Posts: 2752
Location: Mauston, Wisconsin | MuskieBob1- Not all smart charger's are smart, nor are they all fully automatic. No charger can detect the lead-acid battery type, meaning wet-cell, gel-cell or AGM. You have to read all the specifications or instructions for each manufacturer's product to understand what you have.
F.Ex.
http://promariner.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/PT_Manual.pdf
Ther ProMariner appears to be an fully automatic optimized smart charger designed for wet-cell batteries. Its ampere output is distributed to the batteries as needed. This means the total output rating is the ampere rating. It doesn't mean you get 3 x the ampere rating if you get 3- output model.
The float voltage of 13.3V is optimized to extend battery life and prevent overcharging and excessive gassing/loss of electrolyte.
Hint: Read the very last "Important Notice" in the ProMariner manual, e.g. about gel-cells and AGM's.
http://servicenet.blackanddecker.com/documents/English/Instruction%...
The Black & Decker is not really fully automatic, meaning you have to select the battery type and the charging rate. Once selected its a fully automatic smart charger designed to provide the correct charging profile. It also has other features that are not available in the ProMariner.
However, you would need three of them if you wanted to charge 3 separate batteries at once. I have two of them so I can charge both of my TM batteries at the same time, I can also charge Esox Mainiac's starting battery, or my truck battery and I have a spare if one fails. Having no means to charge your TM batteries on a trip to Canada would be a bummer. This year we used my chargers to charge the TM batteries in two camp boats at a remote outpost camp during our trip to Cliff Lake Ontario.
However, the Black & Decker is not typically permanently installed. You have to connect it and set it up each time you want to charge the battery. Having a permanently installed charger like the ProMariner is obviously a personal choice of convenience.
Its all about choices - my choices may not be the same as yours. Its much like rods, reels or lures or lakes you fish. The more you know about anything allows you to make better choices.
Have fun!
Al
Edited by ESOX Maniac 8/27/2014 7:22 AM
|
