Battery Charger - Charles 20Amp

[Canvasback]

Skippers,
I recently ran into an issue with dead batteries (house and 4D). Come to figure out it was an issue with the onboard Charles 20Amp battery charger overcharging and not switching to trickle charge. Now that I have new batterie$, I am suspect of the charger. Can someone tell me how to check to confirm my suspicion that the batter charger is not dropping to tickle charge when it should? At the very least, I am inclined to only run the charger for an hour or two at a time, and will definitely keep it turned off when away from the boat for any length of time. (In this case, my battery charger was a battery killer). Thanks in advance for any response.

 

[Stu Jackson]

What specific charger do you have. It makes a GREAT deal of difference.

http://c34.org/bbs/index.php/topic,605.msg2418.html#msg2418

The way to find out is to check the voltages you are getting. Without that info, we're just guessing.

Please review and come back.

Good luck.

 

[Canvasback]

Stu, just as I suspected, the Charles 20Amp charger was not dropping to trickle charge when it should and essentially overcharged and killed my batteries. The internal fan was not kicking in, and the meter was pegged. Output was a consistent 4.79 and would not decrease, not to mention that it was very hot to touch. So now I have replaced both batteries as well as the charger. My main concern now is the draw of the Waeco refrigerator. I have it pulling from the 4D (House) battery at the moment without the battery charger off. I want to see what kind of drain it puts on my battery for a given 24-hour period. My electrical panel shows two breakers for the refrigerator. All this time, I was under the impression that it was connected to AC when connected to shore power, but have learned through this ordeal that it is only drawing from DC. One of the breakers is obviously not connected to anything. I'm wondering if the frig has a dual DC/AC operating feature?

 

[jsalley]

The older 309's did in fact have dual power options, using a 110V rectifier that supplied the fridge with 24V DC when on shore power, and a separate 12V circuit when shore power was disconnected. The rectifier unit (located in the port lazarette) had a very short lifespan, and Catalina eventually eliminated it and went with DC power only. Not sure when the change was made - I used to own a 2006 C309 (#14), and it had the dual power. I went through 3 of the OEM rectifiers in 5 years before finding a (very expensive) Isotherm unit that lasted until I sold the boat. Hope that helps.

 

[Stu Jackson]

My main concern now is the draw of the Waeco refrigerator.

In general, for energy budgets, most of these fridges should and DO use 60 ah per day. They run at 5A for 24 hours at 50% of the time (5 * 24 = 120 * .5 = 60). Of course, your location (hot vs cooler) and the insulation on your box, will change this budget feature somewhat.

I have measured a 24 hour consumption on our Link 2000 ---

Record of Daily Energy Use of 100 ah per day:

http://c34.org/bbs/index.php/topic,6353.msg41471.html#msg41471

The text explains it.

 

[Canvasback]

Thanks John and Stu for your very quick and informative responses. Stu - knowing a good ballpark figure of 100ah per day for fridge power consumption is very helpful. I have a 10Amp Inverter installed for a TV setup, so will consider the combination of the two when projecting baseline drain while on the hook. John - I had no idea that once upon a time Catalina provided a rectifier unit. That probably explains the second breaker switch on the panel, and in my case now, the top breaker is going nowhere. I don't see any signs of a rectifier unit ever being in the port lazarette. My boat is a 2007 C309 (#105), so we can assume the change was made after the 2006 production year. You mentioned an Isotherm rectifier that worked better than the OEMs. If you have any further info (nomenclature, $$, installation tips, etc), I'm all ears! It sure would be nice to have the fridge running on shore power while at the dock.

Thanks again Skippers. Much appreciated.

 

[Stu Jackson]

knowing a good ballpark figure of 100ah per day for fridge power consumption

Nope, 60 ah for the fridge, the rest is lights & other things.

It sure would be nice to have the fridge running on shore power while at the dock.

Not really. With the battery charger on and the fridge on 12V it really doesn't matter.

 

[jsalley]

Thanks John and Stu for your very quick and informative responses. Stu - knowing a good ballpark figure of 100ah per day for fridge power consumption is very helpful. I have a 10Amp Inverter installed for a TV setup, so will consider the combination of the two when projecting baseline drain while on the hook. John - I had no idea that once upon a time Catalina provided a rectifier unit. That probably explains the second breaker switch on the panel, and in my case now, the top breaker is going nowhere. I don't see any signs of a rectifier unit ever being in the port lazarette. My boat is a 2007 C309 (#105), so we can assume the change was made after the 2006 production year. You mentioned an Isotherm rectifier that worked better than the OEMs. If you have any further info (nomenclature, $$, installation tips, etc), I'm all ears! It sure would be nice to have the fridge running on shore power while at the dock. Thanks again Skippers. Much appreciated.

Here's a link to the Isotherm unit I referenced:

http://www.defender.com/product.jsp?path=-1|2276179|2276204|2276226|2276232&id=825933

 

[TWM]

Lots of good info. We have just recently bought TWM a 2011 built 309 and I had the same question about ac to the fridge. I had a marine electrician have a look and he confirmed there was no ac switch unit fitted. He is fitting an auto pilot and plotter and will install an ac switch at the same time. Looking forward to some great times on board