BATTERY CHARGER ON OR OFF ?-gctid807449

[bucluv]

Just curious what the recommendation is as far as the battery charger is concerned. Do you leave the battery charger on when leaving the boat overnight or for a few days or do you turn the battery charger off and just put it back on when returning to the boat

[Mlydy]

Mine is on pretty much all of the time.

[HUSKEY_BAY]

leave mine on.

Had my boat sink one year while in the slip. Mechanic unplugged power to work on the boat....on Friday night. Over the week end one of the bellows developed a leak and boat took on water. It happened to be Easter weekend and numerous people walked by my boat as it slowly began to list and the stern slowly slipped under water. The bilge pumps were holding their own for awhile but sometime during the night the batteries ran out of juice and gave out....the charger could not help since it was unplugged. Next morning a passerby alerted the marina and an employee was dispatched to evaluate. He decided to install a pump to drain the boat which worked perfectly until his pump burned up overnight on Easter Sunday.

On Monday morning the normal compliment of marina staff showed up and finally called me to report the problem. I immediately went to the marina and began to resurrect my boat. Filed an insurance claim and $8,000. later got my boat back in working order.

My new mechanic tells me that the charger is designed to be plugged in 24/7 and that it will work on demand....so this is my practice and had not any issues since.

Good luck with your decision.

Be safe.

[Nikko]

Depends on the charger - if you have a hardware store car charger (and you should not!) - don't leave it plugged in. If you have a proper marine "smart" charger - leave it plugged in all the time

[bucluv]

Thanks guys I was having a discussion with the people in my Marina and some turn it off and some leave it on I usually leave mine on as well and if the initial turn on of the charger about 3 hours the charger goes into float mode

[builderdude]

"Nikko" post=807470 wrote:
Depends on the charger - if you have a hardware store car charger (and you should not!) - don't leave it plugged in. If you have a proper marine "smart" charger - leave it plugged in all the time

Agree with this, the marine "smart charger" is designed to keep the batteries topped up and shut down to avoid overcharging.

[boatworkfl]

My chargers have been plugged in since I launched the boat in 1998, never off-marine charger.

[Guest]

Hi Bucluv; Our charger is on all the time when we are at our slip. It's automatic and just maintains the proper charge level. Griff

[bucluv]

I also agree leave it on all the time turn it off before starting engines

[Old_Man_With_A_Boat]

Just wondering, why turn it off before you start the engines?

[bucluv]

They say it's not good for the battery charger to be charging the batteries and when you start the engine your alternator will be charging the batteries as well. If you look in the Bayliner supplement book they give you it tells you that

[RGrew176]

I turn off my battery charger whenever I leave the boat for more than a few hours.

[2850Bounty]

"Nikko" post=807470 wrote:
Depends on the charger - if you have a hardware store car charger (and you should not!) - don't leave it plugged in.

If you have a proper marine "smart" charger - leave it plugged in all the time.

[color]blue wrote:
Yes..... if your charger is of Smart Charge Technology...... I would agree.[/color]

[Douggy]

Smart chargers can malfunction. I had this happen and it destroyed two golf cart batteries. Having a battery monitor is a good way to keep an eye on the charging state or you can use a dvm to check it periodically.

[2850Bounty]

Let's say that this boat is being moored.

Let's say that you encounter a small water leak.

If wired correctly, the main bilge pump's float switch will operate the pump.

Let's say that the leak continues, and that the battery bank can no longer provide adequate power to the pump.

A good battery charger that is left operational will keep the batteries up and will allow the pump to continue operating until you return and discover the leak.

A battery monitoring system alone is not going to operate the bilge pump after the battery bank has been depleted.

.