transport charging

[familyman]

Just wondering ,has anyone set up a battery charging lead from the tow vehicle to the boat battery on long trips?If so is it effective?Are there any traps for young players ?BTW its a f/glass boat
cheers jon

[blaze]

Havnt done it
If I were to do it I would take a wire off the back of alt of vehicle and feed into wire loom/trailer plug and then take that hire from the light harness + a neg wire to the battery. You would really need to be careful how those leads were terminated when not in use, also be aware of the capicity of the wiring loom will carry the amp load over such a long distance. Further research would also be nessary
cheers
blaze

[phewy]

So you think its alright for the alt to charge 2 Batterys at once, with no auto switch system?
Something like this would be in order, cheap and not hard to wire up. http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI....550624183&rd=1

[coasty]

my mate has 2 batteries in his cruiser with out a switch in it.
seems to work but the leads are hugh.

[finga64]

Watch the voltage drop (both the postive and negative wires) and the charging capacity of the alternator.
Why bother. If the battery in the boat is charged already even a trip from Brisbane to Sydney will not loose enough charge to flatten a battery. If it does maybe time for a new battery.
Watch that if you use a battery isolator whilst charging the battery in the boat that the battery in the car doesn't go flat due to the electronics, injection, radio, lights etc.

[polydriver]

Just set it up the same way as if you were charging 2 batteries in your car with an isolator/vsr. Just use a longer cable (and obviously larger diameter) to run to the boat battery. I have done this for my caravan batteries and have many others. I can charge the battery and run the fiidge on 12 volt at the same time without any problems. Just make sure you use some sort of isolator so that it doent drain your battery when you stop for long periods and dont disconnect. See Heaths web page for more info on types of battery set ups.

[whichway]

Hi

I got a charger that runs off the cigarette lighter in the car and plugs into the boat. The charger includes some sort of regulator that limits the current to prevent blowing the fuse in the lighter circuit. That way I should be able to recharge a flat battery without any problems.

Got it from a dive shop at Tingalpa if that is near you.

(Note that as with most other stuff I have, I bought it, looked at it, put it away and have never used it)


Regards

Whichway