Charging batteries

[snowman160]

I have two new 12 bolts wired in series for my trolling motor in my big boat. To charge the batteries with my 2 amp trickle charger do I connect pos on one battery an neg on the other? Do I need to disconnect anything?

[bezzola]

Correct me if im wrong but doesn’t 2 12 volts batteries connected in series make 24 volts. Is the component on your boat 24 v

[snowman160]

Originally Posted by bezzola

Correct me if im wrong but doesn’t 2 12 volts batteries connected in series make 24 volts. Is the component on your boat 24 v

Yes my trolling motor is 24 volt, hence why I have em hooked in series. I connected my charger lastnight and it says it’s still charging this moring which I thing was odd since they are new and I took the boat to the lake to test the new motor for many an hr if that. I just thought it woulda been charged by now so I’m second guessing myself now.

[penguin]

You would charge on the positive post on one battery and the negative post on the other battery. Use the posts that are your 24V supply, not the posts that connect your two batteries together. You need a 24V charger to do that though.
If you only have a 12V charger, then you need to disconnect the batteries and charge each 12V battery separately.

[snowman160]

Originally Posted by penguin

You would charge on the positive post on one battery and the negative post on the other battery. Use the posts that are your 24V supply, not the posts that connect your two batteries together. You need a 24V charger to do that though.
If you only have a 12V charger, then you need to disconnect the batteries and charge each 12V battery separately.

Ok that answers my questions thank you for the input!

[Grizzly Adams1]

Originally Posted by penguin

You would charge on the positive post on one battery and the negative post on the other battery. Use the posts that are your 24V supply, not the posts that connect your two batteries together. You need a 24V charger to do that though.
If you only have a 12V charger, then you need to disconnect the batteries and charge each 12V battery separately.

Or, put them in parallel ?

Grizz

[Geraldsh]

You could switch the wiring to parallel for charging so both batteries get the same charge. Your 2-amp charger will take a looonngg time to fully charge them, days.

[The Elkster]

Had the same issue with a 12/24V set up. There is a way to set up a battery bank to switch from 12 to 24 volts with the use of a (6 pole? switch) switch set up. I've done it for a battery set up and it works to this day. Don't ask me the details though as I did the research and finished the project a few years ago and have since forgotten the ins and outs. After a bunch of searching online I found some schematics for how to wire it.

With the flick of a three position toggle switch I can run my motor on 12 or 24 volts or turn it all off. And I set to 12V when using a standard charger. I use 2 8 AH batteries that I have mounted in a box with a stainless + and - pole on the outside of the box along with the toggle switch. Not sure if this is the ideal way to charge batteries (vs each individually) but I've had no problems after three or so years. Nice not to have to remember to switch charge over to the other battery. Set and forget.