Battery Charger: Prosport 12....Installed

[Walkers Edge]

I am looking for the good, the bad, and the ugly so dont hold back!

My boat has the standard factory battery setup (2 group 24 batts separated by a 1/2/both/off perko switch) and I have come to realize the benefit to having dedicated house battery(s) when you use more amperage than the average 20'er.

My goal is this:
1. Dedicate (1) battery exclusively to starting and the other to house.
2. Utilize the aux charging lead from my 1997 Yamaha 200hp SWSII to charge the house battery at the same time the primary charging lead is charging the starting battery (or vise versa, suggestions)
3. Use the existing switch to give me the option of starting off of the house battery in an emergency situation.

In the end I would like to be able to inadvertently run my house battery dead without worrying about starting the engine or whether or not the other battery had been fully charged last time it was used.

I am looking for flaws in my logic or suggestions to improve my current situation. Given the space available I cannot add an additional battery but can upgrade the house battery down the road. An onboard charger (prosport 20amp, overkill, underkill, comments?) is also in the near future

Secondarily I am looking for direction in utilizing the aux power lead. Access, connections, wire gauge suggestions as I begin to dig through my Yam shop manuals/literature.

 

[BobP]

Sounds good.

You may want to consider another 1/2/both sw for the house feed, so you can switch between either battery if you need to for aux power, not that you ever use the both or starting battery. Leave the house breaker on the load side.

Blue Seas makes a nice compact sw you can use for this purpose.

The total power available from the motor doesn't change just because the aux lead is used.

The waterproof prosport 20 A is good choice. I have one myself.
if you troll a lot and have a LW pump going especially in addition to electronics, house batt is going to discharge.

 

[Walkers Edge]

My time is usually split between live bait (motor off) drifting and trolling, with the baitwell running in either case. I realize the amp output at 1500rpms is not enough to compensate for the pumps, stereo, electronics for an extended period but it should extend my time scale.

At the end of the day I just want the starting power isolated from everything else.

Good point about the breaker, is it necessary to add one for the starting leads?

Since I won't be able to look at the engine untill later tonight anybody want to give me a little insight into locating the aux leads?

 

[Walkers Edge]

Or is the simple solution to add the onboard twin lead battery charger to my current setup and just be sure to have her hooked up to 110v whenever the boat is on the trailer (every week mon-thurs)?

If I did this I would just convert the system over to the one above when time came to replace my batteries.

 

[BobP]

I was referring to the existing breaker the house feed comes off at the stern, I presume there is one (or fuse).

Motor start lead doesn't get fused.
I think the aux motor feed deos get fused.

Your house lead now may be connected same place as the engine feed is connected on the 1/2/off/both sw. So that when it is OFF, so is house feed & motor.

So it would have to be reconnected to the house batt only as you sugested, will still need an/off sw.

Or as I suggested, another 1/2/both/off sw that you will use on (house) and OFF, for when an emergency occurs, to go to start batt for house load.

Make sure you buy a deep cycle house that has a start rating, my 29 series Interstate marine deep cycles have more than enough CCA to crank my HPDIs.

 

[Walkers Edge]

That does make sense, I do think I can benefit from more battery capacity but my current interstate batteries are not much over a year old.

Is there any problem using a battery charger as supplemental dockside power? For instance having the charger plugged in as I am using the spreader lights and radio in a marina.

 

[uncljohn]

Does the aux charge lead deliver the same amperage as the standard charge?

I have 2 batteries, one switch, everything is wired to a bus bar (-) and the switch (+). I "dedicate" my starting battery every day when I turn the switch to #1 and start my engine. Run for a while to recharge, then "dedicate" everything to the deep cycle by switching to #2, where it stays while anchored, then "dedicate" again with #1 to start up again, then go back to #2 at the dock to run the bilge pump.

So I manually dedicate each battery to its specific need by turning the switch, and i can use both if its needed to start. Seems like a lot of work to run an aux charge lead and install another switch.

 

[Walkers Edge]

The problem is not that the system doesn't function in the manner you describe. On a day to day basis that works just fine however in doing so it is still up to you to manually maintain your batteries if there is no on-board charger. Switching the batteries back and forth leaves a degree of human error that I would prefer to avoid 50+ miles offshore.

Running the leads and connecting another switch is very simple and (relatively) inexpensive. And in doing so I will avoid ever discharging the starting battery and still leave the option to start with the house batteries if the starting battery should fail.

This in combination with an onboard charger (the $$ part) should streamline the whole process.

 

[Walkers Edge]

Also FWIW....GW's from the factory are wired so that the float switch will operate the bilge pump even when batteries are turned "off" at the switch.

 

[BobP]

That's correct, bilge pumps are always wired directly via fuses only.

Yes, you can leave the charger on while you sit at the dock and listen to the radio, spreader lights on , etc, just realize, the 10A may just do good on the power needs only, no charging. Spreader lights unless LED type are typically about 55 watts, divide by 12 volts = current, x two for two lights. You are near 10 Amps. But is way better than no charger on.

If the existing battery is good enough, and you don't discharge too often or too deep, a regular starting battery wil last a bit and until then use it.
When it goes, the deep cyclers are designed for many discharge cycles, not starting batts. Starting batts are short burst of power followed immedialy by charge. I'm talking lead acid conventional, can't help you on AGMs, etc.

The Blue Seas switch I recommended was 25 bucks, as I recall.

 

[Walkers Edge]

After some more in-depth reading into the promariner chargers I am going to start with the prosport 12 dual bank charger mounted to my existing setup. Since my bank will not exceed 2 batts (1 fully discharged at any given time), the 20amp seems to be more overkill than necessary since each charging lead is self regulated. The 12 can be delivered for about $110, WM also has it for about the same when you throw in a couple of the coupons that come in the mail all the time.

Thanks for the input; as my days on the water keep getting longer I will eventually convert to the aforementioned system……..In the meantime I now get to install the secondary bilge pump and fuel mgmt.

 

[BobP]

Think again, if you have plenty of time (days) to leave the charger on for a recharge fine, if you are limited in time to get it charged, then get the heavier charger.

10A + 10A is not too much.

 

[Walkers Edge]

I'd say worst case the charger would be plugged in from 6pm till 6am. With only 1 of the 2 batteries being substantially discharged you dont think the 12amp charger would make any headway?

Normally I would say "might as well" but the lack of mounting space will make the larger-bodied 20amp charger a little tricky. How much heat do the prosport chargers generate, I may have a problem with clearances.

Any single engine boaters out there have experience with twin deep cycle batteries and a 12amp charger?

 

[BobP]

I thought it was 6+ 6, instead of 10 + 10. I don't think the 6+6 will send all 12 amps to one battery, if it does then fine.


I'll let the other members take this one, is 12 hrs enough to fully charged a big deep cycle wwith his charger ?

 

[Walkers Edge]

The prosport charger looked most attractive to me due to the fact that it has what they call "distributed-on-demand" charging where it will distribute the charge as needed between the two batteries for example; 2amp to the 1st and 10amp to the 2nd battery or whatever spread it senses as necessary.

This is a feature of their second generation chargers, info found here..
http://www.promariner.com/productFeatur ... 012&page=1

I agree with the logic that a deep-cycle battery needs at least 10a to receive an adequate charge, and in theory I should never have (2) dead batteries. But if I do then I will need the 20.

 

[gradyfish22]

I'd go with 10/10, it is not a huge jump in price, it is better to have more capacity then you need then to have to upgrade, a use charger has little value. Like Bob said, at the dock, stock Grady halogen's run 4.6amps each, 9.2amps total, the radio is over a lot more then you would think, some are upwards of 10amps alone, any electronics add to that. If your charging at the dock or at home you want to maintain a charge load as close to what your drawing or as much as your electrical system can handle. A 6/6 wouldn't be close. without charging, my 2 batteried in parallel running my 2 stock spreaders will kill my batteries in about an hour if I'm not on the charger. I have a 10A charger per lead and run my spreaders and radio as long as I want as I clean at night or work on the boat. West marine has the Pro20+ on sale this week, that would be my choice!!

 

[BobP]

The promariner website instruction manual shows outputs connected to a speciifc battery group, be it Trolling/House, and output 2 to the Start battery.

If the charger sends the power to where it's needed, I don't get it.
They forgot me -
I have two identical 27 series deep cyclers each serves as house AND start. Identical twins in all respects.

Not that I'm complaining, charger works perfect, and batteries are not drinking water at an unsual rate, which would be a sign of coming disaster.

He probably will be fine with the 12 amp charger if he gives it 12 hrs to recharge, I don't always have that much time.

Over the weekend I'm going to check the fuse sizes, no sizes are shown in manual (unusual?)
If the design as stated in owners manual, in my Prosport 20 model, should have 20A fuses in each output.

 

[Walkers Edge]

Thats good advice, last night I drew the same conclusion, called west marine down the road and will be picking up the ps20amp charger this afternoon.

I have a few more electronic improvements to make that will increase my amp draw substantially so better to spend it now than double it later.

 

[Walkers Edge]

I spoke with the Interstate tech department, the gentleman there indicated that 6a each is the recommended charge rate for my group 24batts. The prosport12 charger is ideal for my setup. It will also be sufficient if i decide to upgrade one battery to a larger house and convert the system over as I oprginally mentioned.

Gradyfish:
Nice boat, down the road if i don't go back to an open fisherman that will be my next ride. Keep us posted on the LED spreader performancec, I am ordering blue 12v under-gunnel LED rope lighting for night fishing and the "marina effect".

 

[Walkers Edge]

Update:
Prosport 12 Gen 2 Charger installed (I use that term loosely, seriously the simplest upgrade out there) Thursday afternoon and plugged in.

24hr Charge on (1) fully discharged and (1) partially discharged battery Boat launched Friday night.
Used off and on all weekend with full electronics and had no problem running off of the (1) previously discharged battery............Long story short the charger seems to be doing its job.

On another note......Friday evening I was forced to use the boat ramp a couple miles down the road because my neighborhood ramp was semi-permanently occupied by a late model dodge ram, identified only by the hood ornament and windshield above the waterline. Pictures to follow.