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Discussion Topic: Battery Charging
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coling |
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If I have the boats batteries on charge using a domestic charger is it ok to use the boat's facilities whilst that charging is taking place - that is: lights, starting engine etc.?
Many thanks
Regards
Colin
Take my advice - there is nothing so nice as messing about on the river.
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essexboy |
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Provided you have plenty of ventilation around the batteries ! The gas they give whilst charging off is Flammable, so best to let them rest awhile before any possible sparks !
George Sims
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coling |
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Fair point and thanks. But what happens when using one of the proper marine jobs (Mobitronics/Sterling) that are designed for the job - ie they can supplement/charge the battery whilst it is in use.
Regards
Colin
Take my advice - there is nothing so nice as messing about on the river.
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16E |
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I would not recommend starting the engine while you are hooked to the mains. Your alternator may force voltage back to the charger with damaging results.
The limiting factor with 'services' is how many amps they need to work. A domestic charger is probably delivering about 4 amps so if you keep your demand below that level you will charge, over that level.. you can figure it out. Marine and leisure chargers deliver more amps for a quicker charge. Grebe has a motorhome charger unit that delivers 10 amps.
Mal
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Strowager |
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Mardles sometimes
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Many "proper" marine jobs are fully automatic:
. They can charge 2 or 3 batteries at the same time without actually linking them together,
. They will automatically drop down to trickle charge for each battery that is full,
. They can supply 12v demand directly from the mains supply without drawing it from the batteries.
Having said that, Mal is quite right, better to not run the starter motor whilst charging. If the batteries are low, then it could try to draw some of the current from the charging circuit. Most "proper" marine chargers are protected against that, but not all... 
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coling |
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Mmmm. But that is exactly how the likes of Mobitronics advertise their ability. They will match draw with input. Maybe the magic word is "match"
Regards
Colin
Take my advice - there is nothing so nice as messing about on the river.
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jaguar |
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quote:"......
Your alternator may force voltage back to the charger with damaging results.
......."
mal,how?
a battery charger is a transformer and works by induction so there is no direct connection from one set of coils to the other(or am i missing something )as far as i am aware the two sets of coils are insulated from each other.
not a criticism just a curious question.
regards,Mike
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Grendel |
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Mike - yes there is a transformer in there, but the transformer just brings the AC 240V down to about 15V AC, then the voltage is rectified and smoothed using diodes (or a fancy electronic equivalent) to get it to 12V DC (actually these voltages are slightly higher to achieve a higher potential tan the battery) then you get a bunch of fancy electronics to control the charging. So all the stuff after the transformer is at risk of being damaged by the sudden startup current being drawn by the battery, which of course an unprotected charger would try and supply, causing overload somewhere.
Grendel
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billmaxted |
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Going back to Colin’s initial question, and assuming that he is talking about a cheapo charger surely the answer is that if just using true domestic 12 volt lights etc. then there likely to be no real problem, although the draw could exceed the charge so the battery will slowly go down. It’s the comment about starting the engine that creates an issue. If it is a automotive charger and has an engine start option and is set to that I would have you would be OK but probably not otherwise. Whether you go for an expensive sophisticated option really depends on how often you are going to use it, for a lot of boaters who are not sitting on the boat on it’s home mooring night after night it may well be OTT.
Bill...(The Ancient Mardler)
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Nov-12-2010 @ 1:37 PM
