choosing a Smart Charger

[Hayden Watson]

Maine Sail do you have a list of the Good, the Bad and the Ugly for marine Smart Chargers. I am looking for a 20A charger. I have a 4D Lifeline AGM as my house bank and a Group 31 AGM for Start and need a new charger. The Lifeline was chosen for the #1 reason you listed in your article "AGM Batteries - Making The Choice".

My 12v system has most of the whistles and bells. I have an Ample Power 108 AH alternator with external regulator but due to height limitations the largest bank I can fit in house bank of my boat is either (2) group 27 or the 4D. Given that the House bank is 210 AH max and I have 100A charging the AGM lets me stuff it back in much faster. I have a link 10 on the house bank and the start battery is isolated with a Blue Sea ACR.

My energy budget is about 100A per day when cruising with 12V refrig and forced air furnace.

 

[Maine Sail]

Do you want an inverter charger with high rate charging or just a stand alone charger?

 

[Hayden Watson]

Just a stand alone charger. In thirty years of sailing I have been able to get by without AC other than a small 800W portable for electronics. My thought of running the WH on AC won't work so other than that it is not needed. BTW, I did look to see if I could get a 500W element to replace the 1500W so that I would be within my charging capacity but they don't seem to make such a thing.

 

[woodster]

Just a stand alone charger. In thirty years of sailing I have been able to get by without AC other than a small 800W portable for electronics. My thought of running the WH on AC won't work so other than that it is not needed. BTW, I did look to see if I could get a 500W element to replace the 1500W so that I would be within my charging capacity but they don't seem to make such a thing.

you can get a 750 w in the indel/isotemp brand water heater

 

[Maine Sail]

Just a stand alone charger. In thirty years of sailing I have been able to get by without AC other than a small 800W portable for electronics. My thought of running the WH on AC won't work so other than that it is not needed. BTW, I did look to see if I could get a 500W element to replace the 1500W so that I would be within my charging capacity but they don't seem to make such a thing.

Sterling Pro Charge Ultra or ProMariner Pronautic P....(these are identical chargers jointly developed)

 

[woodster]

+1 for sterling

 

[Hayden Watson]

I am unfamiliar with Sterling chargers. They do not seem to be available at the local chandleries. What makes them stand out from the rest?

 

[woodster]

they work very well and have good programing options and also have a 5 year warranty

 

[IStream]

I am unfamiliar with Sterling chargers. They do not seem to be available at the local chandleries. What makes them stand out from the rest?

Identical to the Pronautic P series, which seem to be more common in thd PNW and which Fisheries has on sale this week. Check others too as even on sale, Fisheries may not be the best price. FWIW, I bought mine on Amazon.

 

[Hayden Watson]

During the sailing season I keep a stocked fridge so that I can go out whenever the mood strikes and not worry about packing food or libations. Will this charger maintain my batteries without cooking them given that the 12v fridge kicks on several times an hour ?

I have always skipped over the Pro Mariner listings in the past because it seems like I often saw them in threads dealing with charger problems. It looks like this might not be the case any more.

 

[Maine Sail]

During the sailing season I keep a stocked fridge so that I can go out whenever the mood strikes and not worry about packing food or libations. Will this charger maintain my batteries without cooking them given that the 12v fridge kicks on several times an hour ?

I have always skipped over the Pro Mariner listings in the past because it seems like I often saw them in threads dealing with charger problems. It looks like this might not be the case any more.

This is not the old ProMariner stuff. It was jointly developed between Sterling Power in the UK and ProMariner in NH. It is one of the smartest smart chargers out there and can remain in float, even with fridge loads, provided it is properly sized... The optional remote is also top notch and it comes standard with remote temp sensor.....


Installing A Marine Battery Charger

 

[Stu Jackson]

I have always skipped over the Pro Mariner listings in the past because it seems like I often saw them in threads dealing with charger problems. It looks like this might not be the case any more.

You are perhaps confusing two completely different products.

The ones to watch out for are called ProMariner FLYBACK chargers.

These Promariners are brand new and IIRC from a different company. And recommended by Maine Sail.

If anyone has the old FLYBACK chargers, please be aware that they can start fires on your boat, and get rid of them, like, yesterday!

http://c34.org/bbs/index.php/topic,5078.msg43151.html#msg43151

 

[Hayden Watson]

You are perhaps confusing two completely different products.

The ones to watch out for are called ProMariner FLYBACK chargers.

These Promariners are brand new and IIRC from a different company. And recommended by Maine Sail.

If anyone has the old FLYBACK chargers, please be aware that they can start fires on your boat, and get rid of them, like, yesterday!

http://c34.org/bbs/index.php/topic,5078.msg43151.html#msg43151

Thanks for the clarification. I couldn't remember the specifics but knew that I had read posts that likened ProMariner chargers to shooting holes in you hull with solid gold bullets. expensive and dangerous. Because of that I had never even looked at the spec on them.

 

[Hayden Watson]

... The optional remote is also top notch and it comes standard with remote temp sensor.....


Installing A Marine Battery Charger

Thanks for the link. does the remote do anything that cannot be done from the case? I have to bend over to see location of the charger but it is accessible.

you said that it will not come out of float if it is sized correctly. With 210 AH bank the 20A would be 10%. the fridge is an AB Cold Machine and draws about 6A when running. is the 20A the correct size for my system?

 

[Maine Sail]

Thanks for the link. does the remote do anything that cannot be done from the case? I have to bend over to see location of the charger but it is accessible.

you said that it will not come out of float if it is sized correctly. With 210 AH bank the 20A would be 10%. the fridge is an AB Cold Machine and draws about 6A when running. is the 20A the correct size for my system?

I would recommend the 30A and it has much better output terminals. The remote shows a lot of things the display does not such as internal charger temp, battery temp, hours of use etc. but all programming can be done from the main unit..

 

[Stu Jackson]

Hayden, in general, the only thing that changes between a small charger and a bigger one is the TIME it takes to complete a charge. The charger you note is larger in capacity than the draw of the fridge.

 

[Maine Sail]

Hayden, in general, the only thing that changes between a small charger and a bigger one is the TIME it takes to complete a charge. The charger you note is larger in capacity than the draw of the fridge.

When you take dock side house loads into account you generally want them below approx 20% of the chargers rated output... Bigger is better here and won't cause bumping in and out of float...

Yes a 20A charger is approx 10% of capacity but with the fridge, a few lights or the stereo or water pump, computer or phones charging on house loads you can easily exceed 50% of the chargers output.

 

[IStream]

I would recommend the 30A and it has much better output terminals. The remote shows a lot of things the display does not such as internal charger temp, battery temp, hours of use etc. but all programming can be done from the main unit..

I have a 24V bank for my thruster and needed a new charger after my three year old Mastervolt leaked smoke. I got the 24V/20A version of the Pronautic P which appears to have the same output terminals as the 12V/20A unit and I completely concur with Maine, the output terminals are crap. Unfortunately, the 24V/30A version with the better terminals is about 50% ($200) more expensive, so I decided to live with the light duty terminals.

However, in the 12V world things are a lot different. The price difference between the 12V/20A and 12V/30A units is only about $60 and well worth the upgrade, IMHO.

 

[Hayden Watson]

When you take dock side house loads into account you generally want them below approx 20% of the chargers rated output... Bigger is better here and won't cause bumping in and out of float...

Yes a 20A charger is approx 10% of capacity but with the fridge, a few lights or the stereo or water pump, computer or phones charging on house loads you can easily exceed 50% of the chargers output.

Thank Maine.

So if I am hearing you correctly, using 20% of the 30A will give me 6A to use without bumping out of float charge. 20% of the 20A would only be 4A. The frig uses about 5 and change so the 20A would come out of float and the 30A would not. is that correct?

Hayden