Need the skinny on battery chargers

[Davidr0007]

After doing research on how to tell if my Battery charger was operational I found out it was time for a new one .. NowI need to know what I should buy.What brand? What it should do beside charge the batteries? what features should it have ? What size should it be 15 AMP etc..
I have 454's with 2 DC 31 Batteries .The marina has 30 amp service .. What else...must I know?? Oh The old charger was sentry G1203nl if that he;ps
DavidR.

[In Memory Walter K]

David- There are a lot of good battery chargers out there now. Most all are solid state. If you have no plans to make any major changes on your boat ie: conversion to diesel, adding a fridge, air conditioning, another bank of batteries, etc. you have a world of good name solid state battery chargers in the 15-30 amp range to choose from. Some of the newer ones are called "smart chargers" and make all kinds of decisions for you, are adjustable for all sorts of battery types, etc. If you do have plans for something big, I would look into them. I have 3 banks of batteries, two of which are D-3's and I put in a Techsonic (I think) 40 amp one that has served me well. I Did find that taking the charger out of the engine compartment made it easy to always be aware of the state of the batteriea and keeps the unit dryer and looking brand new. I mounted it under the dining table on the port side and ran my wiring down that side back into the engine box through the stern dinette seat base. I'm sure you'l get a lot more opinions here, but this category is much improved over recent years, and you will be hard pressed to make a mistake. Walter

[Rawleigh]

Truecharger

[Skipper Dick]

Truecharge 40 by Xantrex.

Dick

[In Memory Walter K]

Trucharger 40 amp was the name of the one I got. Not the cheapest but supposedly one of the best, Walter

[Skipper Dick]

You can install the Trucharger anywhere and run their optional monitor anywhere. I put mine in the starboard engine room on the hull side above my three banks of batteries and ran the monitor into the salon under the dinette aft bench seat so I can see what is going on with the charger when ever I am plugged into shore power.

Dick

[Rawleigh]

I mounted my monitor on the back of the lower helm station seat. You can see it everytime you walk into the cabin. They also make a battery temp. monitor that automatically compensates for the battery temp.

[IRGuy]

I guess it is unanimous... I have an older TrueCharge 40 and am happy with it.. I suspect it is about 6 years old.. it will charge three seperate batteries (as long as they are all the same type), and has automatic, manual and maintenance modes. I don't have the remote monitoring panel yet, but plan on installing it. West's price is $420.

[mike ohlstein]

Hate 'em.

They're not waterproof.

Ask me how I know that.........

[Rawleigh]

I have mine outboard in the port engine box. I know its not waterproof, but 5 years ago when I bought it it was the best going. I hit it with CX occasioanlly and it seems just fine. I don't need to wash my engine boxes much, and when i do I'm just careful with the hose. I have had it charging the same two Optima AGM deep cycles for 5 years and they are still going strong! (I know, I know - am going to replace them next year for good measure)

[In Memory Walter K]

That's why mine is under my dinette table. I found things rusting when it was in my engine box. The screws that held the wiring froze up. I complained, sent it back, and to their credit, they sent me a new one. Mounted where it is, it looks like the day I got it 3+ years ago. Walter

[Capt.Frank]

Truecharge is the way to go. I just changed mine it was over 8 years old. It still works just over charged my batteries and boiled them. Mine was mounted in the stb engine box. Called them up about repair. they sold me a new one with a custermer loyalty for like 30-40% off. I up graded to a truecharge 40 cheeper than a new 30 from any where else. Nice people to deal with. I did like Walter and mounted it under the dinette seat.

Frank