How Do I Know if My Bow Thruster Is Getting Charged?

"I have a separate 24V battery bank for my bow thruster. I know that it gets charged on shore power because when I leave the dock, it works." writes Kyle. "However, I was at anchor for quite a few days and when I used the thruster it worked and then stopped. Someone said that it may not be charged by the generator. How would I check this?"
Read our Boating Tech Talk Article, "Sizing a Charger for My Bow Thruster?", www.pysystems....
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[@nelsongilbert1695]

Great question Kyle! Great answer Jeff, thank you. One of many "onion layers" that should be made common knowledge. Boaters need to know how valuable this accurate online commentary is. If your seeing this, consider yourselves (lucky) informed and be thankful for this resource.

[@PacificYachtSystems]

Thanks Nelson for sharing... much appreciated.

[@leonply]

Excellent video. I definitely am learning from PYS! The main thrust (pun intended!) of the video? If it's part of the electrical system, it needs just as much love as the rest of the system. Always great to see you, Jeff!

[@PacificYachtSystems]

Glad you liked our content Leon, appreciate your input!

[@alexgemmell7629]

Definitely learning a lot from you videos, but I have a question: with the use of so many charger/inverters, why not remove the alternators rectifier and run the ac output through the charger/inverter?

[@erniefollis7827]

For a simple preliminary test, why not put a meter on the thruster battery and then start the generator and see if a charge is present? This won’t solve the issue of a possible undersized battery charger, but it would tell you if it’s receiving any charge at all.

[@jacobhicks7959]

Good stuff

[@PacificYachtSystems]

Appreciate it

[@jhance031]

Why not just have bow thruster run off house bank? That's how my boat is wired (Camano 31) and seems like a good setup and addresses most of the concerns Jeff brings up (house bank is monitored, charged via alternator, charged via a large charger).

[@PacificYachtSystems]

Hi W B, yep sometimes having the thruster run off a house battery works great... but sometimes the voltage drop caused by the thruster causes the house battery voltage too drop too low and some DC equipment can momentarily turn off.

[@jhance031]

@@PacificYachtSystems Even with engine running and alternator outputting a charge voltage?