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Catalina/Capri 25/250 Sailor's Forums

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Battery Chargers

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Bladeswell
Captain

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USA
490 Posts

Initially Posted - 11/13/2016 : 12:32:13

Hi guys,

Well I'm almost ready to start on my electrical system. So, my boat came with two group 24 batteries. But the boat sat for 3 years without use so my guess is that the batteries will have to be replaced. They are flooded deep cycle batteries btw. If it turns out that I do need to replace them, I am considering going to Trojan 6 volt T-125 batteries. So my plan is to try to recharge my old batteries and then test them with a hydrometer. To do that, I need a 12 volt charger. Then if as I suspect the batteries are toast, I will need a 6 volt charger for the new batteries. Provided I go with the 6 volt replacements.
In shopping around, I found that I can easily get a charger that is good for both 6 volts and 12 volts. My question is what Charging rate in amps is right ? I am guessing that I don't want less than 6 amps but I don't think I need 12 or more amps. Let me know what you fellows think. Thanks again.

Bladeswell

C25 TR FK Hull #973 1979 L-Dinette. So.Cal.

islander
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
3992 Posts

Response Posted - 11/13/2016 : 14:10:54

First Kudos on the 6V battery's. I'm a big fan of them. They are rugged and are made for multiple deep discharges and high amp draws. A 6v battery will endure up to 700 charge/discharge cycles verses a 12v deep cycles 300. They are a very good choice for extended weekends without a gen set. The T25 are rated at 240AH. When away from the dock without any means to charge your batterys then its all about how many AH you have in the bank.You probably know that you need 2 of them hooked in series to give you the 12V. On to the battery chargers. Are you looking for a permanent or portable? As far as amps it depends on how fast you need to charge the battery's. A 6amp charger will put back 6amps per hour. If you plan on charging overnight then a 6amp is fine just make sure its a 3 stage charger. West Marine has a lot of good info on selecting battery's and chargers in their West Adviser articles but its hard to make definite recommendations because we don't know how you plan to use the boat or the equipment you will be running.

Scott-"IMPULSE"87'C25/SR/WK/Din.#5688
Sailing out of Glen Cove,L.I Sound

Edited by - islander on 11/13/2016 14:22:06

Bladeswell
Captain

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USA
490 Posts

Response Posted - 11/13/2016 : 16:48:52

Hello All,

Thanks for your response. It was my understanding that slower charging is better for the battery. I think I do want a portable charger but is there any benefit to a mounted charger ? I am only looking to recharge from shore power while at the slip and later on will be installing a 15 watt solar charger to keep them topped up while I am away from the boat. It would be nice if my shore powered charger could have my batteries fully recharged in say 6 hours. So do you think I will need more than a 6 amp charger ? Thanks again.

Bladeswell

C25 TR FK Hull #973 1979 L-Dinette. So.Cal.

DavidBuoy
Admiral

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USA
707 Posts

Response Posted - 11/13/2016 : 16:53:27

Most chargers are chargers/maintainers so they vary the amount of amps charging based on the discharge.

Captain Rob & Admiral Alyson
"David Buoy"-1985 C25 SK/SR #5053

islander
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
3992 Posts

Response Posted - 11/13/2016 : 17:45:08

quote:
I think I do want a portable charger but is there any benefit to a mounted charger ?

Nobody says you have to have a permanent mounted charger. I used a portable West Marine 3 stage charger that had the temp, Battery type, choice of 2amp, 10 amp or 30 amp plus a 75amp engine start. It also had an equalizer button. I mounted it directly behind the companion way steps flat against the wall separating the aft berth and the dumster with a Velcro strap. I plugged it in to the 110 outlet next to the steps and ran the two wires to the battery down through the small access hatch that is behind the steps, Along the hull and over to the battery area under the settee. This was a semi- permanent set up so I could take it out or home easily. It worked extremely well for me. Plug into the shore power and the 110 outlets become charged. Set the charger for the amps, temp and type then go home. I no longer have it in the boat since I now use solar and the engine to keep my single group 31 topped up but I only day sail so my power needs are small enough that the panel and engine can handle it.

Scott-"IMPULSE"87'C25/SR/WK/Din.#5688
Sailing out of Glen Cove,L.I Sound

Bladeswell
Captain

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USA
490 Posts

Response Posted - 11/13/2016 : 17:55:27

Hello once again,

I was just looking at the portable 30 AMP 3 stage charger from WM. Sounds like a good choice for my needs. Thanks again everyone.

Bladeswell

C25 TR FK Hull #973 1979 L-Dinette. So.Cal.

islander
Master Marine Consultant

Members Avatar

USA
3992 Posts

Response Posted - 11/13/2016 : 18:16:49

quote:
It would be nice if my shore powered charger could have my batteries fully recharged in say 6 hours. So do you think I will need more than a 6 amp charger ? Thanks again.

This all depends on your power consumption. Mine is very small only running a depth finder and a chartplotter all day. What you do I don't know but you have to do some calculations on how many amps you use on average per day. Every electronic item that you use states somewhere on it how many watts or amps it uses per hour. You have to figure out how many hours you will be using each of these items per day then add the watts together and convert them to amps. That will give you a rough estimate of how many amps you are taking from the battery in a day and has to be replaced. Think of your battery as your pocket. If your battery has 240 amp/hours that like having $240 in your pocket. Lets say you determined that you use 10 amps per day in your boat. Thats $10 dollars out of your pocket and you now have $230 left or 230 amp/hrs . This happens every day until you put more money into your pocket(recharge the battery) You then go to the dock and plug in. A 10 amp charger should take @ 1 hr to put the 10 amps back. A 5amp charger would take 2hrs to do the same. To convert watts to amps you use these simple formulas.
AMPS=WATTS divided by VOLTS
WATTS=VOLTSxAMPS

Scott-"IMPULSE"87'C25/SR/WK/Din.#5688
Sailing out of Glen Cove,L.I Sound

Edited by - islander on 11/13/2016 18:24:11

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