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Catalina/Capri 25/250 Sailor's Forums

Catalina 25 Specific Forum

Installing a new battery charger

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Steve Siefken
1st Mate

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USA
81 Posts

Initially Posted - 11/13/2005 : 10:11:29

Bought my boat earlier this year and it did not have a battery charger. I am thinking about a permanently mounted solution.

Don't know what is most common, but I have 2 batteries. To further complicate, I do not have shore power but I have access to power at the dock.

What kinds of battery charger do you have, portable or permanent? Also I would appreciate it if you could recommend a manufacturer, as it would help me in the process of investigating this further.

If you have a permanently mounted solution, where have you mounted it? At least in my boat it does not look like there is enough room to mount one in the battery compartment.

Thanks in advance for sharing your experience.

Steve Siefken
'84 SK/SR #4654 "Nicosha"

Edited by - on

Frank Hopper
Past Commodore

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Pitcairn Island
6776 Posts

Response Posted - 11/13/2005 : 12:15:46

I am a big believer in permanent chargers. I have a Guest 2515 ferro resonant that I just replaced with a Charles 3 stage. The Guest has been used very little. I had a Guest 3 stage in my last boat and bout the Charles because I am a sucker for expensive toys. The guest I took out was a Catalina factory option. You can read about it here:
[url="http://www.iboats.com/mall/index.cgi?prod_id=47199"]iboats[/url]

This is the one I just took out of my boat today. $100 plus shipping.

Edited by - on

dlucier
Master Marine Consultant

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Virgin Islands (United Kingdom)
7583 Posts

Response Posted - 11/13/2005 : 15:07:00

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by Steve Siefken
 What kinds of battery charger do you have, portable or permanent? Also I would appreciate it if you could recommend a manufacturer, as it would help me in the process of investigating this further.<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

Steve,

My boat came to me with a Sears fully automatic onboard charger and it has performed flawlessly. It is mounted next to the battery in the starboard settee.

As far as charger manufacturers go, [url="http://www.marinco2.com/companies.asp?strCompany=guest"]Guest[/url] appears to be a popular brand.

Edited by - dlucier on 11/13/2005 15:08:09

weluvlife
Navigator

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166 Posts

Response Posted - 11/14/2005 : 00:26:11

Hi,

I have a permanent mount Xantrex 3 stage charger that I use with two deep cycle AGM batteries. I've been very happy with my setup. Never been let down yet.

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thacket3
Navigator

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USA
101 Posts

Response Posted - 11/14/2005 : 10:45:47

A quick question on Chargers.
Do all those with chargers hooked up leave the shore power on when you leave the boat? Or, do you just charge the batteries when you get to the boat? I have a charger, but I am afraid to leave the power on all the time, so I just pop the power on when I work on the boat. I am sure this is the exact oppisite of what I should be doing (story of my life) but I have a fire phobia.
Just wondering.
Tim

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dlucier
Master Marine Consultant

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Virgin Islands (United Kingdom)
7583 Posts

Response Posted - 11/14/2005 : 11:07:20

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by thacket3
 A quick question on Chargers.
Do all those with chargers hooked up leave the shore power on when you leave the boat? Or, do you just charge the batteries when you get to the boat?...<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

Tim,

Yes, I leave both the power and charger on when I leave the boat so the battery is fully charged when I arrive at the boat the next time.

You should only do this if you have a "fully automatic" multi-stage charger which will stop charging the battery when it is fully charged thus preventing cooking the battery. Additionally, it is important to check the battery fluid on a periodic basis.

If I feel the battery has a sufficient charge or if I'm not going to the boat for a week or so, I'll turn the breaker off at the dock utility box.

Edited by - on

atgep
Master Marine Consultant

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1009 Posts

Response Posted - 11/14/2005 : 12:11:22

Or, You can get a 10 watt solar charger and only hook up the charger when needed. Little chance of starting a fire that way.

Tom.

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RickStevens
1st Mate

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USA
62 Posts

Response Posted - 11/14/2005 : 16:34:03

Even if you have a fully automatic multi-stage charger, it is worth monitoring it the first few times you use it. I just found this out the (almost) hard way.

My new-to-me C25 was equipped with a charger when I got it. I left it hooked up over a 3-day rainy period and when I got back to the boat the starboard (#2) battery was sizzling. I'm pretty sure that if I had been away another day, that money-filled hole in the water would have been instead a smoke-filled hole in the water.

Edited by - on

oldsalt
Admiral

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USA
578 Posts

Response Posted - 11/14/2005 : 17:35:14

For 23 seasons I've had a (now obsolete but still kicking) Ray Jefferson 15 amp, 3 bank, automatic marine charger mounted on the bulkhead in the locker across from the head at about the level of the deadlight.

Battery chargers are best mounted where they can benefit from freely circulating air.

I only have a 2 battery system so one output has never been connected. My charger outputs are connected by fused #10 tinned marine wire.

During the season, I leave the unit operating continuously and I'm on my third set of batteries since 1983.

Edited by - on

Alan Clark
Captain

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406 Posts

Response Posted - 11/15/2005 : 10:21:54

When we bought "Leprechaun"

from the PO she came with a 12 V charger that sat under the bottom step with 2 male plugs. I was told that the one plug goes into the 12V only plug and the other goes into the 110 v plug.. this charges the batterys

..We have never used it as we do not have shore power at our dock but is anyone else familar with this set up? We have been told this is a smart chager and will shut off when charged,but I can not swear to it.. When I would use this set up I would plug into shore power with the 110v switch on?

..This should charge my batteries than shut off ...Right

? I, too, am also concerned about FIRE. I dont feel comfortable enough to do this while I sleep .. If someone can confirm this is ok, We Would be very grateful..

As we intend to cruise, I would like to use this but need reassurance! Thanks again Alan & Eileen..With "Leprechaun" on the Hard...

Edited by - on

weluvlife
Navigator

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166 Posts

Response Posted - 11/15/2005 : 20:28:54

Hello Alan & Eileen,

Your assumptions appear to be vailid in my opinion. Although, unless I did some research on your specific charger, I would not leave the unit plugged in over night.

Also, I don't necessarily agree with charging your batteries through the 12v accesory outlet, unless your charger is only a trickle charger or a solar panel. A normal charger, should be connected with heavy leads directly to the batteries.

A good charger will give you some peace of mind, and extend the life of your expensive batteries.

Take care,

Edited by - on

Steve Siefken
1st Mate

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USA
81 Posts

Response Posted - 11/16/2005 : 22:25:27

For those of you who had a factory installed battery charger, where was (is) it mounted?

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Frank Hopper
Past Commodore

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Pitcairn Island
6776 Posts

Response Posted - 11/16/2005 : 23:07:26

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by Steve Siefken
 For those of you who had a factory installed battery charger, where was (is) it mounted?
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">Hi Steve,
I know that seemed like a straight forward question but it isn't. Catalina changed the location of the battery boxes over the production of the boat. I have never heard anyone else mention a factory installation. My boat was one of the last made and they were loading them up. My batteries are under the stairs. The charger was mounted on the back of the battery box that I do not believe existed on earlier boats. This is where my batteries are and the bolts are the factory location.

On my 82 I mounted it in the sail locker under the power wall. I was very happy with it there but I kept my locker empty because of my Air Conditioner, the there was never anything that could lean against the charger and cause a heat dissipation problem.

Edited by - on

Stu Jackson C34
Admiral

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844 Posts

Response Posted - 11/17/2005 : 13:48:27

In order to better understand what batteries need, and, thus, what kind of charger to obtain, I recommend downloading the Ample Power Primer from the www.amplepower.com website. West Marine's Advisors also have valuable charging and battery recommendations, which you can get in a catalog or online.

I, too, "suffered" from a lack of electronic and electrical knowledge when we had our C25, so I did a lot of reading. We installed a 5 w solar panel and never left our boat plugged in while away from it. We had a cheesy 6 amp Sear automotive battery charger, and used it rarely on our single 95 ah gel cell battery, which lasted for over five years.

The real issue is "what batteries need" and then how to find a charger that does that. I learned a lot more when we bought our C34 7-1/2 years ago. A three stage charger is a MUST if you intend to leave your boat plugged in all the time, but even with a small 20 Amp Xantrex smart charger, you almost don't need more than a few hours to top off your batteries in boats with the capacities in amp hours of the batteries you'd have on board.

One misunderstanding is that the smart chargers turn off. They don't. What they do is go to the float stage. Rather than repeating all this, read the Ample Power Primer and do some research on smart chargers at Xantrex or Charles. Only recently has Charles improved their models to include smart chargers and also included the ability to switch between gel, wet cells and AGMs.

Lots of people have difficulty with electrical stuff, it's not uncommon. But with a little homework, it can be understood.

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