Charging batteries

G

giolic

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I have full power (50 amp) to my boat all winter. I left my regular charger on so I'm wondering if that will harm the batteries. Should I be on a trickle charge for the winter ?

The Location of the boat is on land in New England.

Can I do any other harm keeping full power to the boat.
 
I think it depends on the type of charger.

Boats that winter in the water have their chargers on all winter but there is a slight draw when the bilge pumps kick on etc.

On reflection, a guy I know that stores his 40 ft Riv on land plugs his in on a schedule and does not leave it powered up 100% of the time. I don't know if there is a reason for that or not.
 
My fear of powering on and off the charger is condensation when it heats up.
 
Depends on the charger... If modern 3 stage it will be fine, if older model
put a timer on it and monitor the water levels
 
really depends on how often you visit the boat as unattended power cords can fail causing fire and batteries can be over charged. batteries only need ocassional charge if nothing is connected
 
I'll get the charger model on my next visit. If modern is within the last 6 years then it's a 3 stage. The batteries read about 12.7 volts on one bank and 13.1 volts on the other.

I visit the boat at least 2-3 times a month... soon it will be much more. I run lights off the batteries when I'm there but that's about it.
 
This does a great job for me... no attention (or shorepower) required, and keeps the beer cold too!!

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