3 bank charger

[eyexer]

I thought deep cycle batterys were only supposed to be slow charged 10 amp or less, wouldnt a 15 to 30 amp charger be hard on deep cycle batterys? I am in the market for a onboard charger but am hesitant to get anything over 10 amps/

absolutely not. The reason you want 15 if you can is because the huge deep cycles if they are really low won't fully charge very fast with 10 amps. So if your out fishing well into the evening and want to be out early, 10 amps may not get them totally charged. It used to happen to me quite often before I switched to 15 amps. I have never seen an onboard charger (marine unit) with more than a 15 amp circuit to each battery. There probably are some but I haven't seen one. Ten amps is borderline unless your using group 27 batteries. On 29's or 31's you really should have 15 amp circuits. I was running 31's when I was having problems getting them completed by morning.

 

[shorthairman]

So what would any of you recommend a guy should get for a starting battery? I'm pretty sure mine is shot. I brought it inside for the winter and put a charger on it the other day and the charger is telling me the battery is shot (can't remember exactly the message the charger was flashing). The battery I have now is an interstate that came with the boat. Like I mentioned earlier, I don't make long runs typically, but I run 2 finders most of the time. Had a not so pleasant return trip to the boat ramp with the wife one evening because I unknowingly ran the battery down while we were fishing. Wasn't bad as we weren't far from the ramp and the trolling motor batteries were good, wife wasn't impressed and now every time we go she is asking "should we turn the fish finders off to save the battery..."

 

[Muzzytipped]

Research (Dual-purpose) batteries. This should be the ticket for what you are looking for.