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Catalina/Capri 25/250 Sailor's Forums

General Sailing Forum

Trickle charging the onboard battery

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britinusa
Web Editor

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USA
5404 Posts

Initially Posted - 06/14/2005 : 19:34:14

Toying with the idea of using a trickle charger (auto) to top up the batteries on Joint Decision.

Is it as simple as making an adapter to plug the charger into the 12v cigar lighter we had installed?

Joint Decision. (Sold)
PO C250WB 2005 Sail # 841.

Moved up to C34 Eximius

Updated August 2015

Edited by - on

Keith D.
Navigator

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USA
233 Posts

Response Posted - 06/14/2005 : 20:24:27

Wal-Mart sells a completely sealed trickle charger. Cost is around $25. It is made to go under the hood of a car and is completely waterproof. It is permanently hooked directly to the battery, which is the best place to hook up an automatic charger. If you hook it up to a cigar lighter it may sense the voltage to be lower than it is at the battery, due to voltage loss in the wiring, and keep charging which will dry the battery out eventually. I have one in my boat and have added a switch to the plug, which the charger is plugged into. Every couple of weeks I will turn it on for a day to keep the battery topped off.

Edited by - on

ClamBeach
Master Marine Consultant

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3072 Posts

Response Posted - 06/14/2005 : 20:28:05

Kragen has fully automatic 'permanent mount' marine/auto chargers for about $25 too.

Mounts in the battery compartment... hook up the pigtails to the battery and route a cord back to the shorepower outlet. Bob's your uncle.

Edited by - on

britinusa
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USA
5404 Posts

Response Posted - 06/14/2005 : 21:01:04

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Kragen has fully automatic 'permanent mount' marine/auto chargers for about $25 too.<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">

not sure if Kragen is here in south florida (SoFla).
Any clues as to the details (is it a own brand item)

How about Solar Options?

Edited by - on

stampeder
Master Marine Consultant

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1608 Posts

Response Posted - 06/14/2005 : 21:55:39

How do you hook up a trickle charger when you have two batteries?

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ClamBeach
Master Marine Consultant

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3072 Posts

Response Posted - 06/15/2005 : 09:59:22

"How do you hook up a trickle charger when you have two batteries?"

It depends on how they are wired... and if you have a battery combiner switch (off-single-both)
in your boat.

If you are unfamiliar with electric circuits and batteries, find someone who is to take a look at your system.

"Any clues as to the details (is it a own brand item)"

Here's the one I purchased... Schumacher SE112S
http://www.partsamerica.com/ProductDetail.aspx?categorycode=3014&mfrcode=SHU&mfrpartnumber=SE112S

Here's some similar chargers.
http://www.allpowersupply.com/ProductDetails.aspx?productID=471
http://www.allpowersupply.com/ProductDetails.aspx?productID=556

Edited by - on

Frank Hopper
Past Commodore

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Pitcairn Island
6776 Posts

Response Posted - 06/15/2005 : 11:38:18

I would not consider a non marine specific unit. I think buying a non marine product is scrimping on one of the most important items you add to a boat. The last thing I want to wonder about is whether or not my batteries are in good condition. I use a Guest
http://www.marinco2.com/showProduct.asp?p=2607
If it ever fails I will buy up.
http://www.marinco2.com/showProduct.asp?p=2620
Something about this subject pushes my button. All the times I have read comments about silver teak indicating a poorly maintained boat... an automotive battery charger says that to me. Bristol begins with hardware and systems, it ends with brightwork.
harrumph

Edited by - on

ClamBeach
Master Marine Consultant

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3072 Posts

Response Posted - 06/16/2005 : 16:08:17

"...important items you add to a boat. "

IMHO: I think it depends on how you use your boat.

My battery supplies a couple tenths of an amp to run the depthsounder... or maybe keeps the lights on for a couple hours when I'm on the hook. If I had a $100,000 boat with $1,000 worth of batteries or depended on the battery to start a diesel engine, I would be more inclined to spend multiple boat-units on a charger.. and I'd go with a full-on Heart or Xantrex monitor too.

As it is, my $25 permanent mount 'marine' charger has worked just fine for the last 3 years... and the $10, 20-year old 'Wizard' worked fine for 10 years (or so) on the Venture 23 before that.

If I was going to sink $$$ into a charging system for a C25, I'd put it into some nice solar panels.... again, it just depends.

Edited by - on

Don B
Captain

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USA
317 Posts

Response Posted - 06/16/2005 : 20:02:53

Depending on your use...in my case, just want to keep to batteries topped off, I went with a flexible solar panel...http://www.e-marine-inc.com/products/solar_panels/flex.html

Approx. $82 and I don't worry about a shore power electric supply for a charger.

Edited by - on

britinusa
Web Editor

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USA
5404 Posts

Response Posted - 06/16/2005 : 21:03:19

We are planning on spending 4 days/ 3nights on board Joint Decision over the july 4th weekend, so I'm concerned that the battery will run down. We'll have the VHF and GPS on during the day plus the wind and speed/depth Raymarine ST40 instruments. At night we will need some cooling, so maybe a 12V fan or two. Then add the lights and that seems a pretty heavy drain on the battery. The only method of charging it right now is with the engine running.

So far the solar panel seems the best option (although with the current weather conditions, we could charge it from a rain powered turbine!)

We're trying to keep the boat weight tight, so not ready yet to add a 'house' battery.

I don't seem to have any info on the battery that came with the boat so I don't know its Ah. rating.

More installations this weekend. Installing the GPS (bought a ram mount for it) and a solar powered cabin vent. Will post pics of project as it proceeds.

Edited by - on

lcharlot
Master Marine Consultant

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Antigua and Barbuda
1301 Posts

Response Posted - 06/18/2005 : 11:14:29

I have a Kyocera 50 watt solar panel on Quiet Time, and it seems to keep the battery fully charged, at least during the summer months when we rarely have cloudy days. I used to have a 30 watt panel, and it would do the job for single-night weekend cruises, but it proved insufficient to keep the battery up when I did a two week San Juans cruise in the boat in 2001. By the 4th day, the battery was below 11 volts, meaning that my GPS would not boot up, and by the next morning, the battery was down to 8 volts (dead flat) after running the anchor light all night. Fortunately, we spent a few hours in a marina that afternoon, and I was able to charge the battery from shorepower. Once a battery is fully charged, the small 11 watt panels seem to be sufficient as "trickle chargers" to keep the battery topped off, but during an active cruise, when you are using electrical devices for many hours every day, I think 50 watts is about the minimum solar panel that can keep up. And that's assuming you are being energy-conservative, and not using power-hungry appliances like microwave ovens, electric pressure water pumps, and lighting up the whole boat with inefficient incandescent bulbs at night. I have found that a single 12 volt twin-tube flourescent fixture (13 watts), placed in the center of the pop-top, lights up the whole main cabin better than the 4 incandescent lights that came with the boat, and uses less than 1/4 of the current draw. We have no shore power at Folsom Lake, so a solar panel is the only effective way for the sailboat owners to keep their batteries up, and you will see at least a small panel on many of the sailboats, especially the boats with small 4~5hp outboards that have only very small battery charging capabilities (if any).
Try to mount your panel somewhere that the mast, boom, or other rigging will not throw shade on it, as most panels lose as much as half of their output if even one cell is shaded. I hang mine off of the stern pulpit, as this is about the only place I can be assured that it won't snag either the main or jib sheets.

Edited by - lcharlot on 06/18/2005 11:18:24

britinusa
Web Editor

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USA
5404 Posts

Response Posted - 06/20/2005 : 07:45:33

Laurence, a great post! thanks.
Mostly we will be making 1 night trips and the boat will be at the 'boat slip' (

that's what we call the grass outside our bedroom here at home.) But are already planning the long weekend for the 4th. to be at least 3 nights, and another 4 night cruise to the keys in late July/early August. (So far the boat is about $14,000 per hour of sail

)

I think I'll get one of those 50w units, having the battery charged to make starting the motor easy is a big plus. Think I'll also replace the masthead light with an LED, and maybe the cabing lights too. (I happen to really detest flouresent lights and their humming!)

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