I need to replace my battery charger. However, it is a 30amp and I can't find one. I was thinking about using a 20amp, but the shore power is 30amp. Will this be a problem?
Battery Charger Replacement
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I need to replace my battery charger. However, it is a 30amp and I can't find one. I was thinking about using a 20amp, but the shore power is 30amp. Will this be a problem?The amperage of the charger refers to DC amps and not AC amp draw. I highly recommend the Iota brand with the IQ smart charge controller. I have the 55 amp version and it's rock solid.
http://iotaengineering.com/dls30.htm
i think you are confusing 30 amp(120 volts) ac shore power with 20 amp dc(12 volts) power from the charger ....any 20 amp dc charger that you decide on should work....just ck the ac required amps.....
regards
woody
As others said, ignore the old charger and shore power. More importantly, how large is your battery bank? It is the bank capacity what determines what size charger you need
I think you have it with the amperage.
I know some of these guys like the Iota brand, but my idea of changing chargers was to remove a couple of screws and a couple of wires, mount the new charger re-hook the wires and I was done.
I have had great luck with Xantrex, so that is the way I went. Xantrex XC3012
I know some of these guys like the Iota brand, but my idea of changing chargers was to remove a couple of screws and a couple of wires, mount the new charger re-hook the wires and I was done.
I have had great luck with Xantrex, so that is the way I went. Xantrex XC3012
There's this review of the Xantrex products which may help: http://c34.org/bbs/index.php/topic,4352.0.html
30A shorepower will handle almost any reasonably sized charger. We have a 75 A charger as part of our Freedom 15 combiner inverter charger. AC to DC, that's the deal as mentioned.
Suggest you read the West Marine Advisors on charger sizing: http://www.westmarine.com/webapp/wc...d=11151&catalogId=10001&page=Battery-Charging
30A shorepower will handle almost any reasonably sized charger. We have a 75 A charger as part of our Freedom 15 combiner inverter charger. AC to DC, that's the deal as mentioned.
Suggest you read the West Marine Advisors on charger sizing: http://www.westmarine.com/webapp/wc...d=11151&catalogId=10001&page=Battery-Charging
Butch:
I had one that I did not WANT anymore. It was just about as easy as replacing with the original model.
You just have your incomming power to the charger and the legs going out to each battery bank plus the ground.
I had one that I did not WANT anymore. It was just about as easy as replacing with the original model.
You just have your incomming power to the charger and the legs going out to each battery bank plus the ground.
Stu:
I was reading your post regarding the XC3012. We have never noticed any light flickering with the charger. Our current setup has us using 2-G31 Gels on battery switch location 1 for about 210 amps. We have our starting battery 1-Optima Blue for our starting battery on location-2.. The thing that I really liked about this charger was that I was getting 30 amps to the battery bank all at once. The True-Charger 40+ would have split the power between the banks and the starter battery need little or nothing most of the time, so I was only getting 20 amps to the second bank.
So far this charger has served me well. We are NOT big power hogs either. We have AlpenGlow florecent lights for most of the lighting needs and a IsoTherm SP unit for our refrigeration needs (very low consumption).
For those with large battery banks, they can move up to the XC5012. We had no need for this powerrul of a unit.
Thanks for posting the comments on the Xantrex units.
PS: How is that leg coming along?
I was reading your post regarding the XC3012. We have never noticed any light flickering with the charger. Our current setup has us using 2-G31 Gels on battery switch location 1 for about 210 amps. We have our starting battery 1-Optima Blue for our starting battery on location-2.. The thing that I really liked about this charger was that I was getting 30 amps to the battery bank all at once. The True-Charger 40+ would have split the power between the banks and the starter battery need little or nothing most of the time, so I was only getting 20 amps to the second bank.
So far this charger has served me well. We are NOT big power hogs either. We have AlpenGlow florecent lights for most of the lighting needs and a IsoTherm SP unit for our refrigeration needs (very low consumption).
For those with large battery banks, they can move up to the XC5012. We had no need for this powerrul of a unit.
Thanks for posting the comments on the Xantrex units.
PS: How is that leg coming along?
Steve, leg is much better, thanks, sailing more, workin' more, too!
Acceptance will determine the battery input when you get to float on your shorepower charger anyway, so I don't it feel it really matters. Maine Sail & I have both written oodles about about how little a reserve bank takes to start an engine. It's essentially always full. Only folks I know who obsess about it are the English, but they're upside down anyway.
I didn't write those great reviews, John Nixon our new C34IA Tech Editor, did. Some of those units are unfortunately out of print.
Acceptance will determine the battery input when you get to float on your shorepower charger anyway, so I don't it feel it really matters. Maine Sail & I have both written oodles about about how little a reserve bank takes to start an engine. It's essentially always full. Only folks I know who obsess about it are the English, but they're upside down anyway.
I didn't write those great reviews, John Nixon our new C34IA Tech Editor, did. Some of those units are unfortunately out of print.
A 20 amp charger will do fine. If it is a current model smart charger it will probably recharge your batteries quicker and safer than the old 30 amp.
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