Lester charger vs. On board Charger test results

[barkerg]

Most of you probably followed my previous post on my on board charger dilemma with NOCO (kept dropping a leg and slowly killing batteries over time). I finally took BassCats advice and acquired a Lester (golf cart) charger. I used a commercial digital load tester as well as a multimeter for all data readings. Below are the results. My experience: US Army Maintenance Technician, Chief Warrant Officer 4 (23+ years active duty)Setup: 2009 Puma FTD, Motorguide 109, 36 VDC 3ea interstate batteries, 4 months old, 600 amps, 750 cca, (cranking battery seperate).On board charger: NOCO Genius charger 3 bank, 30amps (10amps per leg)after a full days of fishing (7 hours), with 15mph winds, trolling motor was running but struggling in the wind, took 33 mins for green lights and full charge.Test results:Battery 1: 12.01 VDC, 525 amps, good batteryBattery 2: 12.65 VDC, 583 amps, good batteryBattery 3: 12.52 VDC, 590 amps, good batteryNew charger: Portable Lester 36VDC, 30 amp max, have been using for a week, test results are after a tournament yesterday (0645-3:00pm), 10 mph winds trolling motor still strong, took 1hr 20 mins for full chargeBattery 1: 13.13 VDC, 674 amps, good batteryBattery 2: 13.09 VDC, 690 amps, good batteryBattery 3: 12.94 VDC, 652 amps, good batteryLooks like the Lester is rejuvenating my batteries. There is a noticeable difference in the trolling motor thrust as well as at the end of the day it still feels fully charged. I hope this helps as some FYI.Gerald Barker

[jignpig]

Nice read and good information. Plus, you lighten the back by 20 lbs…….96 Eyra/12 Mercury 175 Pro XS with 2015 single axle trailer2017 Victory Gunner

[clownshoes]

Been without an on board for a year and a half.Dont miss it.My noco looks nice in its boxC.O.D. Jr. III

[Flyswatter]

If on vacation and boat is docked on the water do you keep the lester stored on the boat?

[billius]

Flyswatter wrote: If on vacation and boat is docked on the water do you keep the lester stored on the boat?That would almost be a must…those things are really heavy. Id hate to have to carry it too far. Ive got one but never used it on my Cougar. I did use it a couple of times on my Baycat. It does a great job!

[rlb8s]

How do you rig for charging? Is there a special plug or do you simply plug into your trolling motor plug? Any pics of how it is done? Thanks.

[Flyswatter]

To me that is one of the draw backs. You got to find a plug to adpat the Lester to fit into your TM plug recept. It charges from the bow of the boat. How much does one of these thing weigh?

[falcooon1]

The Noco is a multi stage charger and in no way could charge your batteries, after the use you stated, in 33 minutes, They go through a bulk, absorption, taper and top off charge routine. There is something wrong and this is not normal operation of the Nocos. Energy out…energy in …. the math doesnt change …

[billius]

Flyswatter wrote: To me that is one of the draw backs. You got to find a plug to adpat the Lester to fit into your TM plug recept. It charges from the bow of the boat. How much does one of these thing weigh?Tom…I dont know what it weighs, but Im no little guy and it was a real chore lifting it up onto the front deck of my Baycat while it was on the trailer. That was until one of my advanced degree from college kicked in and I realized the cord was long enough to reach the plug in with the charger sitting on the floor.It really wouldnt be something youd want to keep in your boat. I plan to start using it here at the house, but on trips…Ill use the on board charger.

[barkerg]

Falcooon,That was kinda one of my points about the on board is the charging time. There is no way to make it charge longer due to its design so when it reaches its parameters it will turn off as programmed. You must remember that my batteries are not that old and I am only stating facts. I have had 3ea on board chargers on my boat and finally tested one against a charger designed especially for deep cell batteries like a marine or boat battery. I am in no way promoting any product just adding FYI for us the BCB family.Everyone else,I will leave the on board charger on the boat for overnight away use and the lester stays at home in my garage. I have changed the short cable with longer cables (from HD jumper cables)so that it can stay on the shelf and plug into my boat (trolling motor receptacle) when parked. The plug is a standard trolling motor plug made by Marinco and can be purchased on Ebay or your local dealer for around $20.00 make sure you dont get the one for R boats they are different. It is very easy to hook up just 2ea wires a pos and a ground you must ensure that you have your polarity correct and this can be done with a good digital multimeter. Hope this helps. You can contact me for pics or info [email protected]

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