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| The Charge Pro Plus |
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You’re within a few ounces of winning the tournament, when your trolling motor batteries die. Sure, you’ll keep on casting, but without the ability to creep along silently your catch rate plummets—and you come in second place. As you run back to the dock, you realize that the energy being directed to your already-charged starting battery could have been used to recharge your trolling motor’s powerplants, if only there were a battery charger that could do this trick. Too bad you didn’t know about Guest’s new ChargePro Plus, a system that combines a Guest charger with an alternator power module. Once your alternator has charged up your starting battery, the ChargePro Plus shifts the additional energy created by your outboard to the boat’s trolling motor battery banks.
I tested out a ChargePro Plus running through my boat’s system with a 140-hp Suzuki four-stroke outboard and a 12-volt Minn Kota electric trolling motor, and it handled the job with no problem. The 140’s alternator puts out 40 amps, and the ChargePro Plus is rated to flow a current up to 70 amps. That means it will be able to keep up with the vast majority of outboards on the market since most put out 50 amps or less. The system has both 12 and 24 volt modules, and feeds 8 or 20 amps (depending on the model you choose) of power to the batteries when in use. Surprise benefit: since your trolling motor batteries spend less time drained, they’ll enjoy a longer overall life span.
Installing the ChargePro Plus was a piece of cake; the alternator module unit is relatively small and light at 4” x 7” x 3” and two pounds and the charger is 6” x 7” x 3” and weighs six pounds. It has two separate outputs, so you can even charge different 12 volt and 24 volt battery banks at the same time. And, although I didn’t test one on my system, you can also purchase a separate remote indicator for your dash, which will tell you what’s being charged and when it’s fully juiced up. Another thing I really liked about the system was being able to charge up the batteries on the run home, without even having to think about it. After days of relatively light trolling motor use and long runs home, I didn’t even have to plug in my onboard charger when I got back to the house because the ChargePro Plus had already done the job for me. For serious tournament anglers (and lazy-bones like me) who use their trolling motors until the juice runs out, the CharegPro Plus will give you a serious advantage.
Price: A little over $200
The Highs: Charge your trolling motor battery with your main powerplant.
The Lows: Not compatible with 36-volt systems.
Who Wants It: Boat owners with onboard electric trolling motors who need to extend their running time.
Contact: www.marinco.com
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