Charging Battery Question

[phebus]

I would love to go with the generator set up, but at the cost of approx. $900. for the generator, and $500. for the chargger is an awfull lot of money. OUCH!!!

[SHOCKWAVETOM]

Tom, the reason you it all look good when you put a volt meter on your batteries is they are wired together and one might be dead and the other one good is gonna read good voltage. I'm just not sure that a 15amp charge to 4 Optima's that equal 3.75 amps a hour is going get you a full charge overnight period. I put a 10amp charge on 1 Optima and it wasn't fully charged overnight. At the dam run you can check out my system and I heard a rumor that Party Cat and Jordy might be there so you can see his. I have a feeling the Genny/inverter deal is in your very near future because this other then won't work... Again been there done that!!!
I agree about the volt meter and will seperate them tomorrow night and check them out. I probably will not be fully charged overnight but I do have power available to me every night wether in the garage or slip. I plan on keeping it hooked up at all times since the charger will not overcharge/burn up the batteries. I will take a closer look at yours and PC at the Almost to the Dam Run. Thanks for all the help.

[SHOCKWAVETOM]

I would love to go with the generator set up, but at the cost of approx. $900. for the generator, and $500. for the chargger is an awfull lot of money. OUCH!!!
Better than buying new batteries every year or so

[BoatFloating]

I would love to go with the generator set up, but at the cost of approx. $900. for the generator, and $500. for the chargger is an awfull lot of money. OUCH!!!
Seems kinda of pricey I know but you would get rid of 2 to 3 batteries. And there will never be a question of battery problems with the stereo...

[Party Cat]

Party Cat knows what he's talking about but there is a few things I need to throw in the mix. The one Party is showing you is great for charging only but if you use it with a Honda Generator then you want to go with this. (http://cascadeaudio.com/prod/powersupp.html) .
http://cascadeaudio.com/images/aps_2003.gif
I'm a distributor for Cascade and you can see the prices and those are retail. I can get you one for $450 dollars for the APS 75. And the Smart controller adds another $35 dollars to the price.
The difference between the APS and the DLS is the APS is a Audio Power Supply like you see running stereo boards at Circut City etc.... The audio stuff will not hum thru your stereo at all.
Tom, I should of sent you this way to begin with but you didn't say you want to keep it in the water. I thought you were pulling it out everynight. You might want to consider the Generator once your batteries need replacing. The only down fall with these is you need to make your own plug. They come with a 2 foot 20 amp style plug not a typical 3 prong plug. This plug is one vertical and on horizontial and the round plug below it. I've checked around and there is no such adapter to plug it into. Cascade suggested that you get a heavy duty like table saw extension cord then make a 20amp box receptical and plug the unit into that. With 75amp charge you just can't use a normal extension cord.
Party Cat how did you plug your in????
I haven't really noticed the humming when charging and playing the stereo....On the water...I usually only run the generator if I've been out for a while and I want to keep the charge up.....At havasu...I pull the boat at night and plug her in overnight....The D31 Optimas have provideded me with enough power without having to recharge before my head starts to hurt....
Tom..I'll see if I can find the # for the guy where I got the charger from....Maybe Whipped Calliber still has the # cause I gave the # to him for his...
Rocky...I took a heavy guage 6 foot extension cord and put the 20amp plug on the one end....that plugs into the generator or to the house (the Honda 2000's outlet is rated at 20 amps)...At home...I have to leave the boat in the street so I ran an outlet to within 5 ft of the sidewalk to minimize the length of the extension cord...so far...I've not had any problems with the cords heating up both at home and while using the generator...
During my week long trip to Shasta last month, the dock where I kept the boat didn't have shore power...at the end of the day...I ran the generator for an hour or so while I cleaned the boat up from the days use and had a few beers ...I had plenty of power all week

[phebus]

So, where is the best place to get a deal on the generator? Is the 2000w necessary, or would a 1000w power it? I have checked ebay, and it seems $900.+ is the going rate for the Honda 2000w model.

[BoatFloating]

So, where is the best place to get a deal on the generator? Is the 2000w necessary, or would a 1000w power it? I have checked ebay, and it seems $900.+ is the going rate for the Honda 2000w model.
Yes you have to go 2000w genny the 1000 won't run the it and will go into protect mode. I think there are some places online for about $800.

[SHOCKWAVETOM]

Just grabbed a Fluke Votage Meter here at the office and will take it out to test the batteries this weekend. probably get way more information than I need with this tool....

[SHOCKWAVETOM]

Tom..I'll see if I can find the # for the guy where I got the charger from....Maybe Whipped Calliber still has the # cause I gave the # to him for his...
Thanks PC....Please PM it to me.

[Party Cat]

Thanks PC....Please PM it to me.
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