Battery charger question

[capricorn38]

Hi all, being new to a larger boat ownership I have lots of questions.
We keep our boat in a pen mooring with shore power always connected when in the pen. We have always turned off every thing electrical on the boat when we are not on board except for the following,
Fridge
Freezer
shower sump pump
Battery Charger
I turn all main engine, house and gen set isolator switches off so the electrical system runs from the shore power.
My question is; is this ok to always have the battery charger on 24/7 or should I turn it off?
Any insight or advise would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers James

[StuM]

Originally Posted by capricorn38

Hi all, being new to a larger boat ownership I have lots of questions.
We keep our boat in a pen mooring with shore power always connected when in the pen. We have always turned off every thing electrical on the boat when we are not on board except for the following,
Fridge
Freezer
shower sump pump
Battery Charger
I turn all main engine, house and gen set isolator switches off so the electrical system runs from the shore power.
My question is; is this ok to always have the battery charger on 24/7 or should I turn it off?
Any insight or advise would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers James

What sort of battery charger?

[capricorn38]

Hi Stu, I am pretty sure the brand is Dolphin and its an 80 amp unit, I will have to get details next time trip down.

cheers James

[StuM]

If you've got a Dolphin, they are smart chargers and you should leave it on to keep your batteries at float.

[capricorn38]

That's good news Stu, I was worried I was doing the wrong thing, I was speaking to a guy the other day and the topic came up and he questioned wether leaving the charger on all the time might cook the batteries.
Thank you for the help Stu.

Cheers James

[Velella99]

You might also see significant charge voltage variance depending when you look at the battery voltages. This is normal as intelligent chargers have a programmed charge cycle even when the battery seems to be on mostly full charge all the time. For instance you might note the float voltage is 13.6V but one day you'll come in and see it at 14.7 volts during a phase of the charger program This is an expected feature of such chargers and it's just them looking after your batteries. You'll soon see the batteries revert to float voltage.

Sent from my SM-G920I using Cruisers Sailing Forum mobile app

[SteveInMD]

Keeping a battery at float voltage (smart charger on) reduces the opportunity for battery sulfation. If you have wet cell batteries you will need to keep up with proper maintenance - checking the electrolyte levels and adding water as needed. With the charger on 27/7 you will need to add water slightly more often, but if you have a good charger it will not be a lot more often.