T&T: 24V backup charger...

[Albin43SDtr]

'Lo All,

>   Here's my question...I have a couple of those cheap 12 volt car 
> chargers.  You know them -
>they're the type that have two big clips on the leads and are used to
>charge and/or jump a car.

On my first 'big' boat, a 36' Owens, I had a supposedly good, name 
brand automotive-type battery charger. One day, the engines wouldn't 
start due to low voltage, so I put the charger on it (placing it on a 
board between the two engines), sat watching it for a while and saw 
that it was charging OK. It was mid-winter in Virginia, so I closed 
the engine hatch and went down below to warm up. After about an hour, 
I had to leave, so I opened the hatch back up to disconnect the 
charger. The charger was still charging according to the amp-meter, 
but there were little blue flames coming from the top of the charger. 
Oh I forgot to say that those were gas engines.....

I have never used an automotive-type charger since without constantly 
watching it. I currently have two of them, one charges very well, but 
gets quite hot...no flames - yet, the other gets very warm when 
charging a deeply discharged battery for a hour or so.

Just my experience...YMMV.


Take care and be safe.

Wayne
Celestial
Albin 43 Sundeck
Near Panama City, FL