1.5 amp onboard charger

[trap25]

Was wondering if a 1.5 amp battery minder will charge a deep cycle in 8hrs. The batt. Is used in my duck hunting boat to power nav.,interior and spot lights also once in awhile maybe 20min. Of trolling motor use. Battery would rarely be discharged completely.

 

[Silvertip]

Re: 1.5 amp onboard charger

Your battery better not be drained completely as it drastically shortens its life. As for a 1.5 amp battery maintainer charging a deeply discharged battery in 8 hours all one needs to do is run the numbers. A 1.5 amp charger puts 1.5 amps INTO the battery each hour. Your trolling motor (assume its about 30# thrust) draws about 30 amps/hour. I think that should answer your question. If you ran the troller one hour it would take roughly 30 hours to charge it. There is a reason those small chargers are called maintainers. It is because they are intended to keep a "fully" charged battery "fully charged" (hence the term maintainer).

 

[trap25]

Re: 1.5 amp onboard charger

Sounds like i need to use my standard charger if i use the troller. If just using the lights do you think the 1.5amp would top off the battery with an overnight charge. Light use would be about an hour total , with the spotlight used intermitent during travel.

 

[M9.9]

Re: 1.5 amp onboard charger

You might want to consider switching to LED lighting where possible to seriously lessen the battery drain, since nav lights are on for hours at a time and we have all experienced that left on the interior light--dead batt syndrome-lol. Less power consumed the less charging required; the less charging required the less amperage needed for recharging in the same amount of time. And of course trickle charging (1.5amp) a battery is always the best for the battery long term. Trolling motor and spot light will use juice, I don't see away around it except use in moderation.

 

[Silvertip]

Re: 1.5 amp onboard charger

You need to run the current use numbers like I did for the troller. A single small light (like an internal compartment light) will draw about 1/2 amp. If you have more than one, add them up. Spotlights can draw a lot of power. Look at the label to determine how much. If the spotlight drews 3 amps (again just an example) and you ran it for one hour you would need to have the maintainer on for over 2 hours. To make this simpler, for every 1-1/2 amp of power you use in one hour, the maintainer must be on for one hour.

 

[trap25]

Re: 1.5 amp onboard charger

Thanks for the info i think i can figure this out now. Are all the 1.5amp chargers about the same as far as quality or is it get what you pay for. Thanks again.

 

[Silvertip]

Re: 1.5 amp onboard charger

The way I look at this is a good battery (deep cycle or regular) is about a $75 - $100. Investment. Would you trust a $9.95 maintainer to regulate well enough to keep that battery topped off properly? I wouldn't and that's why my last five boats have all used Schumaker 1.5 amp maintainers. Up here in the tundra our boats are layed up six months of the year. My maintainers are constantly powered and the battery that was in the boat new goes with the boat when it's sold and it is still functioning normally. Depending on where you buy, I pay about $25.00 for them. Check the auto dept at a local farm supply store if you have one. Auto stores carry them but they are about $10 higher.