Best Charger for Marine Batteries?

[russ]

Need a good charger for my boat batteries, also a smart charger that conditions etc.

[Chewbacca]

I’m not going to say that it’s best because I didn’t buy a bunch to try out but I have a 40 amp Blue Sea that charges 4 8D batteries in two banks. 3 in one bank for house and 1 in another that is the battery that runs down rigger,engine starter and windlass. The system has an ACR that directs the charge to the batteries that are the lowest. Paid some good coin for it but I learned a long time ago that generally you get what you pay for and I wanted something that was going to last long term. Pay once cry once. Time will tell.

[bobalong]

I have used Minn Kota 2-3 bank on board chargers for years without a problem. At home through the winter I have been using a Mastercraft for years which has worked well to.

[old dog]

Dido with the minkotta

[Chewbacca]

Oops. I guess I’m in a different league.

[skidderman]

Don't buy Mastercraft. Complete junk!!!!!

[russ]

Thanks guys. I was thinking of getting a Solar PL2410 for my trolling motor batteries, but I see the Minn Kota chargers can charge the entire system with the right number of banks.

[raw outdoors]

I purchased a genius three bank waterproof marine charger. There was so many reviews and options for this type of charger I pretty much had to flip a coin. This one has a pretty good warrenty one year more than any other one. I don’t know if it is the absolute best but it’s defiantly a front runner in every review I found. Ordered it from amazon .com then shipped it to Montana drive down and got it saved me a couple hundred $.

[russ]

Thanks for the tip, it happens I can access the Genius chargers through work. The 3 bank sells for about $350 cdn. Which seems close to the US price on NOCO's site.

[cube]

Originally Posted by russ

Need a good charger for my boat batteries, also a smart charger that conditions etc.

I have 2 of these. And I like them

http://www.dualpro.com/product/professional-series/

[Dean2]

The two best I have used are Nautilis and NOCO built ins. I also have a number of the NOCO and Nautilis individual chargers. Mastercraft, Die Hard and my original on board charger made by Osprey and a few others I had tended to overcharge if you left them on but for short term charging they worked but they weren't "smart" chargers. Never tried a Minkota. The Nautlis and NOCO don't overcharge, and truly go to zero charge, no trickle (I checked them with a meter), when the battery is full.

If I had to pick I would use the NOCOs just because they have more options and lots of addable accessories plus you can get them at any Canadian Tire.

[HappyShootMore]

Minnkota's on Amazon.
Second hand seller though.... Dont know if they honor it but I just bought one.

[russ]

Originally Posted by Dean2

The two best I have used are Nautilis and NOCO built ins. I also have a number of the NOCO and Nautilis individual chargers. Mastercraft, Die Hard and my original on board charger made by Osprey and a few others I had tended to overcharge if you left them on but for short term charging they worked but they weren't "smart" chargers. Never tried a Minkota. The Nautlis and NOCO don't overcharge, and truly go to zero charge, no trickle (I checked them with a meter), when the battery is full.

If I had to pick I would use the NOCOs just because they have more options and lots of addable accessories plus you can get them at any Canadian Tire.

I ordered a 3 bank from Uni-select (WSI) aka Bumper to Bumper. Now I'm thinking I was a bit hasty and should have ordered a 4 bank and it set up with 3 - 8 volts to run the troller and 1 12v DC to run the electronics and put a std cranking battery on the engine. Need to do a bit more research, but I'm thinking I'm going to be re-spending money LOL.

[russ]

Originally Posted by HappyShootMore

Minnkota's on Amazon.
Second hand seller though.... Dont know if they honor it but I just bought one.

Have to admit, I'm a bit leary of the deal. It's almost too good to be true. I found a listing for a 4 bank 10 amp charger for $103 cdn.

[Dean2]

Originally Posted by russ

I ordered a 3 bank from Uni-select (WSI) aka Bumper to Bumper. Now I'm thinking I was a bit hasty and should have ordered a 4 bank and it set up with 3 - 8 volts to run the troller and 1 12v DC to run the electronics and put a std cranking battery on the engine. Need to do a bit more research, but I'm thinking I'm going to be re-spending money LOL.

Just due to weight and space, plus availability of replacements if one calves while you are at a tournament or in the middle of nowhere, I have always used two deep cycles for the trolling motor, one deep cycle crank for the engine and electronics, all 12Vs. I have never had my electronics flatten my starting battery even with 15 hours on the water.(My 150 HP is still rope startable if I were in a pinch and I couldn't get enough juice out of the one of the thre - starter or trolling batteries for electric start.)

[russ]

I did a bit more research, the NOCO and Minn Kota chargers are limited to 210 RC batteries. 8v batteries are rated at around 280 RC, and I'm fairly sure the 6v batteries are also over 210 minutes RC too. Soo... back to 12v batteries. I'm tempted to go with group 31's. That's largest 12v short of jumping up to 4D or 8D's which would be ridiculous in a boat as small as mine.

[Kokaneeranger]

I have been using a Promariner charger. You are able to select battery type (sealed, AGM, Gel....) it provides a battery maintenance conditioning and a diagnostic feature as well. The unit has been bullet proof so far.

[Krisrf]

Has anyone setup a solar panel system, plugged into a MinnKota Onboard (specifically, a precision charger)? This would likely run to an inverter first then plug into the Minnkota, which seems a bit ridiculous going back and forth. That said, I'm thinking about setting up a semi-portable charging station, effectively. Thoughts? Alternatively a generator works too.

[Sea Hawk]

Canadian tire has the 4 bank genius on for $223.00 right now.

[EZM]

Originally Posted by Krisrf

Has anyone setup a solar panel system, plugged into a MinnKota Onboard (specifically, a precision charger)? This would likely run to an inverter first then plug into the Minnkota, which seems a bit ridiculous going back and forth. That said, I'm thinking about setting up a semi-portable charging station, effectively. Thoughts? Alternatively a generator works too.

I have looked into solar as a auxiliary way to charge batteries on board and there is not a product one on the market worth the trouble - none of them I've seen will get enough juice into the batteries unless you have a sizable panel (I guess you can make a roof out of it ..... lol.

I do have run 4 batteries on board (sometimes 5) with 2 on board chargers and did install a switch, but at the end of the day, shore power is the only practical solution I've found over the years.

I can even run the main and/or kicker all day and try and push power back (through the switch) into the trolling bank and it adds very little juice to be honest - solar would be even less.

Maybe there's another option - if there is let us know - would be curious to see if technology final caught up to providing a reasonable solution.

A decent "smart charger" is the way to go - just look at # of banks, high/low and conditioning outputs and match it to what you want/need. These come in portable and on board styles. On board is nice because it's as easy as plugging in your car in the winter - except you are plugging in your boat - 10 seconds instead of 5-10 minutes each time.

[Puddle]

Originally Posted by Kokaneeranger

I have been using a Promariner charger. You are able to select battery type (sealed, AGM, Gel....) it provides a battery maintenance conditioning and a diagnostic feature as well. The unit has been bullet proof so far.

X2

[Habfan]

Originally Posted by Puddle

X2

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