Onboard Battery Charger

[ordonyez]

I just bought a new Skeeter bass boat and am looking at putting a charger on it. I have 2 batteries in series one for my motor and the other for my gauges, fish finder and trolling motor. It also has a battery switch (which I still don't understand).

Im looking at onboard chargers but non marine chargers are way less expensive. My last boat had a non marine charger mounted in the boat and I never had a problem with it. What are the advantages to having a marine charger versus mounting a non marine charger in a waterprrof storage area in my bass boat?

Thanks

[nofearengineer]

Ordonyez, your boat should be set up with one battery for the trolling motor (a 12V one), and the other battery for the outboard and fish finders. They should not be connected in series. It is a bad idea to have your trolling motor running down your cranking battery. Additionally, your outboard motor should have high cranking amps, whereas your troilling motor battery should be a deep cycle battery.

As for the charger, a marine charger is typically setup where it can handle both cranking batteries and deep cycle batteries, whereas a non-marine charger may not be set up for deep cycle. The marine charger will probably be water-resistant as well, always a plus.