Yay or Nay to Guest Battery Charger?

[Catching Nemo]

I decided I want to put a charger/float controller in the boat for 2 12 volt batt's and I am currently looking at the Guest 2611 model series. I would appreciate any input on this brand or other alternatives in the same price range.

Thanks

[chucks electric]

hello, guest chargers are pretty good. i like pro mariner. the 2611 only has 5 amps per leg, just not enough. you want to be able to bring batteries back up no more than 7-8 hours you should use at least 10 amps per leg. if the charger has a metal housing ground the housing to the battery neg. this prevents using the ac ground if there is a short internally.

[Bluto]

Both of my boats have had Guest 2611's on them. It's a good 3-stage, compact unit for the money. Definately put in an onboard charger AC inlet/plug - mine is on my transom & is just sooo easy to walk up and plug the extension cord in.

[WaterDog]

No question about having one. I also have the 2611 and it works fine for me. I also have the plugin in the transom as well. I just plug the boat it after every trip.

[Pickles]

I have got a guest 2608 on my accessory battery, and it has been flawless. I am going to upgrade though to a dual bank charger, and am probably going to go with the Guest 2620 instead of a 2611. I like the idea of faster recovery times between charges!

[Starfish]

Guest units are very good and I've heard good things about their customer service.

If you're using it for routine battery maintenance and charging the 2611 is probably a great choice. If you're a tournament fisherman or guide that is discharging deep cycle batteries every day and wanting them to be fully charged the next day the 5 amp charge would be a bit anemic but for most routine uses it should work great. I had one on my last boat and loved it. On my current boat I went with a 3 bank Pro Mariner charger at 10 amps per bank because it was on sale but I never had problems with the 2611.

[Catching Nemo]

Thanks for all your feedback.

I looked into the ProMariner series and it is interesting that their system will actually divert unused amps to the other battery. For instance a Pro Sport 12 will do 6 and 6 or 10 and 2 depending on the needs of the batteries. Cabela's has the their own models (rebranded ProMariners) for $89 (Pro Sport 12) and $119 (Pro Sport 20). The only downside is a slightly larger footprint and double the weight of the Guest. Either way, I will be getting a charger with the transom plug!

:cheers: ,
John

[Catching Nemo]

Ok, so where have you guys mounted your chargers:D ? I have port and starboard batt compartments and it is an aluminum boat (any worries about grounding?).

[Capt George]

Using guest for more years then I care to admit. You can't go wrong there.

[WaterDog]

Ok, so where have you guys mounted your chargers:D ? I have port and starboard batt compartments and it is an aluminum boat (any worries about grounding?).

I seem to recall the 2611 has 4 wires, *** and neg for each battery. The other wires are for the plugin that goes the 120v AC. :shrug: I've got mine mounted on the transom.

[EULACHON]

First thing I put on the boat when I changed out to an Optima battery.

Guest is great stuff

Paul

[hot wire]

http://www.ifish.net/gallery/data/500/Taco_board1.jpg

Nemo-

This is how I did mine. I wired it so both legs go to one battery. While the emergency override key is turned, the charger will top off the start battery first, then once the voltage hits it's peak, the house battery gets the 10amps. It seemed like the ideal setup. I have had this charger on two boats and could'nt be happier.

The second photo shows the view from in front. I used a 110v rubber plug that removes when you want to plug in an extension cord to activate the Guest Charger. The BEP switches totally seperate the two batteries so that unless a motor is running and applying charge current (either the BF225 or the BF15) the VSR (voltage sensing relay) will connect the two batts and charge them up while underway.

http://www.ifish.net/gallery/data/500/medium/Fuse_pannel.jpg

I vote for the Guest unit. Wire in parallel and get 10amps of current.:twocents:

Tom

[Catching Nemo]

Tom,

Very clean setup! Thanks for the pics.

John

[tomictime]

Newmar Pt-14 w SS case, but I have three Batts to charge. Bud has the Guest for 2X and he has had no issues, he uses the Marinco 110 socket also, easy to connect.