I have purchased a very nice battery charger for my dual bank batteries and will install it as soon as the weather permits. My only problem is that the electric cable is a plug in, and the cables are 18 inches too short. Has anyone hard wired one to your boat and extended the cables? Suggestions would be appreciated.
Does your boat have shore power? Marc
Ted, a picture or model of charger would help, If you are talking about the leads going from charger to battery, they are probably sized and it might be a problem lengthening them. Can you put the charger closer?
If you are talking about the AC plug, it should not be a problem but a little more info would help,
Tim
Knowing the make/model of the charger would help. Also, knowing if your boat has an existing shorepower setup and how it is configured would be useful too.
I would try and wire the charger downstream of a GFCI-equipped outlet, so that it is protected in case of a ground fault.
Extending the AC side of the wiring isn't usually a problem, since all you generally have to do is cut the plug off and butt splice the wiring. However, you should make sure that the gauge of the wiring is rated for the load/distance it will have to carry.
I would highly recommend using adhesive lined heat shrink crimp-style butt connectors, like those found HERE (http://www.sailorssolutions.com/index.asp?page=Products&SubCategoryID=83&SubCategory=Crimp%20Connectors&Category=Electrical), as well as marine grade wiring, also found on that site. They also have the proper ratcheting crimp connector tool (http://www.sailorssolutions.com/index.asp?page=ProductDetails&Item=WP042) for a very good price there.
Marc and all....
The Make of the charger is Dual Pro. I do have shore power. My previous battery charger, a NewMar 20 was hard wired to the AC panel and the battery charger breaker. If I can successfully hard wire the AC plug into the breaker panel and extend the leads I will have a very nice setup. It is possible to move the charger closer to the batteries but to a far less convenient location. The previous charger was mounted right next to the AC panel box in the stbd lazarette and was also hard wired into the battery selector with just two cords. All the new batteries have + and - cords for each battery. I hope you can help me sort this out.
Ted
Sorry...I meant all the new battery chargers have + and - cables to be directly attached to the batteries and not the battery selector.
Don't confuse the concept of a electrical battery, which may be made up of more than one physical battery, with that of physical batteries. Most two-bank chargers will charge multiple batteries, provided they're connected properly. The charger, if it is a two-bank charger, will have two + leads and two - leads... one set for the first battery bank, which may consist of several batteries connected in parallel, and one for the second bank.
What I would recommend is that you connect the new battery charger to the same AC panel breaker as the old one was connected to, and then connect one set of the charging leads to your house bank, and the other to the starting bank.
Thanks AAS for the enlightening info. I'll find a closer spot to locate the charger then wire to the AC panel. The AC cord is 8 ft long, so I'll have no problem with that reaching, and the cables will be close enough to connect easily.
Glad to help. :)