Replacement Battery Charger

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markc1976

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Mar 21, 2010
16
Hunter H30 New Bern, NC
Hi,
Well, I'm starting on year two of trying to change an old 79 Hunter 30 from a floating beach house to a real boat again. Last year was an engine swap on the water (never do that again). This year I'm working on the electrical and cabin. First off before putting the cabinets back in I'm going to change out both batteries. I've bought replacement deep cycle and I got to looking at the old charger on the boat and I think it is time for an upgrade. What is the best way to go in the way of chargers for this type of boat. Not only is the current charger bulky and looks like an vintage part, its "humming" is out of tune with the rest of my music collection. Cost vs Quality I want to be in the middle of the bell curve. Got caviar dreams but a scrambled egg budget for right now. Thanks for looking.

Mark
 
KD3PC

KD3PC

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Sep 25, 2008
1,069
boatless rainbow Callao, VA
I would opt for a decent inverter/charger if possible. Second choice would be one of the multibank chargers that will handle the battery type you plan to use.

In my experience, Xantrex stands out as a quality unit...others will chime in with their favorites. I would make sure that it is "marine" quality. DOn't forget to get new fuses/blocks and battery cables, if the old are suspect.
 
Steve W

Steve W

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Jun 2, 2004
217
Hunter 376 Oyster Bay, LI, NY
After confirming the charger can be "set" for your type of batteries (wet, AGM, sealed, etc...) you'd want to also insure it's capable of three different levels of charge, including a float charge once the batteries are topped up.

Otherwise there are a few excellent brands out there with Xantrex probably being at the top of the list.

But like Compass Rose suggests, if your budget can afford it you should definitely opt for an inverter/charger. At least that way you could run some ac appliances off the inverter without having to be plugged into shorepower.
 
jtm

jtm

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Jun 14, 2004
312
Hunter 28.5 Dataw Island, SC
I have the H28.5 . I don't know what your power demands are...but this past year I finally took the plunge and got a 2 bank charger- the Promariner Prosport 12 - its "dynamic" in its allocation of power and not capped out at say 6 and 6 like most. you could have 8 and 4 if the #1 could take 8 or more. they are 12 and 24V configurable. The battery leads are labeled so that the #1 has priority to top up sooner. I figured that the shore line plug-in was a 15AMP box so I stayed with the Promariner Gen 2 Prosport "12". Your larger boat might want more power/capacity so they make a Gen 2 Prosport "20". (in some configs 12/24/36v in 2 banks) They make custom connector cable length extensions if you need more run. I'm pretty happy with mine - note it has a setting jumper for the more exotic battery types. I'd say it was mid range in price and its been good for my purposes sofar.
 
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Steve Dion

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Dec 2, 1999
15,184
Hunter Vision-36 Rio Vista, CA.
I would also suggest that you look at the Xantrex chargers. Good quality and noise free. You will need to decide on which charger you need based on your battery size.
 
Bob Poff

Bob Poff

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Dec 4, 2006
279
Hunter 34 Havre de Grace
Another Xantrex fan here. I put in an XC3012 last summer. Works perfectly.
If you whatever you get, has a battery temperature sensor, get it and install it.
 
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Steve Dion

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Dec 2, 1999
15,184
Hunter Vision-36 Rio Vista, CA.
Bob:

That is the same model that I installed. Very pleased with it. Nice benefit that you can have up to 3 different battery chemistries on board if that is what you want.

I have Gel's for houise keeping and an Optima for the starter battery. It keeps them in tip-top shape.

The other advantage to the XC is that you get the full 30 amps to each battery rather than splitting the charge to multiple banks.
 
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