nyryan2001 ..... I am getting ready to order a new G23 (with Studio Elite package) and will immediately be taking it to have 4 REV 10's installed and probably a Wetsounds amp to push them. May get the audio installer to change over to 3 Optima 31's (all fitting in original battery location). Would you recommend that I leave off the factory battery charger at order and just get a Genius 40 for the audio installer to put in with the 3 batteries?

[nyryan2001]

Beg, I'm not sure what the OEM charger is or what it's rated for. What I have learned is that you need to ensure your charger is rated for the combined amp hours per bank you have. Best case, if you are over spec, you have diminished charging performance(slower to charge and little to no conditioning) and likely shorter battery life. Worst case, like with the Prosport, if you are over spec it can burn up and destroy itself. I think that's bad engineering and design. I can put my cheapie Walmart 2amp trickle charger on 10 batteries and it wouldn't burn up.

A few of the multi- bank Chargers will let you combine 2+ banks into a bigger bank, to match the multiple batteries you have in that bank. Genuis, MinnKota, there are several choices. Generally you want 10-15amps per battery. Allows a strong charge and the pulses for conditioning cycles are adequate strength. G31s aren't very big. You'd be fine with a standard 10-15a x 2. If you plan on adding more, you're gonna need a bigger charger. FYI a pair of SRM29s(most aH's of all standard batteries) will fit down there, though you'd need new battery trays.

[MLA]

nyryan2001 ..... I am getting ready to order a new G23 (with Studio Elite package) and will immediately be taking it to have 4 REV 10's installed and probably a Wetsounds amp to push them. May get the audio installer to change over to 3 Optima 31's (all fitting in original battery location). Would you recommend that I leave off the factory battery charger at order and just get a Genius 40 for the audio installer to put in with the 3 batteries?

The OEM charger is a 12A total, so WAY under capacity for 1 main cranking and 2 house bank, even with the Ah of 3 optima.

Rather then 3 Optima 31's, consider other AGMs that have a better Ah rating, especially for the house bank. The Optima blue top 31 is expensive considering its low Ah.

Check with your installer, im sure he may have battery and charger rec that will suite the needs.

[Beg4wake]

The OEM charger is a 12A total, so WAY under capacity for 1 main cranking and 2 house bank, even with the Ah of 3 optima.

Rather then 3 Optima 31's, consider other AGMs that have a better Ah rating, especially for the house bank. The Optima blue top 31 is expensive considering its low Ah.

Check with your installer, im sure he may have battery and charger rec that will suite the needs.

Thanks nyryan and MLA.... yeah I'll def talk to the installer. He may not even recommend additional batteries for just 4 tower speakers and 1 amp...considering if I were to get the factory tower speakers and amp it would still all run off 2 batteries. We shall see. I'm sure Mike's Liquid Audio knows their stuff.

[MLA]

How log one wants to play the system while at anchor will be the driving force behind how many battery amp hours are needed. A single battery will do just fine for when the engine is running, but for 5-6 hours of play time at the sand bar will require some serious Ah. I would even entertain a pair of 6V golf cart batteries that will net around 240 Ah. It will require 3 of the D31M to get you that same capacity and likely 2X the cost.

[JoeA]

I apologize for a slight hijack of this thread. I plan to store my G23 indoors for the Winter and plan to add an on board charger to keep the batteries charged up until next season. I am looking at the Genius GenMini2 (4 amps per bank) since I have two batteries and plan to use this just for the months that I store the boat. I've run the boat all year with no problems and never plugged in a charger while it rests on my boat lift. We do not park and listen to the stereo for hours.

Should I use an onboard charger during the boating season even though we are on the lake 2-3 times per week? Again no problems with batteries or stereo performance all year.

So with all that info is the Genius GenMini2 going to suit my needs? If not I am open to suggestions on other models or other makes and models.

[nyryan2001]

Joe, from the way you describe how you use your boat, 4amps per bank to maintain them is gonna be fine. You don't even really need a charger perse. You'd probably be fine with a cheapie 5-10amp Walmart cheapie as a maintainer. The only thing you are missing is conditioning cycles from an advanced charger. They extend you battery life some as they prevent/restore against de-sulfation over time, and allow the best perfoamce from the batteries you have.

I absolutely hammer my stereo for hours... Sandbar, and backed in at lakefront house parties. Last weekend was 6-7hours straight, 70-80% volume, Rev10s, inboats and Sub hammering away. Roughly a 2100w system. At the end of the day my 4 SRM29s were depleted from 12.6 fresh to 12.3-12.4. I needed a hard charge beyond what an alternator could do on a 15min ride home.

It's up to you. A 5-10amp maintainer would be an A- for your situation. A spec'd 10+ amp per battery setup gets you a A+.