Battery - Charger Recommendations

[krypto69]

Hi,

I have a fear of being on the water and the battery's dying. Did a search but still have a few questions on batteries for my 23 222.

Boat has been sitting for a few months with the battery switches off. I store it in a community lot where there is no electricity to plug in any kind of charger.

Questions:

1) My boat will likely sit for 3 months in the winter. Should I take it home pull it to my driveway and plug it into a changer? Let it charge for a few hours. Any recommendations on charger brand to buy that would be good for a quick (non trickle charge)? Will any battery charger do or are there special ones for boats? I can't leave it in my driveway overnight (HOA's are great..huh?)

2) I charge battery one at a time? I assume I should leave the switch in the 'off' position when charging?

3) Solar chargers - junk? or okay? would I buy two one for each battery? Kinda leaning against solar because I store with the cover and not sure where I would run the wires or where I would put the panels.

4) About how long does it take to charge up a battery on the water? Ball park - I know there are allot of variables...Safe to assume if it starts that driving around for a while would be enough to charge up these newish batteries?

 

[Dave burke]

If you’re storing for 3 months and can’t leave it in your driveway overnight, I’d take the batteries out and leave them plugged into a trickle charger the whole time.

I use the ProMariner ProSport 12 A 2 bank charger which charges both batteries at the same time. Been doing this every winter forever. My boat is a 2017 and the batteries are still original and working fine.

 

[FSH 210 Sport]

First and foremost, and no offense intended, there is no such thing as a trickle charger anymore, if you have an old one get rid of it as if left unattended for long periods they will boil off the electrolyte.

What is the norm these days are smart chargers / battery tenders. The difference between a smart charger and a trickle charger is this, a trickle charger maintains a steady small charge current and voltage no matter the state of charge on the battery. A smart charger completes a charge profile that user selectable for the battery type, flooded lead acid, AGM, gel or Lithium, saris smart charger will charge the battery then just monitor the voltage, when the voltage drops below a certain level it will run another charge, and in the case of flooded lead acids it will or should run an equalizing charge ever 30 days or so.

Totally agree with @Dave burke about taking the batteries home and leaving them on a smart charger, unless you want to bring your boat home at least once a month and charge them.

You should install a good quality on board charger and do the DVSR mod to where the DVSR is switched on when yiu turn on your house or start battery=ver easy to do and is approved by BEP marine. The on board charger should be ignition rated as well as IP (water resistance) rated. There are a number of good chargers on the market, Pro Mariner, NOCO, Minnkota, and my personal favorite the Victron IP67. Also install a NOCO male plug in the boat where you can just plug the extension cord into that permanently mounted plug on the boat. There are a plethora of threads here on this site about this topic.

As far as charging on the water, your boats alternators put out roughly 13-14 amps tops each when running above 3500 rpm. In my experience thus far, and depending on how low my Li house battery is I see as high as 26 amps when it’s a bit low to as little as 2 amps when the battery is almost fully charged. So, if you need 30 Ah of charge it’ll take at least 2-3 hours of running to charge the batteries off of the engines. The only way to tell accurately is to install a Victron smart shunt on your house battery, and it also monitors the voltage on your start battery. Yiu will be able to monitor state of charge and how much current is flowing into your house battery, anything else is just guessing.

Solar chargers are not junk if done properly. @Judge and @lazergeek both have good solar charger set ups on their boats. I know judge rack stores his boat and the solar charger keeps his batteries charged fully.

 

[Texjet]

I agree with the others - for 3 months I'd take the batteries home and leave on a good charger. Just last week I bought a NOCO GENIUS 2x2 smart charger after doing some research, and can charge both batteries at the same time. Mine are in the boat, so I leave the battery switch on OFF. I might even install the NOCO in the boat because I have a good place to screw it down and with the quick disconnects will be easy to keep stashed or use.

 

[jthackman]

while you are figuring the best way to keep them charged...always bringing along a charged jump starter pack like the following..

Amazon.com

 

[shortroyd]

always bringing along a charged jump starter pack like the following

+1 to this, best way to avoid the anxiety of batteries not starting on the water. Have a similar one and it has saved me twice - once a dead car battery, another a JetSki battery.

 

[ahenderson432]

+1 for the Noco GENPRO 10x2 . I am in a year round warmer climate but still keep the Noco plugged in with the boat in a Garage. Easy installation and the DSRV Mod was quick and works perfectly.

 

[krypto69]

Thanks guys! Great info.

Per your recommendations I purchased the:

NOCO Genius GENPRO10X2.

I hope charging for 5 -6 hours before I go out on the water will be enough?

Wait - can't remember if I have 2 batteries or 3...hmm

 

[ahenderson432]

I looked at the 2023 Brochure and it says all 222 models have dual batteries.

Even if you only have 1 battery the Noco 10x2 unit will only turn on charging to a connected battery. Just zip tie the other connection and tuck away. You will have the option to add a second battery to the boat if you only have 1 battery now but I believe you have 2.

The Noco site has lots of info.
charging time chart.

NOCO Genius Charging TImes Charts

Compare charging times with NOCO Genius Chargers & Traditional Linear Charger. Understanding the difference to pick the right charger for you

no.co

 

[krypto69]

Thanks!

 

[krypto69]

the DSRV Mod was quick and works perfectly

What is the DSRV mod? Is that something I need to do?

Was just going to hook up both terminals to both batteries and charge - with both batteries switched off.

 

[ahenderson432]

You can do that (install Noco and go). Or This MOD isolates the batteries when charging from the Noco.

https://jetboaters.net/threads/making-dvsr-active-with-engines-on-only.9798/

 

[krypto69]

So I don't need to do the DSRV mod? I'm so confused. Doesn't feel right to cut a wire in my brand new boat.

What is the possible downside of just putting the new Noco charger on the terminals and doing nothing else?

 

[FSH 210 Sport]

So I don't need to do the DSRV mod? I'm so confused. Doesn't feel right to cut a wire in my brand new boat.

What is the possible downside of just putting the new Noco charger on the terminals and doing nothing else?

You can hook up the two bank charger to each one of your batteries and run it. The charger will not charge the batteries independently though as the dvsr will close as soon as the voltage hits 13.4, which it will do when the batteries are charging. The battery charger will charge your flooded lead acid batteries at around 14.8 volts.

Cutting the red wire is not that big of a deal, and it is one of the modes that BEP marine shows in their owners manuals. There are a few threads on here with people showing how they made the mod. Simply cut the wire and splice on a short run of wire with a loop connector on it an attach it to the switched side of the start or house battery switch. When you set it up this way, your on board smart charger will charge each battery independently thereby ensuring the best charge possible on that battery.. Flooded lead acid batteries are tough, but to get the best performance out of them they need to be charged properly and not left in a state of discharge. There is an alternative for you, there is a thin black wire that comes from the dvsr which is connected to the negative of one of the batteries. You could just cut this wire and splice in a switch, but, you have to remember to turn this switch on when you use the boat. By doing it the other way its just part of the normal switching to use the boat.

 

[ahenderson432]

You can hook up the two bank charger to each one of your batteries and run it. The charger will not charge the batteries independently though as the dvsr will close as soon as the voltage hits 13.4, which it will do when the batteries are charging. The battery charger will charge your flooded lead acid batteries at around 14.8 volts.

Cutting the red wire is not that big of a deal, and it is one of the modes that BEP marine shows in their owners manuals. There are a few threads on here with people showing how they made the mod. Simply cut the wire and splice on a short run of wire with a loop connector on it an attach it to the switched side of the start or house battery switch. When you set it up this way, your on board smart charger will charge each battery independently thereby ensuring the best charge possible on that battery.. Flooded lead acid batteries are tough, but to get the best performance out of them they need to be charged properly and not left in a state of discharge. There is an alternative for you, there is a thin black wire that comes from the dvsr which is connected to the negative of one of the batteries. You could just cut this wire and splice in a switch, but, you have to remember to turn this switch on when you use the boat. By doing it the other way its just part of the normal switching to use the boat.

View attachment 213308View attachment 213309

Thank you FSH 210 Sport for the better explanation.

 

[Bottom Bracket]

OR, you can add a switch to the power lead of the house battery. This will isolate the house battery from the drvs thingus allowing both batteries to fully charge.
OR, you can simply disconnect the house battery leads while charging, this will also allow you a full chrage on the house battery, you gotta loosen the caps on the battery anyways if it's a serviceable battery.

 

[rpm911]

I just bought a 2009 230sx and have 2 battery setup with switch... I used a 20w solar charger on my Bayliner during the summer (threw it on top of the cover) or stuck in the windshield. Plugged in via DC cigarette plug or alligator clips to the posts. I had good luck with that, however I'm fairly certain that wont work without leaving the switch on, any recs on how to use a solar charger to keep both topped off without switching from one to another?

 

[biffdotorg]

Plugged in via DC cigarette plug or alligator clips to the posts. I had good luck with that, however I'm fairly certain that wont work without leaving the switch on, any recs on how to use a solar charger to keep both topped off without switching from one to another?

If you have connected directly to the posts with clips, you have literally bypassed the switch. The switch will have no functionality at all as far as charging.

 

[rpm911]

Right… my question is can I plug them in serial with the alligator clips or do they need to be switched back and forth?

 

[biffdotorg]

If you mean in "series" no. That will turn a pair of 12v batteries into 24v, and then you start frying everything other than a 24v trolling motor. In parallel doubles the capacity, but keeps it 12v.

The best option is a multi bank charger, and put each battery on a bank. For example, I run two batteries, and my Noco Genius is 2 banks of 10a per bank. The charger can charge and condition the batteries independently, and the switch can be on or off.