Battery charger cable lengthening

[Kevin]

Can the length of the charging leads be lengthened with out negatively affecting how a smart charger works? I only need about three more feet to get the batteries where I want them. I thought I read that you were not supposed to cut and splice those wires but I am not sure.

[Harry Babb]

I had the same question Kevin.

Soooooo......what I did was to put a terminal block within the reach of the Battery Charger.......and run wires from the Batteries to the "Terminal Block"......and from the Battery charger to the Terminal Block...... Works very good. I used #14 wire size......and the battery charger is only 15 Amp.

So far the batteries are staying charged and the boat has not burnt to the waterline.

hb

[mike ohlstein]

I have tried and failed.

I think that the charger is now reading additional resistance and freaking out.

I wound up with a second charger for batteries on the other side......

[Bruce]

Kevin,
Depends on charger output and wire size your using as to whether 3 foot of additional wire will add any resistance.

The only way to splice a wire in that situation is use a tinned butt splice, crimp them solder with rosen core and get hot enough to make the solder flow and when it sets it should be shiney. Dull color indicates a cold bad joint.
Seal the connection with heat shrink tubing with glue for sealer.

If your wire is copper and not tinned copper, make sure you use some flux to clean.


Edited to add,

Did your charger come with output put leads already attached to charger?

[bob lico]

Mike the charger is installed just forward of the draw ( toward the hull ) under the forward salon seat. 3 outputs of 40amp each goes to a 30amp surface mounted breaker mounted on the flat area under the seat frame .You can view the battery charger output/ settings by removing cushion about 5 seconds . The output of each of the three respective breakers goes to isolation blocks or directly to each of the three banks ( port engine,starboard engine, house with gen.) use # 6 gauge wire to banks. Battery charger in this location will last a thousand years.trust me there will be no voltage drop . Any problems give me a call!.

[Rawleigh]

Kevin: What make charger?

[IRGuy]

I installed a new Xantrex TruCharge 40 A charger last year.. as I recall I ran #8 wire between the charger and each battery bank. The distance between the charger and the battery banks is about 8 feet. I understand that modern chargers have some type of circuit that senses resistance in the battery (bank) being charged and will shut down the charger if the battery has some kind of internal problem.. and possibly lengthening the line between the charger with too small conductors increases the resistance in the charger's output circuit which is read as resistance high enough to cause this circuit to shut down the charger.

Something I learned while researching charger installation is that each circuit between the charger and each battery bank is supposed to be protected by a fuse or breaker located as close as possible to the batteries. See ABYC E-11. I never looked particularly for these in other boats, but I bet the vast majority do not have this protection installed, except Bob Lico's.

[Charlie J]

frank
the xantrex also has a internal fuse, mine took a crap after sandy
will have to pull the cover off and see if its the fuse

[Kevin]

I have Noco Genius 3 bank multi-stage charger. There are no provisions to change the leads as they are one with the charger. There is a small plastic device right where the black and red wire split about a foot before the battery. It may just be there to keep the wires from pulling apart.

[Bruce]

Kevin,
They list extension cables on their web site, so the wires should be able to be extended. The only issue is whether they are burying any caps or resistors in the plastic tab on the cable. Give em a call to see.

[bob lico]

frank here is the installation ;true charge 40amp installed 10 years ago on 24/7 for 10 years (minus hurricane sandy) .i dusted off after 10 years ,0 maintenance use #6 gauge wire from 3 outputs to isolation blocks located under rear salon seat this charger is located under forward salon seat high and dry for a 100 years.charger is fed by dedicated 30ampere breaker in main panel and wire is contained within raceway as well as as all high (110volt)branch circuits in verizon corp. fiber optic tubing. this raceway is impervious to rot,UV,waterproof and all other harsh elements.