Optima Blue Tops, ventilation, On board charging.

[BrandonHa]

I am really sorry to be asking a question that has been asked in many different words. I have searched and cant really find the right answer. If I missed it and someone has a url to a previous thread that would be great.

I fish 2 - 4 days a week. I take it pretty serious. Well I did until I decided to remodel my boat. Thats another story though. I have an Optima d34 for cranking and another deep cycle (dont recall what it is off the top of my head) I will be buying 2 more Optima's here pretty soon. I will pass my other deep cycle on to a friend.

What I want to do is buy an onboard charger for the boat with my "remodel" I got going. I have not seen anything specific to Bluetops and onboard chargers. I know that each blue top has a specific purpose and am hoping there is a good solution in 1 specific onboard charger. My paticular configuration d34 for cranking and two more for the bowmount. They wont be the d34's though. I cant recall the Bluetop model that is specific to 24volt trolling motor.

So that is all one giant question Anyone have some links or insight they would not mind sharing with me?

Ohhhhh.. The batteries are going to be stored below deck in the center bow.. Ventilation..... What kind of ventilation would you think I need ?

Here is a link to my "remodel" thread.

thttp://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=404623

 

[Martian]

Re: Optima Blue Tops, ventilation, On board charging.

I have a D34M as my deep cycle battery. Yellow tops work too.
Charger settings of gel,AGM are not to be used. Use the AGM setting.

Venting:
-AGM batteries are sealed, therefore, no venting required for gases
-heat (think charging), securing and keeping the battery terminals safe are factors.
Regulations....I don't know the boating regulations in your area....check.

Optima has an excellent site and customer service: google is your friend.

I have a question on charging...I want on board off of the alternator and can't answer your questions on that....maybe someone else can help on that?

Martian

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Optima Blue Tops, ventilation, On board charging.

You need a three bank on-board charger. You do realize on-board chargers require 120 volts AC for operation and therefore are plugged in at the dock and have nothing to do with the engine. The alternator on your boat will not likely have enough output to maintain three batteries but then we don't know what you have for an engine.

 

[BrandonHa]

Re: Optima Blue Tops, ventilation, On board charging.

Its just a 1991 90hp Johnson for the motor. The boat is a Sunbird Seacore 173. We dont keep it in the marina anymore. Last year our trailer broke in half... Literally. What a mess that was. Lucky for us the boat did not hit the ground though. So we launched it and just kept it in moorage for the season and then took our time finding the right trailer.

The guy had either painted the trailer to hide the rust or in an effort to stop it from rusting. Either way we had no idea it was as bad as it was. It looked nice on the outside. What a hard lesson learned that was!

So yeah, the boat comes home and is just parked next to the house so plugging in is not a big deal.

Please correct me if I am wrong here. I am fine with the motor just charging the one d34 for cranking and leaving the other two for the onboard charger when I get home at night. But I would like to buy a 3 bank onboard charger like suggested so that it can just top off the cranking battery if needed as well as the other 2. But it is ok to have both the onboard charger and the alternator hooked up to the cranking battery without hurting anything? Obviously not at the same time, I understand that part.

Electronics and electrical are fine with me, but the onboard charger's are very new to me. The thought of an onboard charger never really came to me until I started tearing my boat apart. I want to put it back together and not have any regrets on leaving something out. Even if it takes me a lot longer to put the money aside for the gadgets, I will know I did it as best as I could

Thanks for the reply's by the way. Its very much appreciated and helps a lot.

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Optima Blue Tops, ventilation, On board charging.

On-board chargers and your engine alternator will not bother each other. They have protection for that. Your engine was designed to run a fair load of accessories while keeping the starting battery topped off so the question about that capability is not a consideration. As long as the boat is parked at your house and 120 volts AC is available a three bank on-board charger is really a very simple solution. Leave it plugged in continuously as they are designed for that. Or you can put it on a timer so it only runs an hour or so each day.

 

[brdhntr]

Re: Optima Blue Tops, ventilation, On board charging.

Take a look at the All Charge StayNCharge system. Basically, it charges all the batteries while you are running the big engine, then plugs into the tow vehicle and charges on the way home, and if you still need topping off, a direct hook to an automotive charger will finish it off. I am keeping 4 batteries charged with my setup. I run my trolling batteries dry just about every time out because I use the TM as an autopilot for stearage while trolling. They guarantee that if you don't like the system they will refund your money. I've had mine for 4 years and absolutely love it.

 

[Old & In the way]

Re: Optima Blue Tops, ventilation, On board charging.

BatteryMINDer specifically for AGM batteries.

works great.