# What amp would be better for a 3 bank charger



## Catfish1027 (Dec 24, 2015)

And what brand is a good brand


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## skeeter88 (Apr 4, 2008)

Depend on how much you fish and how often?

Here some ideal 5 amp is good for once a week
but if you fish almost every weekend and maybe weekdays 10 amp would be great

They all have their problems,Me personally had 3 Bass pro & a Minn Kota they all went south after 2 or 3 yrs best way i heard was to buy a Digital charger that way you can keep up with them better& keep up with the battery fluid level. Hope this gives you an ideal on what you may want Good Luck


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## Catfish1027 (Dec 24, 2015)

Thank you for the help


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## MikeC (Jun 26, 2005)

I have a ProTournament 240, have had it for about five years and it's performed without any problems so far.


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## Catfish1027 (Dec 24, 2015)

I'll check them out thanks


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## rayscott (Nov 3, 2012)

5 amp per bank would be plenty for average fisherman. It will charge batteries just fine overnight. I use a 10 amp per bank so if fishing early the next day it will be fully charged. Three or four hours and it is fully charged.

I have had failures with a couple of the Cabela's marketed brands. I switched to Minn Kota chargers about five years ago and love them.


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## Catfish1027 (Dec 24, 2015)




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## Catfish1027 (Dec 24, 2015)

Think it's going to be one of these 2


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## crappiedude (Mar 12, 2006)

I have a BPS 3 bank 5amp per bank charger and have never had a problem. It's 4 or 5 years old and has never failed to charge the batteries over night. I fish year round and 1-3 days a week. I've heard of problems with all the brands so it's a crap shoot. My previous BPS charger lasted 10 years I think.


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## Catfish1027 (Dec 24, 2015)

There both about the same price but the protournament is refurbished


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## Bassbme (Mar 11, 2012)

As Ray said, 5 or 6 amps is fine if you're not going to be in a hurry to get your batteries charged after a late day on the water, and then an early morning the very next day.

I personally have a 10 amp per bank because I sometimes need the batteries charged quickly.

As far as what brand to buy, it depends on your budget. Although ..... some of the bargin priced chargers aren't bargins at all if they only last 3 or 4 years.

I've only used one brand of on board charger in over 18 years of using on board chargers, and that brand is Dual Pro. They're more expensive than the others, Although they do have a Recreation series that is more in line in price of the ones you posted.

The reason I've only used one brand over that many years is because the first Dual Pro I had just went bad last year. It lasted almost 18 years.

I picked up a new 10 amp per bank, 3 bank Dual Pro Sportsman series charger last year, and expect it to last just as long as the first one. The price on the same charger I got last year is $330. A 10 amp per bank, 2 bank Sportsman series charger runs $248.

The Dual Pro, Pro series and Sportsman series chargers are made in the US. The Dual Pro Recreation series I mentioned earlier are made overseas. I'd imagine they're still a quality unit though. The Recreation series chargers are 6 amps per bank. A 6 amp per bank, 2 bank Recreation series runs $142.

All of the prices I quoted above are from BatteryStuff.com, which is where I ordered the charger I bought last year, from. They have great service and fast shipping.

A 6 amp per bank, 3 bank Dual Pro Recreation series charger can be had from Tackle Warehouse for $229. If you've never dealt with Tackle Warehouse, they are outstanding. Fast and excellent service, and free UPS ground shipping on orders over $50.


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## George Holdridge (Aug 15, 2014)

I was wondering if the guy's above leave there charger's plugged in
continuously ? or just long enough to charge there batter's :
I use a 2 amp smart trickle charger on my starting battery &
a on board Lund 3 bank charger for my 36 volt trolling system :


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## MikeC (Jun 26, 2005)

If the boat's sitting still on the trailer, it's plugged in.


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## rayscott (Nov 3, 2012)

George Holdridge said:


> I was wondering if the guy's above leave there charger's plugged in
> continuously ? or just long enough to charge there batter's :
> I use a 2 amp smart trickle charger on my starting battery &
> a on board Lund 3 bank charger for my 36 volt trolling system :





George Holdridge said:


> I was wondering if the guy's above leave there charger's plugged in
> continuously ? or just long enough to charge there batter's :
> I use a 2 amp smart trickle charger on my starting battery &
> a on board Lund 3 bank charger for my 36 volt trolling system :


I leave mine plugged in round the clock during winter and most of the time during fishing season.


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## Bassbme (Mar 11, 2012)

The first on board charger I had, and the one that I mentioned just died last year was not a "smart" charger, so I had to unplug it once the batteries were charged. Definitely not convenient, but as it was a top of the line charger when I ordered with the boat in 1997, I have a feeling there was no such thing as a smart charger in those days.

Anyhow ..... the new charger is a smart charger so I could just leave it plugged in, but I don't. I usually go out and unplug it the next day, and then I'll plug it in when I'm out playing in the boat the night before I'm going fishing.

Since this is the first year I've had a smart charger, I plugged it in once the cold weather set in, and it has been plugged in ever since.


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## DHower08 (Nov 20, 2015)

I have a big 20A cabelas dual battery smart charger. Plug it in and forget it!!! Going on 3 years without a hiccup


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## ohiojmj (Apr 16, 2004)

You check out the smarter new chargers that can distribute total amp output to batteries based on need, so my 3 bank promariner sends lotsa juice to 2 trolling batteries and little to top off my starting battery that's better bang for the buck so to speak. 

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk


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## crappiedude (Mar 12, 2006)

My charger is a smart charger and it stays plugged in unless I'm fishing. It's a rare time that the boat sits for more than 3 or 4 weeks with out some use so it gets a work out all year long. Ice is the only thing that keeps me off the water for any length of time and thankfully we don't have much of that in SW Ohio.
Smart chargers are the only way to go and will help your batteries to last longer by not overcharging.


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