| Name: |
Mack
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| Subject: |
Battery Maintainers??
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Date:
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4/5/2011 5:27:40 PM
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Last year I got all fired up over using solar panel 5 watt maintainers. Didn't do it for various reasons.
Now I see there are small AC powered 1 amp maintainers that mount onboard, permanently connected to the battery. Plug in to an extension cord whenever the boat is not in the water, and all Winter long.
Anybody here got experience with these gizmo's? Sounds like a good solution.
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| Name: |
Tall Cotton
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| Subject: |
Battery Maintainers??
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Date:
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4/5/2011 8:22:45 PM
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Mack, I have one on all 3 cranking batteries on the houseboat. They have worked well for a couple of years. They don't charge so hard that keeping water in the batteries is a problem and have worked well so far. I got mine from Harbor Freight or Northern Tool ( I have half-timers so I don't remember which :-)) when they were on sale for $9.95. I have a regular 40 amp for the house batteries and have to fill them at least monthly.
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I use Smart Chargers (I have 3). They are about $40 at Sams and are quite versatile. They have a built in computer that automatically shuts the charger off (when a battery is charged) and then will automatically turn back on when it senses a voltage drop so It can stay hooked up all winter. It will also analyze the battery for bad cells, it has a refurbish function, and a 75 amp boost start function for weak batteries. Great little unit.
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| Name: |
Mack
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| Subject: |
Battery Maintainers??
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Date:
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4/6/2011 5:23:14 PM
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Found a Schumacher 1.5Amp model at Sam's site for $18.88 each that reads like it will do the job OK. Waterproof for mounting permanently in engine compartment next to batteries. The only negative I see is that if I forget to plug it in to AC, the LED's on the unit might discharge the battery over time. Thanks for the advice.
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| Name: |
Mack
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| Subject: |
House Batteries??
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Date:
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4/6/2011 5:25:17 PM
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Cotton, what are you talking about? You got standby battery power in your home??
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| Name: |
Pontoonfisher
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| Subject: |
Battery Maintainers??
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Date:
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4/7/2011 7:14:08 AM
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Not sure I would get one of these. Why don't you get a full on charger? I don't know how well a maintaner will do if your batteries have a very low charge. I would just get a marine charger. Most switch to a maintaning mode when the battery is charged so it can be left on year round.
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| Name: |
MrHodja
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| Subject: |
Battery Maintainers??
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Date:
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4/7/2011 9:27:13 AM
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Be careful with those cheap "float" chargers sold by Harbor Freight and others. I put one on a Waverunner battery one winter and it boiled the thing dry and completely ruined it.
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| Name: |
GoneFishin
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| Subject: |
Battery Maintainers??
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Date:
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4/7/2011 5:24:11 PM
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Hodja and I finally agree on something. Maybe, we need to stay in this Forum Hodgie.
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| Name: |
Summer Lover
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| Subject: |
Battery Maintainers??
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Date:
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4/8/2011 2:00:32 PM
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I was considering buying three - one for the mower, one for the boat, and one for the PWC. Instead, I charged the boat every 6 - 8 weeks, and ran the PWC most of the winter. I guess that means I just have to buy one battery instead of three.....
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| Name: |
Mack
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| Subject: |
Battery Maintainers??
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Date:
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4/8/2011 6:32:41 PM
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I trust the name Schumacher and think I'll give it a go on three units for the boats. I absolutely hate getting to the lake to find dead 18 month old batteries that will not charge, then a rush trip into AC to find a battery. The investment is not much compared to the cost of replacing batteries nearly every year. They claim the unit switches to trickle when the battery is topped off. If it indeed boils the battery out, then I'll scream and holler and go buy a new battery, again.
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| Name: |
MrHodja
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| Subject: |
Battery Maintainers??
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Date:
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4/8/2011 8:43:09 PM
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Mack, the one I used was some off-brand from Harbor Freight that was only intended to be a float charger....Schumacher is a known brand and if they say it will just keep a trickle on it, then it probably will.
The other thing is that Waverunner batteries don't seem to get to the point that the charger knows to revert to trickle. I have a 1.5 amp charger that is supposed to shut off when the battery gets fully charged, then come back on when it drops to a certain level. It does just that on an automotive size battery, but never shuts off on a Waverunner battery. In fact I think I just toasted another Waverunner battery...:>(
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