Shore power and battery charger

D

DavePant

Member
Aug 5, 2019
39
Boat Info
1989 270 Amberjack
Engines
5.7L Twin
Please excuse the ignorance but is it common when plugged in to shore power to leave your onboard battery charger running? This is my first "bigger" boat and I will probably have all kinds of newb questions to ask. I have a 1989 Amberjack 270.
Thanks,
Dave
 
I leave mine in all the time, keeps batteries tipped off in case I start pumping due to a leak.
 
Ok thanks, just did not want to leave it charging then come out to go to work in the morning and have a big hole in the side of my boat and its on fire from overcharging lol!
 
Being an older vessel you do want to be certain you have a smart charger that will not overcharge your batteries and ruin them. Otherwise, with a smart charger most leave them on all the time.

MM
 
For the money a new charger isn't a terribly expensive "piece of mind" upgrade. I replaced my factory original Promariner this year after one of its banks went bad. It toasted a 2 year old battery in the process. In retrospect I could have saved a $100 battery by investing in a $400 charger a bit sooner.

If you're like the rest of us you probably have a spreadsheet of future upgrades/projects. Might as well toss the charger on there for kicks...
 
If you had a 2 year old marine battery it was at its lifespan.
 
Loyd Dinneen said:
If you had a 2 year old marine battery it was at its lifespan.
Click to expand...

Really? I don't know what brand batteries you've been buying....but they are not the right ones! Properly maintained marine batteries should be good for 4-5+ years. If they pop after two years because you're not watering them, that isn't "lifespan", that's improper maintenance :)
 
I'm still using factory-installed charger. I'm scared to continue to type this, but it's working great! lol

This spring I pulled the 5-year old Interstate batteries from the port bank and installed them in the 280. Based on the way they hold a charge and how little water they consume, I expect to get 2 more years out of them.
 
RollerCoastr said:
This spring I pulled the 5-year old Interstate batteries from the port bank and installed them in the 280. Based on the way they hold a charge and how little water they consume, I expect to get 2 more years out of them.
Click to expand...

That's pretty good.

For me with cars and boats....... once they hit the 5 years mark I'm just waiting for the day to get the dreaded ....Click, Click Click of the starter.
 
Stee6043 said:
Really? I don't know what brand batteries you've been buying....but they are not the right ones! Properly maintained marine batteries should be good for 4-5+ years. If they pop after two years because you're not watering them, that isn't "lifespan", that's improper maintenance :)
Click to expand...


Agreed. 4+ with a smart charger for a house. 5+ for a starting-only battery. My genny battery is about 10+ (obviously a much different load).
 
Little Ducky said:
That's pretty good.

For me with cars and boats....... once they hit the 5 years mark I'm just waiting for the day to get the dreaded ....Click, Click Click of the starter.
Click to expand...

Yep, me too. I start to trust them less after the 5 year mark, so that's why I "demote" them to the project boat at that age. That boat has 3 batteries to start 2 engines and run the radio, so I've found it to be a good use of older batteries.
 
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