I need to replace my old battery charger...

J

jbrudzinski

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Jun 1, 2013
14
Hunter 306 Treasure Island
Good day everyone. The ProTech 1230 battery charger on my Hunter 306 has served the boat well for over 15 years, but it finally gave up this spring. I am hoping to get some feedback from real users about the various options out there. Pro Mariner has a many choices. The Pronautic 1230P is a logical choice, but for nearly twice the cost of many other options I'm not if it is worth it? I only use 2 AGM batteries (one start and one for house). House demand is minimal, lights, radio, fans (no AC, TV, etc.).

I'm not sure if its worth the investment to purchase a high end charger for my basic needs? Any thoughts? Thank you.
 
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bawlmer

bawlmer

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Sep 15, 2013
707
Catalina 270 Baltimore
I recommend the Sterling Pro Charge Ultra. I just replaced my old charger with one last week and it works exactly as advertised. One of my batteries failed so after replacing my batteries I wanted a charger that would maximize the life of my new batteries. After reading all the horror stories on this board about batteries and chargers I decided not to scrimp. You can get it from Compass Marine (Maine Sail) at an excellent price. I have 2 group 24 wet cells and I bought the 20 amp model. That is my .02 worth.

http://shop.marinehowto.com/products
 
Bob S

Bob S

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Sep 27, 2007
1,771
Beneteau 393 New Bedford, MA
I agree with Bawlmer. I put the 30A version on my Catalina 30 and was very happy with the results. i had rewired my boat back in 2008 with all charging going to the house bank and an echo to do the reserve. I followed the advise of Stu and Maine's how to. The two group 31's I installed back in 2009 are still going strong.
I recently bought the 40A version from Maine Sail site for our new to us boat which I hope to take possession in the next few weeks.
Good luck!
 
Johann

Johann

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Jun 3, 2004
424
Leopard 39 Pensacola
When my protech 1230 went bad years back I called protech about repair cost... They couldn't repair it, but gave me a super deal on a new model... Just a thought...
 
Gunni

Gunni

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Mar 16, 2010
5,937
Beneteau 411 Oceanis Annapolis
You will want to look for a temp-compensated smart charger that has programming specific to AGM battery charge profiles. Because you run AGMs you can take advantage of their much faster charge acceptance by buying a charger with a higher amperage output. Suggest you study the documentation provided by Maine Sail, here and on his web site Compass Marine. The guy has tested and analyzed this subject extensively...and he is a marine tradesman. Hands on.
 
Stu Jackson

Stu Jackson

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Feb 26, 2004
22,770
Catalina 34 224 Maple Bay, BC, Canada
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jssailem

jssailem

.
Oct 22, 2014
21,088
CAL 35 Cruiser #21 moored EVERETT WA
JB
I became a Sterling Pro charger owner and installed it this past February. Love it. Batteries love it.
Fantastic service and great pricing from MaineSail's site (https://marinehowto.com/) ...
For me it is a no brainer.
Your boat your choice.
Stu Jackson said:
The issue is whether you think getting a less quality charger is worth killing batteries.
Click to expand
Spot on Stu.

JB.. They say "you pay me now or you pay me later..." But you can never recover the lost sailing time for not doing the right thing.
 
J

jbrudzinski

.
Jun 1, 2013
14
Hunter 306 Treasure Island
Thanks everyone for all the feedback. I will definitely look into the Sterling Pro Charger. Sounds like it is best to spend a bit more to avoid headaches down the road. Thanks again.
 
J

jbrudzinski

.
Jun 1, 2013
14
Hunter 306 Treasure Island
Johann said:
When my protech 1230 went bad years back I called protech about repair cost... They couldn't repair it, but gave me a super deal on a new model... Just a thought...
Click to expand
Thank you for the suggestion. I contacted them and they offered their new model at $280 shipped. I am comparing the Sterling with the new protech model. Thanks again.
 
Sumner

Sumner

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Jan 31, 2009
5,254
Macgregor & Endeavour 26S and 37 Utah's Canyon Country
Not sure if the following would be an option. Doesn't look to be of the same quality as the Sterling.....

http://www.defender.com/product.jsp?path=-1|328|2289962|2289968&id=1982785

We also need a battery charger, but hope to never need it with the solar we have. Would like to have one on-board along with the Honda 2000 as a backup just in case we had problems with the solar when we are in the Bahamas. I'd like something in the 50-60 amp range as the Honda would handle that and it would cut down on the time it would need to run. It would see very little use, hopefully,

Sumner
==================================================
1300 miles to The Bahamas and Back in the Mac...
Endeavour 37 Mods...
MacGregor 26-S Mods...http://purplesagetradingpost.com/sumner/endeavour-main/endeavour-index.html
Mac Trips to Utah, Idaho, Wyoming, Canada, Florida, Bahamas
 
SycloneDriver

SycloneDriver

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Jul 23, 2009
857
Beneteau 31 Oceanis Grand Lake, Oklahoma
I am very happy with my Sterling but I should have purchased the next size larger unit.
 
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