Battery re-charging

[ChrisB123]

Merry Christmas to all and a happy new year.

I am looking at getting a battery charger to charge whilst the rib is at home. The question is do i need to aquire a special type charger or will any 12v charger do. The variety and coats are vast (£20 - £200).

Can anyone advise?

Cheers

[Chris]

If you are just running standard 12V marine batteries then any cheap car battery charger will do for trickle charging them.

Halfords probably have somthing suitable

[ChrisB123]

Thanks for that.

Struggling to read any replies as currently pissed and its ace !!!!!

[Limey Linda]

If all your trying to do is keep a battery topped off then just get the smallest you can find. 3-4 amp charger woill be fine.
Happy new year

[K&S]

Originally Posted by Chris

Halfords probably have somthing suitable

We use a Halfords charger which will charge the battery then maintain it. Wasn't the most expensive and does the job just fine.

I remember reading in the 'Hardy owners club' web site that some people pop the boat battery in the car over the winter to maintain it .... to much hassle me thinks.

[kingfisher69]

Originally Posted by ChrisB123

Merry Christmas to all and a happy new year.

I am looking at getting a battery charger to charge whilst the rib is at home. The question is do i need to aquire a special type charger or will any 12v charger do. The variety and coats are vast (£20 - £200).

Can anyone advise?

Cheers

Hi Chris i am using an automatic charger halfords own brand for around £30 simple to use and works perfectly regards Gary

[davetpk]

I keep my boat permanently hooked up when on the drive to an Optimate battery charger / conditioner - used them for many years on classic / sports cars. They 'condition' the battery I believe so that they simulate some usage and then top up charge etc. Very useful on cars in storage over winter and especially those that have alarm systems that run the battery down over time. There are lots of extra cable adapters / connectors you can buy to leave permanently attached to cars / boats etc - I've got an extension cable wired to the battery with an Optimate weatherproof connector dangling outside the engine cover on the boat so it is quick to plug in when I get it back on the drive etc.

Google bikebitzuk and you should find they are a stockist - about £45. No connection with them but have been using these chargers for years after seeing them recommended on the TVR cars forum (notorious battery drainers !!)

Dave

[codprawn]

I bought a great little charger from Lidels for about £15. It is waterproof and will charge at 4 amps - then switch to auto mode so can be left on all the time.

[BogMonster]

I use a little Maypole auto charger which has a trickle setting, the boat is parked next to my garage so I have a DC extension lead made up for the charger with in-line plugs like you get on an electric lawnmower, there is a matching socket hardwired into the boat battery, so all I do is put the charger in the garage (nice and dry) run the DC extension cable out to the boat and plug in to the boat socket, works a treat. The DC cable needs to be fairly heavy (i.e. not bellwire) to avoid voltage drop, I used some heavy duty hi-fi loudspeaker cable I happened to have lying around and the voltage at the battery is more or less identical to the voltage at the charger end. If I need to charge something else, the original crocodile clips are on another lawnmower plug which can go into the charger instead of the extension lead.

[jyasaki]

If you're looking to top off the battery just prior to splashing the boat, just about any automotive charger will do. In this case all you need is enough charge to start the motor, then that will charge the battery.

If you're planning on leaving the charger connected while the RIB is on the trailer, then you want to select a trickle charger. A regular car battery charger will likely cook the battery if left on for long periods of time.

Ideally, a long term charger will be a three stage device: bulk (high voltage, fairly high current), top off (high voltage, fairly low current), and maintenance (low voltage, and very low current; and, ideally, something that monitors the battery voltage and comes on only when the voltage drops.)

For long idle periods, I use a little 500mA float charger, though I start with a topped up battery. It would probably take a month or two to charge a depleted battery. Can't seem to find a link for the device now (maybe not made anymore?)

Apparently West Marine (aka Worst Marine over here) still sells them:

http://tinyurl.com/yp8j7y (shortened link)

http://www.westmarine.com/webapp/wcs...9&classNum=683 (full link)

At 500 mA peak current, it is unlikely to overcharge even if the auto-shutoff thingie fails.

Hope this helps;

jky