Battery charger recommendation???

[Destroyer]

Originally Posted by scook

The Guest 2610W (10 amp) charger that was on my boat when I got it seems to be dead (red light on constantly and the shop that did some other diagnosis says its bad). I have two Optima batteries in the boat and hear that their life is shortened if you charge them at too high of amperage.

Is 10 amps too much? What charger should I buy?

Thanks - Scott

Anything over one amp will eventually shorten the life of a battery if left on for too long a time. You can use a shop charger @75 amps or a home unit @ 10-20 amps. It really makes no difference except for the length of time it will take to charge the battery. The damage is done after the battery is fully charged and you continue to try and pump juice into it.

What you want is a battery charger that has a tapering charge that then switches over to a float charger. A tapering charger will decrease the amperage as your battery gets full, and once it's full it will then switch to a float charger that will constantly monitor your battery and pump in a very small amount (typically 500ma) of electricity if your battery looses some of it's charge from sitting.