Do you keep your charger plugged in???????

[Aries 181]

Do you leave it plugged up or do you un-plug after charging is complete?

Thanks,
Bill

 

[Treed1]

Keep it plugged up

 

[tnfatguy]

I keep mine plugged up. emoFish

 

[Skeeter]

Plugged in 2 min after I get home and unplugged 2 min before I leave.

 

[TightlineT]

I charge and then unplug. I usually put it back on charge while I'm getting my stuff together for another trip, but it really does not lose any charge - I have green lights in a couple of minutes. Why? I had a short in one 10 or so years ago and about burned the boat, truck and house down before I was lucky enough to get it under control. I'm most likely in the very few people who have had problems, but I don't want to take that chance again. I don't remember the name of the charger, but I got it from BPS and when I went back to get another, they had stopped selling them - said they had had some problems with them. Hope this helps.....Jim

 

[brushhog]

plugged in right now

 

[elwestb]

I plug in as soon as I get home and leave it all night, then unplug. I know of three that the batterires blew up or caught on fire. I also know off two that some how the power trim set off and hung up. One burned up the pump and the other caught fire. I'm just a little cautious and skeptical.

 

[Carl Guffey]

<font face="georgia,palatino" size="2">I unplug unless I am fishing a tournament. A short is just one of those freaky things that will not happen if the unit is not plugged in. There is just so much time that a charger will last. Every minute that the unit is plugged in is just one minute less until it fails.</font>

 

[Possum]

Plugged in right now. They stay on charge unless boat is in water.

 

[stratos21xl]

TightlineT - 12/19/2010 7:55 PM

I charge and then unplug. I usually put it back on charge while I'm getting my stuff together for another trip, but it really does not lose any charge - I have green lights in a couple of minutes. Why? I had a short in one 10 or so years ago and about burned the boat, truck and house down before I was lucky enough to get it under control. I'm most likely in the very few people who have had problems, but I don't want to take that chance again. I don't remember the name of the charger, but I got it from BPS and when I went back to get another, they had stopped selling them - said they had had some problems with them. Hope this helps.....Jim

I think he says it the best. I also come in and plug mine up after a day on the water then unplug them as soon as they are charged back up. I don't want to take the chance of losing everything I own because I left my battery charger plugged in all the time...just my two cents.

 

[TightlineT]

stratos21xl - 12/19/2010 8:38 PM

TightlineT - 12/19/2010 7:55 PM


I think he says it the best. I also come in and plug mine up after a day on the water then unplug them as soon as they are charged back up. I don't want to take the chance of losing everything I own because I left my battery charger plugged in all the time...just my two cents.

My unit was pretty new too - maybe 5 years old at most. I was just lucky that my son walked through the carport and saw the thing smoking. It was not a wiring problem, it was something internal to the charger. I'll never leave one plugged up at my house again........Jim

 

[TKbigbass]

Bill Cornwell - 12/19/2010 4:32 PM Do you leave it plugged up or do you un-plug after charging is complete? Thanks, Bill

</p>

Plug up soon as you get off the lake and unplug when fully charged. If your boat sits for several days without use, plug charger up and check it prior to taking boat out again.</p>

 

[fishhog]

Always plugged in until I leave for the lake

 

[Fishingron]

Depends I'd say. Unlike men, all chargers or not created equal. If you're talking a $40 external charger, plug it in charge your battery and unpug it. If you're talking a quality onboard charger as I have, I plug it in as soon as I get home and unplug it when I get ready to go fishing. Been doing it for ten years or so with no problems. 1st, a battery needs to be recharged as soon as you get home. Don't let it sit around a couple of days or a couple of weeks. If you use a cheap auto charger and don't unplug it when the battery is fuly charged, you will boil the battery and shorten the life of it. (Ask me how I know) I suspect this is a common cause for some of the short battery life complaints I hear on this board. A good quality on board charger will pay for it's self if it extends your battery life for 1 season. 2 $80 batterys X 2 = $160 if you're runnng a 24v system. Easy to use, lift the door over the batterys and plug it in. Don't have to monitor it and unplug it or forget to unplug it and get to the lake and the trolling motor won't run because there's no water in the batterys. (Again, ask me how I know that)

Now the long and short of this story will be, whatever makes you sleep good at night. If your charger keeps you awake at night, by all means unplug it no matter what kind you have. I don't and I dont worry about it. Again this is me and you are who you are.

 

[Todd 450r]

Plugged up as soon as I get it in the garage. Usually unplugged the next day. Plugged in the night before a trip.

 

[SPEED FREAK]

STEALTH charging system keeps a small trickle on bats tha tkeeps them ready to go 24/7!!!