P A Baddeley

Thanks Andy

Thanks that’s great as I have to put a fuse in the wire to the battery bank if leaving it permanently connected so a length of 6mm2 it is then. Andy

It’s a PACO 7 stage 20,000mA 12 volt charger for battery banks of between 134 and 400 Ah. When I say snazzy it is a comparative term to the ones I have had in the past. Andy

Thanks for the replies. Yes its a stern engine hole so damp etc may be an issue. I could put thicker cables onto the charger but I am reluctant to open it up to do so as that will invalidate the warranty, do you think adding thicker cable to the end of the existing ones would make any difference? Andy

I have recently bought a narrowboat with a semi trad stern where the engine lives under deck boards at the stern. The boat had a battery charger fitted in the cabin that led back to the battery bank in the engine hole via a length of wire that had been cut and joined in several places and as a result was about 8 feet long and then crocodile clips to attach it to the batteries as needed. Having had to use the charger ashore it transpired that it was dead and I have invested in a very snazzy thing with the intention of having it permanently connected as it says it was suitable for this. Reading the instructions it says that if doing this you need to remove the crocodile clips and replace them with rings. No problem with that. It also says you should not extend the wires as the voltage drop would make the unit ineffective - I also understand (I think) why that would be. The charging wires are about 3ft long and wont reach from the cabin to the battery bank. So I am thinking of locating a 240v socket in the engine hole and connecting the charger there. Only thing is do I then run into problems if gas is given off in charging and the presence of diesel etc? In an ideal world I would put the charger in the cabin and then I can see what it is doing without disappearing in the the engine hole. Anyone else had this problem and what solution did you come up with? Thanks