Shore Power questions/concerns!
 

Recently bought a 1997 Outerlimits Stiletto, and it has a shore power hookup.. This is our first time with shore power so I'm trying to figure out how it all works and have a few questions. I know some boats have inverters along with battery conditioners, this one has a split on the bag of the shore power plug, one side goes to a 110 outlet inside the head, so that's pretty straight forward, the other goes to the original mid-90's Guest 20A battery charger under the seat. My questions revolve around the charger. Where it's an older unit, can it sense when the batteries are fully charged? I'm concerned I'll overcharge the batteries by leaving it plugged in for too long. Also, when it's plugged in, should have my battery switch on Both? Or each on its own? It's a dual battery setup. Just want some piece of mind that I can leave it plugged in overnight without risking damage..

Justin

I asked this same question about my TG, and didn't get a straight forward answer, mines a 30 amp original to the boat, I do know your charger should be wired directly to the batteries, the perko switches send the voltage to the rest of the boat, no need to have them on when charging,

That makes sense on the switches, thanks! Anyone else know if the older Guest chargers can sense a full charge?

Justin

I'd suggest that you get the model number from the charger and see if you can find a manual for it on the web. The charging features have changed quite a bit since then, so I'd feel better about replacing it with a newer model (which is what I did).

Good idea, I'll start there and see what I can find, to upgrade to a newer one is only a couple hundred bucks and likely is a much better unit.. Thanks!

I would consider getting one of these. http://www.pkys.com/FAQ/galvanic.htm

I would consider one of these.

http://www.pkys.com/FAQ/galvanic.htm

Plug the boat in for a few days, then check battery voltage (with it plugged in). If it is between 13 and 13.5 or so, it won't overcharge.