"George Rogers" wrote in message
. ..
Can you use an external battery charger to "quick charge" the boat battery
(after extended storage) without disconnecting the battery leads, or
should
the battery be disconnected first? Didn't know if the charger would have
any adverse impact on the boat's internal charging/electrical system if
the
battery is left connected.


There shouldn't be any issues with regards to the boat's electrical system.
Anything connected to the 12 volt system has to be able to handle the
extremes of voltage that will regularly be encountered, which is as low as
10 volts during starting and as high as 14.2 volts for a fully charged
battery. The situation can be even worse with some outboards with
unregulated charging systems.

There is an issue about safety. The battery on a boat is typically in a
much more confined space than on an automobile which increases the risk of
explosion, either from gas fumes accumulating from the engine space or from
hydrogen escaping from the battery itself.

Be careful and use common sense (like make the connections to the battery
before plugging in the AC to the charger) and you shouldn't have a problem.

Rod