On-board Battery Charger

GregK9 · 07-28-07, 06:07 PM

I have 3 batteries on board - 1 starter and 2 deep-cycles... so I'm thinking I need a 3-bank charger. However, I'm getting mixed opinions on if I need a bank to charge my starting battery seeing as the outboard does that. What do you guys think?

Also, what's a good brand to buy? I was at Gander mountain yesterday looking at a minkota MK330 30 AMP charger. It provides 10 amps per bank.

I also looked at a PRO MARINER charger. It was a 3 bank also but 20 amp. The charger had *Distributed-On-Demand™ Charging technology*. I like this concept seeing as the deep-cells are going to need a lot more charging than the starter.

Rebbasser · 07-28-07, 10:45 PM

Welcome to the forum!

A 2-bank is fine-the deep cycles are the ones that really need the charger. I have a 2-bank Promariner on mine. Any of the name brands-MinnKota, DualPro, Guest and Promariner will do the job. With my Promariner I just plug it in when I get home from the lake and unplug it when I head out-set it and forget it. They stand behind their products, too. My first Promariner went out after only a year, but it was under warranty so Promariner replaced it for free.

If your cranking battery has set for a while if you put it on a trickle charger before you head out you should be fine.

1FASTLASER · 07-29-07, 10:41 AM

Ole Reb got ya covered on this one. One little more thing I would add. Every so often take a portable charger and hookup to the main battery so as to bring her back to full charge. Even though your engine has a alternator sometimes folks do ALOT more fishing with the electronics and livewells running and not a whole lot of time running the engine so the starting battery doesnt get back to a full charge everytime. Of course if you go ahead and buy a 3 bank which I do suggest your bats will be kept fully charged EVERYTIME you go out and your bats will live longer.

GregK9 · 07-29-07, 11:32 AM

When you guys speak of the Pro mariner. Are you referring to the "PROSPORT" or the 'PROTOURNAMENT'?

The Prosport took a beating in these reviews:

http://www.basspro.com/webapp/wcs/st...=SearchResults

Rebbasser · 07-31-07, 11:20 PM

Mine is the ProTournament. I've had it replaced once, as I said. When I need to get a new one I don't think I'll go with a Pormariner. Guest or Dual Pro is where I'd look.

07-28-07, 06:07 PM	#1
GregK9 BassFishin.Com Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: North Central Illinois Posts: 57	On-board Battery Charger I have 3 batteries on board - 1 starter and 2 deep-cycles... so I'm thinking I need a 3-bank charger. However, I'm getting mixed opinions on if I need a bank to charge my starting battery seeing as the outboard does that. What do you guys think? Also, what's a good brand to buy? I was at Gander mountain yesterday looking at a minkota MK330 30 AMP charger. It provides 10 amps per bank. I also looked at a PRO MARINER charger. It was a 3 bank also but 20 amp. The charger had Distributed-On-Demand™ Charging technology. I like this concept seeing as the deep-cells are going to need a lot more charging than the starter.

07-28-07, 10:45 PM	#2
Rebbasser BassFishin.Com Premier Elite Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: San Antonio, TX Posts: 10,141	Welcome to the forum! A 2-bank is fine-the deep cycles are the ones that really need the charger. I have a 2-bank Promariner on mine. Any of the name brands-MinnKota, DualPro, Guest and Promariner will do the job. With my Promariner I just plug it in when I get home from the lake and unplug it when I head out-set it and forget it. They stand behind their products, too. My first Promariner went out after only a year, but it was under warranty so Promariner replaced it for free. If your cranking battery has set for a while if you put it on a trickle charger before you head out you should be fine. __________________ It's happened to the best of them: John 21:3

07-29-07, 10:41 AM	#3
1FASTLASER BassFishin.Com Super Veteran Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: crossett,arkansas Posts: 2,777	Ole Reb got ya covered on this one. One little more thing I would add. Every so often take a portable charger and hookup to the main battery so as to bring her back to full charge. Even though your engine has a alternator sometimes folks do ALOT more fishing with the electronics and livewells running and not a whole lot of time running the engine so the starting battery doesnt get back to a full charge everytime. Of course if you go ahead and buy a 3 bank which I do suggest your bats will be kept fully charged EVERYTIME you go out and your bats will live longer. __________________ Laser's rule with Merc's doing the pushing..........KEEP THE WETSIDE DOWN AND THE DRY SIDE UP!!!!!!

07-31-07, 11:20 PM	#5
Rebbasser BassFishin.Com Premier Elite Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: San Antonio, TX Posts: 10,141	Mine is the ProTournament. I've had it replaced once, as I said. When I need to get a new one I don't think I'll go with a Pormariner. Guest or Dual Pro is where I'd look. __________________ It's happened to the best of them: John 21:3

07-29-07, 11:32 AM	#4
GregK9 BassFishin.Com Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: North Central Illinois Posts: 57	When you guys speak of the Pro mariner. Are you referring to the "PROSPORT" or the 'PROTOURNAMENT'? The Prosport took a beating in these reviews: http://www.basspro.com/webapp/wcs/st...=SearchResults

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