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On board charger

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andy_from_ar

Contributing Member
"I,m thinking about an onboard

"I,m thinking about an onboard charger for my boat. I have a 24 volt trolling motor with two 12 volt batteries in series.And a 12 volt cranking bat.Should i get a charger for 3 banks or 2. 12volt & 24 or just 3 banks of 12. Thanks"
 
"Leo, personally I would run a

"Leo, personally I would run a 3 bank, 12 volt charger (and I do)


I run a 3 bank (12v 20a) ProTech 4 (ya a little expensive but got a deal).

My set up is a starting battery and two deep cycle "house" batteries (in parallel).

Each battery gets it's own feed from the charger. And since it's a "smart" charger, it varies the charge to the batteries that need it the most.

I also have them wired with a Blue Sea battery combiner/ACR relay so that both "banks" are charged by the motor as well while preventing the "house" from sucking power from the starting battery and vice versa.

My set-up is maybe not the most cost effective option (approx 600 bucks retail), but I have never had a dead battery either resulting in trying to paddle as 25 footer back to shore
"
 
"My setup is a 3 bank, 12V, I

"My setup is a 3 bank, 12V, I use for each engine battery and then spare starter battery and Accessory battery combined with isolator. My Lenco Trolling tab motors are 24V, on seperate Stealth Charger and gel cell Ultima batteries. So far so good and 6 batteries to prove it."
 
"Thanks guys I don,t have any

"Thanks guys I don,t have any exp. with on board chagers,or 24 volt systems for that matter. I thought i could use a 3 bank 12 volt.But if i did would i have to break the link on the 2 batteries in series? The two systems are seprate.Or would a 12/24 charger be the way"
 
"No, you don't have to mes

"No, you don't have to mess with your series hook up.

You would simply connect each battery to the charger as if they were individuals - so simply bank 1 + to battery 1 + and bank 2 + to battery 2 + (and negs to neg of course) and so on for how ever many "banks" you are running - in this case, each battery no matter how it's wired is considered a "bank" for charging purposes.

In series they are combining to provide you with the 24 volts when your motor is pulling power from them - but when charging, they simply charge as 2 independant 12 volt batteries - don't have to unhook anything etc. Just "plug and play" (or charge in this case)
"
 
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