On Board Charger questions

[wakeborder5]

My batteries seem to be gradually losing charge even while not being heavily strained for very long periods without the engine on. This is indicated by the boat being increasing difficult to turn over. It still works first try, but isnt turning over as quickly.

My stereo which consists of 6 interior speakers, 2 ktm6's, and a 10" woofer are right around the 1000 watt mark.

My batteries are a Deka Marine Master DP 24 and 24M5. They're stats are attached in a picture. I didn't purchase the batteries and am unsure if this is the optimal setup, but unless there is something wrong with them per se, I would rather not replace them until they give out.


1. What brand and models do you guys suggest? From my research, Guest and Pro Mariner have been the most popular, but I like the Guest chargers in that they are less expensive and come with a 12v male plug, which I would have to buy and install for the Pro Mariner.

2. I would want to get a 2 bank charger and switch to my Perko to the "off" positon, correct?

3. What amp charger should I get? I only go out at most once a day for 2 hours at a time during which the engine is running 75% of the time, so the batteries shouldn't get too depleted each time out and can be plugged in the rest of the time.

[chpthril]

I'm reading one thing in your post that stands out. You stated that you are noticing that you are noticing that the engine is slow to turn over. If your system is wired right and the battery switch is utilized correctly, you should not have any load drawing off the main starting battery, when the engine is not running, except the starter to start the engine. I think we need to look at why both batteries are low before dropping coin on a charger. It will do little to help a dead battery while on the water.

Are your batteries isolated with a switch or electrical isolator like an ACR or diode type? Do you know how you stereo is wired, is it drawing off the "house" battery?

Adding an on-board charger is never a bad thing, just need to make sure the rest of the system is done to maximize what you have.

[wakeborder5]

I don't believe there is any isolator or switch besides the Perko. I unhooked the starting battery and the stereo still worked, so it must be wired to the dual purpose or "house" battery if that's what you mean by that. So I could turn the perko to just the house battery and run that and save the starting battery for emergencies, but I'd rather not spend too much more on isolators and installation if it's too complicated for me to do.

The dead battery while on the water shouldn't be a huge issue if the batteries are charged up before going out since I live on a small lake and only go out for a few hours at the very most.

[chpthril]

I don't believe there is any isolator or switch besides the Perko. I unhooked the starting battery and the stereo still worked, so it must be wired to the dual purpose or "house" battery if that's what you mean by that. So I could turn the perko to just the house battery and run that and save the starting battery for emergencies, but I'd rather not spend too much more on isolators and installation if it's too complicated for me to do.

The dead battery while on the water shouldn't be a huge issue if the batteries are charged up before going out since I live on a small lake and only go out for a few hours at the very most.

Ok, that sounds good. The perko multi-battery switch is nothing more then a manual isolator, so nothing else is needed unless you wanted a set-itand-forget-it system.

A "House" battery bank is the term for the auxiliary batteries, the ones not used as the primary starting battery.

If the engine is slow to turn over, then you may have a battery going bad, a starter going bad, or a bad battery cable. But, knowing that the batteries are starting out with a full charge is the first step to diagnosing the problem. Do you have a DVOM (digital volt/ohm meter)? If so, what is the static/at-rest voltage level of the batteries?

As far a chargers, you can go with a either a single or dual-bank charger, but a dual is best. A 20A charger is optimal, but a 10A would be a minimal. Reason being, a dead battery will need a kick in the asre (high amp push) to get it charging when they are really run down.