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Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Know How A Marine Battery Charger Works

By Mavic Bell


The marine battery charger is among the essential marine electronics used in sea vessels and boats. It is important in maintaining marine batteries. However, you cannot simply purchase any battery charger because marine batteries have varying capacities and maintenance requirements.

Among other factors, proper charging plays a crucial role in battery maintenance. Both overcharging and undercharging can reduce the life of batteries. Thus it is important that you know how marine batteries function in order to choose the proper charger.

Among the things you must take into account when choosing a charger for a marine battery is the type of the battery. In general, there are three types of marine batteries: gel cell, flooded cell, and AGM (absorbed glass mat). These are all lead-acid batteries. Yet they are different in terms of costs, applications and maintenance requirements. Thus, each necessitates a certain kind of marine battery charger.

The flooded-cell type is said to be the most cost-effective among the three. AGM and gel-cell batteries are more costly but they are able to hold a charge better.

Take note that your marine battery can last long provided that you observe proper charging practices. You should not also leave the battery in a discharged state for any given time. Overcharging, however, can also reduce battery life.

In general, lead-acid batteries should not be discharged less than 50 percent. The typical charge range for marine batteries is between 50 and 80 percent. It takes more time to charge a battery between 80 and 100 percent than it does to charge it between 50 and 80 percent.

When buying a battery charger, you have to identify first the specifications of your battery. Aside from considering the type of the marine battery, know also its other aspects like amp-hour capacity and input voltage.

The charging rate of the battery is also affected by temperature, therefore pick a marine battery charger that has temperature compensation circuitry.




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