Did the Catalina 309 come with a charger that would monitor the charge to battery banks and stop charging as needed?
Catalina 309 charger
- Thread starter sailingdeac
- Start date
The particular boat is a 2006 Catalina 309. Am looking to buy, but owner has no clue, and searching catalina gives no information.
Would you care to share with us ANY charger that actually CAN do this?
Here's Maine Sail's recommended charger:
Marine Battery Chargers - Installation Tips & Considerations
NOTE: This article has been edited, updated and had more information added. I have not had the time to also do that here on SBO. To see the actual article you'll find it on my web site at the link below: https://marinehowto.com/installing-a-marine-battery-charger/ With battery banks getting...
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It can't.
No charger that I am aware of can do this without a shunt and none do.
My 2003 Catalina 310 has an old school charger that had a tendency to cook the old 4D batteries. I suspect the boat you are looking at is similar. My MPPT solar charger charges the batteries in multiple stages and maintains a float charge, so I just use that for the most part.
Sounds like you are interested in upgrading to a smart charger if needed.
jssailem
SBO Weather and Forecasting Forum Jim & John
- Oct 22, 2014
- 23,370
Quick answer. No.
As @Stu Jackson shares, none in popular use on the general market have your stated capability that I have observed.
What is there are ones like the typical car battery used in boats. Their design will damage your batteries relatively quickly.
Then the smarter chargers when plugged in use a programmed multiple stage sequence to provide best available performance ( like the one found in MaineSails documentation).
Coupled with sensor monitoring of the battery status permit the boat owner to have relevant data to manage the battery system and adjust input/output to suit your needs.
Of note, you likely will need a shore powered charger and an at sea self contained power source, generally provided by an auxiliary motor/generator and or alternate power like sun, wind, or water. Some all or none of these may or may not be on the boat.You will need to assay the boat for what is being provided and the quality of the systems to meet your needs.