Hi John,
I have a different take on things:
1). Battery chargers should not be left connected unattended on a boat. The
acid can boil off, the battery can become hot and start a fire, etc. It's just
not good practice. If you want to charge your batteries over the winter,
either remove them and bring them home, or connect a more robust portable
charger that will properly top off the batteries while you are working on the
boat in the fall or spring. The small trickle charger you showed a link to is,
well... Cheap. Too cheap, and IMHO, not the right solution.
2). If your 34 is anything like our old 27 MKIII, there is adequate space on
the sliding companionway hatch to mount a small, thin solar panel. Some (like
the one on our old 27), are even robust enough to step on. Then, add a small
charge controller, ideally a MPPT version which are much more efficient than
the PWM ones. Finally, add a battery combiner that charges both the house and
starting battery when a charge current exists (whether from the engine or solar
panel). You can then run on the #1 or #2 setting, knowing the other battery is
charged and ready to start the engine.
The real benefit of going with the solar panel is that the batteries are kept
charged all the time. Even when the boat is on the hard. All you then need to
do is to keep an eye on the water in the batteries. By so doing, the life of
the batteries will be GREATLY extended (we normally got at least 5 years out of
a set of batteries) and I always knew I had enough power.
My boat too, lived on a mooring in summer. We ran a light load of electronics,
a wheel autopilot, stereo, and a few lights. We stayed on the boat every
weekend. We even had a small inverter we used to run a 24" flat panel TV
mounted to the bulkhead which had an antenna and an integrated DVD player. We
didn't use it a lot, but it was nice to have when we were facing a rainy
evening on the can.
The solar panel, controller and combiner may cost you a couple hundred dollars,
but you'll have peace of mind things are really charged and you won't spend as
much on batteries.
Worked for me for over 10 years,
Bruce Whitmore
1994 CYC 37/40+"Astralis"Madiera Beach, FL
(847) 404-5092 (mobile)
bwhitm...@sbcglobal.net
On Thursday, January 16, 2020, 8:20:17 PM EST, John and Maryann Read via
CnC-List <cnc-list@cnc-list.com> wrote:
Our ancient deep cycle charger died so in the market for a new one. Use it
only to top off group 27 batteries in winter and spring before launch. Boat
lives on a mooring, minimal electronics on board, normal engine running is
typically enough to keep charged during the season. Do not intend to permanent
mount in boat. Portable, multi stage, 1 bank nothing fancy is just fine.
Internet seems to favor BMK 12V 5amp
https://www.amazon.com/BMK-Maintainer-Detachable-Alligator-Waterproof/dp/B06XK7PM9F
Thoughts??
John and Maryann
Legacy III
1982 C&C 34
Noank, CT
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