advice needed: battery charger for trolling motor

[Tydings]

i am buying a nitro 640 with a motorguide 12v 46lb trolling motor. there is no charger on board. can anyone please help me understand what i need and why? the dealer is suggesting a minnkota witha 110 outlet on it. they are gonna charge me 180 including instalation, is this what i need? or do i need more? should i have a back up battery for my trolling motor and run a dual pro to both batteries, does every battery charger get plugged into a 110 outlet or can i have it hooked up so it can charge in another way? i am confused on this topic so please feel free to help.

[bingham]

im not a wiz at this but i have a dual pro on board charger. i have 3 batteries though. 2 dual purpose deep cycle batteries, 1 for trolling motor 1 for electronice livewells lights what not. 1 for cranking and trim. my dual pro charges all 3 batteries, i have a connector for my cranking battery hooked to the 2 dual purpose so all i do is plug up the on board charger and a day later im good to go with 3 hot batteries. i would highly recommend an on board charger its much easier than charging one battery at a time when all i do is take the extension cord outside and hook it up. i would also recommend getting a 3rd battery for the misc. things that i stated i have. your trollin battery will not last as long with aierators, lights, electronics, etc. and i hope you have a seperate cranking battery too, those do recharge when running but running one down trolling will def keep one from cranking. good luck and i hope this helps

[1FASTLASER]

I myself HIGHLY recommend doing one of two things on the new boat. Either opt for the step up to a 12/24 in the 55lb thrust rating. Reason being I have a boat that is similar in size to the 640. You will find out that a 12v on that boat kills a battery in short time. By the end of a 8hr tourney your DEAD in the water. With the 12/24 you can keep on rolloing. As far as the charger there are 2 types......the built in or the portable types. The built in is a great addition because when you get home all you do is plug up the boat and relax. The portable have to be hooked up everytime and put away everytime. You HAVE to recharge the troller battery everytime you use it to keep it good for long service life. The starting battery will keep its charge from the main engine unless you have say fished a long night tourney or something of that nature where you had a long draw on the battery

[Tydings]

so typically, if you buy the boat new, and prety much stock, the trolling battery will be soley for the motorguide. while the cranking battery will handle the livewells lights and turnin over the engine? i like the idea of having the 3 separate batteries, one to crank, one for accesories, and one for trolling. if i do that, which battery charger should i get? and if i keep it the way it is now, with just the 2 batteries, what should i do? the dealer wants to set me up with that minkota single bank, that means i'll only be charging my trolling battery? is this not okay? especially at 180, seems high.

[bamabassman]

if you have the 24 volt trolling motor, the 2 batteries are for the troller. the starting battery is for the motor, and the rest of your rigs electronics. trust me, this is what you need the electrical gadgets will not run down the starting battery.

[Tydings]

i have a 12v trolling motor. so all i should have the one battery for the troller, and the starter is for my livewell, accesories and engine? will a dual pro 2bank or an mk210 be perfect? do i even need the 2 bank? should i just have a single bank hooked to my trollers battery?

[bamabassman]

i say get the one that is built in. then all you have to do is plug in your cord, gl to bed and get up and go fishing.

[Tydings]

yea i plan on doing that. but what im asking is should i have one that is a single bank, and charges my troling motor every time. or a dual bank so i can charge both my trolling motor and crankin battery every time.

[bamabassman]

duel bank charger. sorry i didn't understand. it won't over charge the motor battery, cuts off automatically, then only charges the troller battery till it is charged.

[bingham]

yeah itll never hurt with a dual bank charger itll only help, might as well get it instead of havin to bring a portable out every other time you go out

[Tydings]

thanks guys! so im pretty sure im gonna get the dual pro xl 12amp bank. 6 amps per bank.

[bassboogieman]

I'd get the dealer to swap you a 24v T/M. If you are planning on a day's fishing with a 12v T/M you won't make it on one battery. If you are financing any portion of the cost, the addition won't make much difference in the monthly payment. If you stick with the 12v, you'll need a backup battery, or run them in paralell to run all day. If you have to have two batteries, you might as well have a 24v T/M that will run a full day. I've been there with a 12v T/M on my first Alum. boat and would NEVER run a 12v again. As for a charger, if you have three batteries you'll need a 3-bank charger, minimum 10/10/5, to keep everything easy.