On-board charger while playing?

I have a XPS dual bank 10/10 charger, vsr, battery switch, and two Optima Blue batteries. The charger's normally plugged in and the switch set to off so the banks can charge independently while garaged. I like to flip the switch and run the stereo while working on the boat. It's just over 1000 watts total & never crank it too loud in the garage - maybe 1/4, so ~20 amps @ 14V. The charger has "Tranfer On-Demand" so that supposedly all 20 amps are available to the stereo battery if the house battery is charged.

Will I damage the charger if I keep it plugged in while playing the stereo? Will a plugged-in charger act as a transformer & keep from draining the battery while the stereo's playing?

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Originally Posted by sybrmike

I have a XPS dual bank 10/10 charger, vsr, battery switch, and two Optima Blue batteries. The charger's normally plugged in and the switch set to off so the banks can charge independently while garaged. I like to flip the switch and run the stereo while working on the boat. It's just over 1000 watts total & never crank it too loud in the garage - maybe 1/4, so ~20 amps @ 14V. The charger has "Tranfer On-Demand" so that supposedly all 20 amps are available to the stereo battery if the house battery is charged.

Will I damage the charger if I keep it plugged in while playing the stereo? Will a plugged-in charger act as a transformer & keep from draining the battery while the stereo's playing?

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I do that all the time, never had an issue.
Even when i had my single digital charger the worst it would do is goto Error because i demanded more then it could charge when cranking a really good song LOL.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by sybrmike

I have a XPS dual bank 10/10 charger, vsr, battery switch, and two Optima Blue batteries. The charger's normally plugged in and the switch set to off so the banks can charge independently while garaged. I like to flip the switch and run the stereo while working on the boat. It's just over 1000 watts total & never crank it too loud in the garage - maybe 1/4, so ~20 amps @ 14V. The charger has "Tranfer On-Demand" so that supposedly all 20 amps are available to the stereo battery if the house battery is charged.

Will I damage the charger if I keep it plugged in while playing the stereo? Will a plugged-in charger act as a transformer & keep from draining the battery while the stereo's playing?

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There is a big difference between a convertor that acts as regular power supply plus maintenance charger versus a basic battery charger. A charger is not intended to run at its full rated capacity endlessly. It will eventually take a toll. And many of the chargers request in the manual that you do not do this. So the question is to what degree. If you keep the stereo system well below a 20 amp draw your odds of it lasting are better.
A 1000 watt stereo might draw an average of 50 DC amps at full unclipped power. As you reduce power the amplifier efficiency will decline so 1/4th power would pull more than 12.5 amps. Keep this in mind. A 10 dB difference is interpreted as half as loud or twice as loud. A 10 dB reduction is 1/10th the power. So if you perceive the stereo to be playing at 1/4 volume you should not approach the full capacity of a 20 amp charger. On that basis it sounds safe enough. Make sure your batteries are fully topped off first. The moment you see the battery voltage begin to drop, you are running the charger too hard.

David

Thanks guys - I'll be sure not to overwork the charger & unplug it if the eardrums get to feeling frisky...