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Author Topic:   Battery Maintainer

baja_alabama posted 10-18-2012 06:46 PM ET (US)
I'm contemplating use of an automotive battery maintainer on my MONTAUK 17, plugging it in to the 12-Volt socket in a manner similar to the car's connection via the cigar lighter plug. Anyone know a reason this should not be done?--Ron
Chuck Tribolet posted 10-20-2012 12:02 AM ET (US)
The two name brands are Schumacher and Battery Tender. Both
are good, I use Schumacher.
You will need to be careful not to have a short circuit.
Using a fused 12V plug will mitigate things if you do short things
out. I've been doing this for years, no shorts. I plug the
charger into the boat first, then plug the charger in to the
110V.
Chuck
conch posted 10-20-2012 08:07 AM ET (US)
I use Schumacher brand for both my 15 foot Whaler and Corvette for years, both mounted full time. Never an issue.
The cigar lighter socket may be wired after a battery switch which will have to be left in the on position.
Why not give the charger its own inlet plug? Or mount full time. Not much more work and the wiring could be before or after a battery switch with an inline fuse.
Chuck
Chuck Tribolet posted 10-20-2012 11:36 AM ET (US)
The charger has it's own plug: the cigar lighter. The only
think the cigar lighter gets used for is the charger.
I like having the charger on top of the console so I can see
the lights.

Chuck
tmann45 posted 10-20-2012 02:38 PM ET (US)
I prefer the Battery Tender or Battery Minder. Both of these multi-step chargers are advertised to charge all flooded and AGM batteries. Both have a permanent fused pigtail option to attach to the studs of your battery with an insulated and capped connection to the charger. This way you can leave your main battery switch in the OFF position. The Tender has an optional cigarette plug. The Minder employees pulse technology to "desulfate" the battery, might be snake oil, I don't know. Either one can be found on the internet for around $40-50, plus shipping and tax (depending on your preference).
http://www.batterymart.com/c-battery-chargers.html
Tom
PeteB88 posted 10-20-2012 10:40 PM ET (US)
I have three - Battery Tender, a C-something and one I picked up on sale at Sears Die Hard which I totally prefer. Readout easy and it seems to function very well. On sale often - retail is nearly 60 bucks I think I got it for 29 bucks.
jimh posted 10-22-2012 08:43 AM ET (US)
Ron--I do not have any experience with the method you propose for installation of a temporary battery charger. I am using a battery maintainer to provide a precision float charge to a 12-Volt battery on my work bench. I am using a PROMARINER PRO-SPORT 1.5 ON-BOARD MAINTAINER. See
http://www.pmariner.com/productFeature.php?ProductNum=10116
The Promariner Pro-sport 1.5 on-board maintainer is suitable for permanent installation in your boat. The cost is reasonably low, about $35. There is also a version with the typical awkward battery clamps if you really want to lug this charger out and connect it every time you want to maintain the battery. You could also cut off the provided connections and install a cigar light plug so you could back-feed your power distribution on the boat by connecting it to the cigar ligher socket as you described.
I find that having the 120-VAC powered battery charger permanently installed in the boat and wired directly to the battery makes it much simpler to charge the battery. One has only to plug in the on-board charger power cord to 120-VAC.

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Author	Topic: Battery Maintainer
baja_alabama	posted 10-18-2012 06:46 PM ET (US) I'm contemplating use of an automotive battery maintainer on my MONTAUK 17, plugging it in to the 12-Volt socket in a manner similar to the car's connection via the cigar lighter plug. Anyone know a reason this should not be done?--Ron
Chuck Tribolet	posted 10-20-2012 12:02 AM ET (US) The two name brands are Schumacher and Battery Tender. Both are good, I use Schumacher. You will need to be careful not to have a short circuit. Using a fused 12V plug will mitigate things if you do short things out. I've been doing this for years, no shorts. I plug the charger into the boat first, then plug the charger in to the 110V. Chuck
conch	posted 10-20-2012 08:07 AM ET (US) I use Schumacher brand for both my 15 foot Whaler and Corvette for years, both mounted full time. Never an issue. The cigar lighter socket may be wired after a battery switch which will have to be left in the on position. Why not give the charger its own inlet plug? Or mount full time. Not much more work and the wiring could be before or after a battery switch with an inline fuse. Chuck
Chuck Tribolet	posted 10-20-2012 11:36 AM ET (US) The charger has it's own plug: the cigar lighter. The only think the cigar lighter gets used for is the charger. I like having the charger on top of the console so I can see the lights. Chuck
tmann45	posted 10-20-2012 02:38 PM ET (US) I prefer the Battery Tender or Battery Minder. Both of these multi-step chargers are advertised to charge all flooded and AGM batteries. Both have a permanent fused pigtail option to attach to the studs of your battery with an insulated and capped connection to the charger. This way you can leave your main battery switch in the OFF position. The Tender has an optional cigarette plug. The Minder employees pulse technology to "desulfate" the battery, might be snake oil, I don't know. Either one can be found on the internet for around $40-50, plus shipping and tax (depending on your preference). http://www.batterymart.com/c-battery-chargers.html Tom
PeteB88	posted 10-20-2012 10:40 PM ET (US) I have three - Battery Tender, a C-something and one I picked up on sale at Sears Die Hard which I totally prefer. Readout easy and it seems to function very well. On sale often - retail is nearly 60 bucks I think I got it for 29 bucks.
jimh	posted 10-22-2012 08:43 AM ET (US) Ron--I do not have any experience with the method you propose for installation of a temporary battery charger. I am using a battery maintainer to provide a precision float charge to a 12-Volt battery on my work bench. I am using a PROMARINER PRO-SPORT 1.5 ON-BOARD MAINTAINER. See http://www.pmariner.com/productFeature.php?ProductNum=10116 The Promariner Pro-sport 1.5 on-board maintainer is suitable for permanent installation in your boat. The cost is reasonably low, about $35. There is also a version with the typical awkward battery clamps if you really want to lug this charger out and connect it every time you want to maintain the battery. You could also cut off the provided connections and install a cigar light plug so you could back-feed your power distribution on the boat by connecting it to the cigar ligher socket as you described. I find that having the 120-VAC powered battery charger permanently installed in the boat and wired directly to the battery makes it much simpler to charge the battery. One has only to plug in the on-board charger power cord to 120-VAC.