Ok to leave onboard charger plugged in for extended periods?

florida gator · 05-21-2008, 11:28 AM

I plugged in my onboard charger yesterday before leaving town for several days and forgot to unplug prior to leaving. Is it ok to leave a charger hooked up or should I find someone to go by my house and unplug?

Answer should be good for me long term since I am often on the road for work and would like to know the batteries are charged when returning.

BY U BOY · 05-21-2008, 11:35 AM

You should be fine> thats what they are made for.

Dock Holiday · 05-21-2008, 11:43 AM

I leave mine on all winter.

US1 Fountain · 05-21-2008, 01:05 PM

Does yours drop down to the 'float/maintainer' cycle after reaching full charge?

Steve Zuckerman · 05-21-2008, 04:52 PM

Hi Guys,
I run one too. They are great. It also comes in handy dockside when 110V is available, allowing me to run lights/fans/stereo/DVD/etc without having to worry with shore power wiring.
The only thing to be wary of is a voltage spike from lightning.
I have seen it burn out an onboard charging system. I can't remember if it fried anything else (on a friend's boat).
I think it would help the other systems (ECU/ignition/stereo/etc) to make sure the battery switch is off to isolate them from a voltage spike (the hot side, anyway) coming through the charger and batteries.
Steve

ezstriper · 05-22-2008, 11:00 AM

depends on whether it will shut down when batts fully charged and float...some just keep charging and boil the batts to death

florida gator · 05-22-2008, 12:32 PM

I'm not sure what kind it is. I have really only used it for short periods just prior to going out. I guess I will see Monday. Thanks for the input.

Velocity Vector · 05-22-2008, 12:39 PM

If your boat looks like a melted ice cream cone when you get back you left it on to long.

4mulafastech · 05-22-2008, 01:36 PM

I follow these recommendations (see page 2). They are not a fan of trickle chargers...

http://www.eastpenn-deka.com/assets/base/0273.pdf

offthefront · 05-22-2008, 02:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 4mulafastech

I follow these recommendations (see page 2). They are not a fan of trickle chargers...

http://www.eastpenn-deka.com/assets/base/0273.pdf

A trickle charger is exactly as named and always provides a small amount of current to maintain voltage levels ....the new smart chargers are susposed to be able to monitor voltage and not overcharge ....not sure how well they work ....but I do know that since I added an onboard charger all my battery problems ended .....m