T&T: Shore Power Charging - turn it OFF?

[Frank Burrows]

I have owned my 1979 43' Viking for 23 years. It has the original Raritan 
charger that was installed by the factory when it was new. Due to its age 
it has to be a ferroresonant charger. I have always kept the boat in the 
water and the electric hooked up to dockside. I have never turned it off 
and it literally has run constantly for 23 years. It charges two engine 
banks and a generator bank. Some years I cruised, some I lived aboard and 
some years it is just a weekend boat. I get way above average battery life 
from the batteries it maintains. My last set of Delco 8Ds were 9 years old 
when I replaced them with smaller batteries.

I am shopping for a new smart charger because I feel guilty about having 
such an abysmal charger but sometimes I wonder why. I am not sure my 
experience proves anything except that there are no absolutely correct 
answers when it comes to this stuff.

Frank Burrows     Destiny   1979  43'  Viking MY
      Piney Narrows     Chesapeake Bay