Effective Solar Battery Chargers For Boats
- January 30th, 2012
Modern marine battery pack chargers are equipped with a three stage charging system that makes it possible for it to charge various types of batteries to its optimum capability. It operates by firstly releasing a high current followed by a low current and a much lower current when it is just about full. The voltage and current induced by the charger and the time between changing from each and every stage is different depending on the type of battery you use. For example if you have a Gel Cell electric battery you can use the configuration settings for this type of battery by means of display console.
With the built-in unique software enables it for a slightly lower charge voltage and higher store voltage to protect delicate true Gel Cell batteries. Using a selector switch, you can switch between the different types of battery packs like the Flooded, Gel and AGM cell batteries. Other significant capabilities that commonly incorporated to a more sophisticated electric battery charger is the ability to adjust in any weather condition and ambient temperature, almost all chargers now include a program that allows you to choose between several hot and cold temperature presets. Different temperature configurations influence how the chargers run to reach its highest effectiveness even in the coldest and hottest part of the season.
An excellent charger should have safety features built into it aside from the standard circuit breaker and glass fuse that normally included when you purchase them and are also common circuit protection in almost all automotive vehicles and huge boats. It needs to have a reverse polarity safety circuit to prevent the battery and the charger from short circuiting in case you unexpectedly miss-wired it. This is very helpful in equipment such as the electric boat winch.
Some brands even have a fail-safe system that utilizes a timer so that it will instantly turn to maintenance mode when it exceeds the normal time it usually takes to charge a certain kind of electric battery. This will ensure that it won’t get overcharged and ruin the electric battery even if you left it unattended. Considering that you’re using it on a boat, you should get one that can withstand rust from humidity and salt water. Boats are often subjected to shocks particularly when there is a storm or big waves, your device needs to be shockproof.
Once you obtain a completely new unit it usually contains all the things you will need to install and link it to the battery pack. It is normally bundled with the regular mounting bracket and the screws to keep it in place. The wire to link it to the electric battery and the terminals and alligator clamp for momentary connection are also included. The length of the wires is long enough so you can place the charger close to the battery.
If you wish to place it away from the batteries, you need to purchase longer wires. Similar with the input, usually it only include about 6 feet of cord wire so you have to use an expansion cord or if you want you can wire it using a heavy-duty on-board charger inlet so you can just connect it from the outside of the boat. You must also find one with the suitable size or capacity, you can select from 30, 15, 10 and 6 amps charger. Choosing an underrated one will take it longer to charge and sometimes will trigger a breakdown activating the fail-safe protection timer that stops it from overcharging.