On Board Battery Charger Location

[DieselPWR]

Does anyone have any suggestions / Pictures of where to mount the on board battery charger?

Also, do you hook up your starter battery to it, or just your deep cycles? I have one deep cycle and one starter battery. The charger has two banks, multi stage. minnkota 10 amp on board charger.

[chpthril]

Does anyone have any suggestions / Pictures of where to mount the on board battery charger?

Also, do you hook up your starter battery to it, or just your deep cycles? I have one deep cycle and one starter battery. The charger has two banks, multi stage. minnkota 10 amp on board charger.

Hook it to both, it will charge as needed based on battery volt level.

[dogbert]

Be careful tho, some multi-bank chargers can't handle different battery types. If you look for one that's for fishing boats, that will work best. I have a Pro Mariner 12 and it clearly states either one or the other, but not both types.

[philwsailz]

Be wary of battery switch position, if you have a battery switch. If you have it in the ALL position, it has the potential to do funny things. The reason is that it ties both banks of the charger together.

[philwsailz]

Good point dog!

[dogbert]

Good to know. I'll have to make sure I don't do that.

[da.bell]

Be wary of battery switch position, if you have a battery switch. If you have it in the ALL position, it has the potential to do funny things. The reason is that it ties both banks of the charger together.

So, what are you trying to say? Keep in on 2?

[jwanck11]

Confused!

Does this mean that one charger (ProMariner 12 for instance) should not be hooked up to the starter and deep cycle?

What setting should the switch be on 1/2/off/Both?

Also, with a starter and 2 deep cycles, does one need a 3 bank charger?

Dont want to go boom!

[philwsailz]

A multi bank charger can be connected to multiple ISOLATED batteries.

A single bank charger, (AKA a car charger) can be connected to multple batteries all tied together if they are of similar type and age.

If you have a multi-bank changer connected to a starting battery and a deep cycle battery, the battery switch can be in ANY position except for ALL, (ALL is the only position that wires the batteries in parallel).

In a typical 3 batt system like jwanck11 is asking, the two deep cycle batteries are tied together in parallel (plus to plus and minus to minus) and as such can be considered as a single battery bank. Therefore, you have a starting battery and a REALLY BIG deep cycle. As such there are two battery BANKS, and a two bank charger is appropriate. Again, batt switcfh can be in any position for charging EXCEPT ALL.

[Razzman]

Biggest reason i hate Perko switches! Besides the obvious of forgetting to switch the positions, they are just a pain in the A$$! Phil or Chp, the dealer that did the stereo on my new boat (dealer had it done) says he can remove the perko and install a regulator that will do the same thing as an iso. You have any experience with these?

[philwsailz]

We think at the moment that a Blue Sea Systems ACR is a probable good solution. IT appears to have all the automatic benefits of an isolater, without the voltage drop, (0.7 volts) that is common to all diode-style devices.

I have no hands-on experience, but have studied the device and I think it is an ideal solution. I think CHP will agree.

[chpthril]

Biggest reason i hate Perko switches! Besides the obvious of forgetting to switch the positions, they are just a pain in the A$$! Phil or Chp, the dealer that did the stereo on my new boat (dealer had it done) says he can remove the perko and install a regulator that will do the same thing as an iso. You have any experience with these?

Razz, there are a few products out there, a diode type Isolator is just 1, that do exactly what a Perko does, they just do electronically and automatically.

I have my system set up with an Iso and a Perko...........and have not touched the Perko in 2 years. If this is what you want, it's simple to set up.

Agree on the Blue Sea ACR.

[jwanck11]

A multi bank charger can be connected to multiple ISOLATED batteries.

A single bank charger, (AKA a car charger) can be connected to multple batteries all tied together if they are of similar type and age.

If you have a multi-bank changer connected to a starting battery and a deep cycle battery, the battery switch can be in ANY position except for ALL, (ALL is the only position that wires the batteries in parallel).

In a typical 3 batt system like jwanck11 is asking, the two deep cycle batteries are tied together in parallel (plus to plus and minus to minus) and as such can be considered as a single battery bank. Therefore, you have a starting battery and a REALLY BIG deep cycle. As such there are two battery BANKS, and a two bank charger is appropriate. Again, batt switcfh can be in any position for charging EXCEPT ALL.

Thanks very much for the patience and understandable answer!! I am not a smart man...

[Razzman]

We think at the moment that a Blue Sea Systems ACR is a probable good solution. IT appears to have all the automatic benefits of an isolater, without the voltage drop, (0.7 volts) that is common to all diode-style devices.

I have no hands-on experience, but have studied the device and I think it is an ideal solution. I think CHP will agree.

You referring to the Blue Sea SI-Series Automatic Charging Relay?

[philwsailz]

You referring to the Blue Sea SI-Series Automatic Charging Relay?

They have several. I cannot recall at teh moment which one we decided might be best... There is one that looks like a Perko switch, 'cept you nver touch it UNLESS you need to tie the batts together to get the motor started, or to take care of some other emergency.

That one to mee seemed to be the very best from a concenience and installation standpoint...