Stealth Charger Tops Up Batteries by Steve Morgan

When Wayne from Tuncurry Auto Electrics Batteries Chargers and Solar pitched me the spiel on his new accessory for tournament anglers, I wasn't 100% sold. Actually, let me re-phrase that: I was 100% sold on the concept but I'm a bit of a cynic when it comes to things that seem too good to be true as they usually are.

The Stealth charger is a small, waterproof unit that is mounted in your boat and connects to the battery system. In short, after your cranking battery is topped up by the alternator in your outboard, it diverts the charge to your electric motor batteries and charges them as your boat is travelling between spots on the main outboard. This happens when the voltage in your cranking battery exceeds 13.0V.

The Stealth can deliver up to 40 amps to your electric motor batteries - and it can charge up to three batteries simultaneously - not one at a time, like other voltage sensitive relays do.

You might think - like I did - that there's no way that it could make much of an impact on the charge your trolling motor batteries hold, but Wayne was smart. When he installed the Stealth, he also added a dash-mounted voltage meter that constantly displayed the status of the 24V system.

I was amazed when I went for a day's fishing after purposely not charging the batteries after the previous trip and actually returned with more charge that I left with! The manufacturers of the Stealth suggest that a 15 minute run in your boat delivers the equivalent of one hour plugged into the AC at home.

There's a lot of evidence suggesting that the fewer times you fully discharge your batteries, the longer they will last. Using a Stealth means that you'll 'deeply discharge' your electric motor batteries very rarely - as long as you're moving around on the outboard occasionally. This in turn means that your trolling motor batteries will last longer. By doubling the life of your batteries, you'll cover the cost of the charger.

I've had a Stealth charger mounted in the Fishing Monthly Stratos for six months. We don't do a Testing Booth on a product until we've given it a good flogging, and after running the unit through plenty of tournaments and a trip to Tassie, I'm now a converted cynic and wouldn't own a boat without one!

In the Stratos, the Stealth is hooked