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Am planning to replace my on board charger, I would like one that has an Equalization mode, 4 bank at least 10amp per bank.

Interested in your experience?

Current front runner is the Minn Kota MK-460PC. Have another MK330 and very happy with it on another boat.

Have considered the NOCO Genius, but have read they stop charging and require reset if something uses the battery, like an automatic bilge pump, etc. Have also heard they are sensitive to weak battery issues causing, a stop charging condition? Do others have this experience?

Are there others I should consider?

TIA,

Steve

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Replies to This Discussion

The stealth-1 charging system is one you should look at. With Stealth your main motor will charge your trolling motor batts while you run to your next spot. If for some reason your main starting battery fails, you can flip a switch and pull starting power from your TM batteries.

To me this product keeps your graphs from shutting down, keeps batts full for long health, and for very quick charging at the end of the day. Quickly and safely jump your main motor w/out jumper cables in dangerous conditions, and theoretically, you might be able to fish all weekend without plugging in.

It is lightweight, and fairly priced. On bbc the reviews are overwhelmingly positive, and while I havent bought mine yet, ive found danny at stealth an expert on the technology, and cust service oriented.
Hi Steve,
I have the stealth on-board charging system, switch that connects trolling battery one to the starting battery for jumping in a pinch, as well as the 460pc. All installed on my 20HP and would recommend all as they work great.
-Todd

Jake,

Thanks for the feedback. I am replacing a Stealth I.

Pros:

If batteries run low, The Stealth I's DC mode will charge all batteries while the big motor is running, starting with the cranking battery first, then when it reaches float mode it will charge the others.

It also supports Tow n Charge to allow you to use the same DC input to charge all batteries while driving your tow rig from place to place.

While I have had times when I needed to jump my cranking battery, primarily when I was running a 3 battery system, it was nice to be able to run the big motor for a while and know I was picking up charge and wouldn't be having the issue for the rest of the day.

Agree with you, on Danny's customer service and helpfulness.

I have also commented positively in the past on the Stealth I charger. But there are things I am not satisfied with.

Cons:

The very fact that it charges the cranking battery first and always keeps it at full charge, sacrificing trolling motor batteries( drawing power from them to keep the charging battery full when the charger is on) until it hits the float mode on the cranking battery, and then it will toggle in an out of float slowly draining the trolling motor batteries, if the charger ( loses shore power, eg Garage GFI trips, unknowingly) or when not on shore power the switch that turns the charger on is left on ( this can be on the water or on the shore) again it will drain the trolling motor batteries to benefit the cranking battery. I have had all of these conditions occur. Its easy to run 20 minutes in the morning and stop on your first spot and forget to shut that switch off. 

I have been suspect of the charger to bring batteries to a full charge because of their operation, even though the green lights indicate its fully charged, So i have compared the chargers full charge after several days  with that of my $70.00 B&D portable charger.  I have found that the Black and Decker will bring all batteries over 13.53 volts  where the Stealth never brings them above 12.67.  This measurement is performed a day after charging in either case.  I also performed specific gravity measurements following each and the Stealth rarely brought the batteries over 1200 where the B&D brought them to 1350-1400.

So will I keep the Stealth. Yes, for use to charge while running the big motor on long runs & tow n charge,  but I want a charger with independent bank charging, with an equalization/desulfation mode for long term health of my expensive trojans.  I want to go to tournaments with no worries about battery charge level.

 

I have had a several Dual Pro chargers and now have a Noco Gen 4. I must say that contrary to what you have heard, the Noco has been flawless after 3 years. I have 4 group 31 DieHard AGM's in my boat and it has worked great. Average charge time after fishing a tournament is less than 6 hours. Never one problem and my trolling motor batteries are now 4 years old going on 5. Noco is also half the size and weight of comparable chargers. I recently heard, not confirmed yet, that Noco just bought Dual Pro. Nothing against the Minn Kota charger, but talk to a well known local western Washington bass boat dealer and ask how many they had to send back because of problems under warranty.  It was not a small number. Noco has a great warranty and you can find the charger online through Noco or a dealer for up to 50% off. I bought my Gen4 for $179. Sign up on Noco website and they send out specials on their chargers that are unbelievable.

Steve,

I am confused by your statement referring to a "switch" on the Stealth1 charger...where is this switch and what is its function?  How old is your Stealth1 (maybe the original model had a switch and I just don't remember it)?  As I think about this, I suspect you do have an older model.  Mine does not have a switch, so there is no remembering to turn it on or off. 

I ask because I have been running the Stealth1 system now for a dozen years in several different boats.  My current Ranger has had it performing flawlessly since 2007, and I finally changed out my Trojan SCS225 batteries two years ago only because I felt guilty they lasted more than 5 full years of heavy use.  They were still strong when I gave them to a friend.

I have the voltage gauge on my dash, that always tells me the charge of my trolling batteries (and also my starter when I want it to), and even on windy tournament days on the Columbia I never ran my trolling batteries down to even 50%.  I start the day with my 36 volt trolling motor batteries collectively at 41+ volts.  This is one reason this system keeps your trolling batteries in good shape for so many years.

Probably should check with Danny at Stealth, but I don't believe it is possible for voltage to move from your trolling batteries to your starter battery.  If something was draining your trolling batteries, I would suspect something else was the cause...you don't have any electronics like your gps connected to your trolling batteries do you?

The Stealth1 does charge each battery independently, according to its needs.  It is not a battery isolator, but instead is a true charger that measures the voltage at each battery and sends the power it needs to charge it properly according to the state of charge of each battery.

If there is a better system that exists to provide the security you want for tournaments, then I would like to know about it.  Since I have been using the Stealth1, I have never had a problem, yet I have helped many others out there on tournament day to jump there boats.

I have a Minkota 460D and it has been great.

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