Generator battery exploded

My charger has a selector switch for flooded and AGM.

hottoddie said:

I disagree with this statement about old "dumb" chargers. My 1986 390EC has the original ferro charger. I leave it on 24/7 all summer and it has never "cooked" a battery. On my last boat I had an expensive "smart" charger that did cook my batteries because I did not maintain the water level. Since then I pay close attention to the water level in my batteries. That was 15 years ago and never had a problem since with either new old type chargers. Don't let having a "smart" charger fool you into thinking you they will keep you safe.

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My original charger always had current flowing to the battery banks whether they needed it or not. Max life for flooded cells was 3 years and you had to check the water levels every month.

I switched to a Xantrex XC3012 Marine 30 amp Battery Charger 10 years ago and flooded cell life went to 5 years and the water level stayed the same for almost the entire season. The nice part is that you can set the charging profile for each bank to: flooded, AGM or GEL. It also came with a helm remote that provides a real time view of the batteries condition. For a while I had AGMs on one bank and flooded cells on the other two banks. Now, I have AGMs on all 3 banks.