Well, I got tired of moving my one charger around so I purchased a two bank onboard charger but now I can't decide where to mount it.

My boat is a G3 1860 with a center console.

There just isn't space in the console so it will have to be mounted in the stern near the starting battery.

If I mount it inside the battery compartment, It will be really close to the fuel tank but it will be more protected from exposure.

If I mount it outside the compartment, it will have to go on the transom and will be more exposed but it says it is 100% water proof.

The instructions say to not mount it directly to the aluminum surface so I will be mounting it on a piece of wood that will me mounted to the hull.

Here are some pictures.

I would appreciate any advice or input.




Rear storage compartment with lid closed



Door open with charger positioned where it would go. Note fuel tank in the bottom of the photo.



The only other spot that it will go is on the transom.



You can see that transom is pretty high and would protect it somewhat from waves or splash over. It's waterproof anyway.

Glue a piece of that "cutting board" material to the transom and screw the charger to that. I would stay away from wood or any other porous material.

That is a good idea. If I end up using wood, I have some good quality plywood scraps and would seal, prime and paint it before mounting.

Any ideas on the location?

I really want to get started on this tomorrow.

I'm leaning towards the transom since I am hesitant to put it so close to the fuel tank.

But there may not be any real risk of having it there. Just don't know.

Can you turn your battery 90 degrees counter clockwise and stap it on the left side of the battery's longest side?
Or behind the battery?

I'll look at that tomorrow but probably not.

There is not much room back there and that would still put the charger close to the fuel tank.

Put it in the compartment like you pictured. There will be no problems with it igniting any fuel vapors as it is "ignition protected" like all marine chargers. I recommend coating the plywood with marine fiberglass resin to seal it. You can scuff it up and paint it if you wish after the resin hardens.

Those are good chargers and I have installed many of that brand over the years with no failures to date.

<-- boat mechanic.

ETA - Get some covers for the battery posts. Your local auto parts place will probably have some of those plastic caps laying around for free.

Don't do that. The strap will loosen up over time from bouncing around.

Thanks for the info! I'm off tomorrow and want to get a good start on it.

Remember to use stainless steel screws for mounting. Plain steel will rust quickly and cause corrosion issues where it contacts/threads into the aluminum.

Got installed today, hooked up and charging.

Need to get my wiring better situated and organized but that will have to wait for another day.

May have over done it with the screws but couldn't get any on the very bottom of my board and wanted make sure it was secure.

Marine fiberglass resin on the wood and stainless screws.

Thanks for the help.

Good job! Tie up your wiring and get some of those plastic battery post covers and you are GTG.

Thanks, I'm going to finish up all that this weekend.

I got my wiring better situated but I still need to find some battery post covers.

Perfect! Up and away from any bilge water that may accumulate. Check your local Auto Zone, Wal Mart or other parts house for those battery post covers. When I worked at Auto Zone (many years ago) we had lots of them just lying around.