Replacement Battery Charger

Maine Sail · Jul 18, 2015

rpwillia said:
OK, I angered the smoke god and it released the smoke throughout the boat. Luckily I was on the boat and was able to shut it down before things got really bad.

Since I was thinking about upgrading anyway, now seems like a good time. So which is the one folks would use today? A friend recommended a Noco Genius, but there was a Sterling (or a variant thereof) recommended here on the forums. To be honest I don't use my charger very much at all as we rarely plug into the dock, and my solar panel keeps the batteries topped up when not in use. I have 4 6V golf cart batteries wired up in two banks with pre-existing wiring I would like to re-use (so I don't have to pull new wires through the boat).

Also the old battery charger was a dual battery 20 amp (10 per battery) that was a bit of overkill for how I use it. I do see that most have desulphinator circuits of which I am a big fan of and one MS recommended here (sorry having a senior moment) has meters and readouts vice LEDs to tell you more that just charging or ready which I like.

Noco = No... Nothing "genius" about it except for some slick marketing.

Sterling ProCharge Ultra = Yes (same charger as below)

ProMariner Pronautic "P" = Yes (same charger as above but be sure it is the "P" version)

Equalizing works both the Promariner and the Sterling have an equalization feature.

The Noco has dual outputs but they really lack any program-ability (because they are waterproof) so the batteries really need to fall into the the preset, pre-chosen, pore-defined voltage range in order to work with them.

They are not well suited to GEL, obviously, but they can work for some AGM and some flooded batteries, though Trojan and other deep cycle batteries prefer 14.7V - 14.8V, which the Noco simply can't do.

The Noco chargers also don't have temp compensation and don't do a true float. They cycle in and out of absorption and key back on at somewhere around 12.8V and go back to 14.4 - 14.6V, then eventually shut off again, drop to 12.8V and repeat the process. This is a cheap and dirty way of calling a single stage charger "smart" when it is anything but.... A true float voltage maintains the battery at say 13.4V steadily while the Noco bounces on & off using ceiling voltage of 14.4 - 14.6V and a decay voltage of 12.8 or so.

The Noco is not the best choice for a boat running dock side DC loads or for fast charging. Also you don't really get a 20A charger you get a 10A & 10A but the start battery is taking 0.2A, or it is off, so the other 10A goes to waste.

A dedicated 20A distributed by demand charger, like the two mentioned, would give 19.8A to house and the 0.2A to the start via an ACR or the BOTH position or an Echo type charger or direct wired to each bank.

"Desulfators" don't work for "desulfating". I have spent months testing various desulfators and found none that did much of anything measurable in terms of "desulfating" and regaining usable capacity.

gettinthere · Jul 18, 2015

RC
Same recco for a 40 amp charger?
One of my 2 Zantrax Trucharge 40s quit.
Need to be able to run both simultaneously, the 2 truchargers did fine together

woodster · Jul 18, 2015

you already know what to do when you said sterling.... there is an article on installing a battery charger by mainsail and the exact charger is the one to get they come in 20 amp and up i have a 40 amp on my boat ...maine recommends 20 % of bank capacity which in your case would be about 80 amps but i think based on what and how you use it a 40 amp would do just fine it would just take a longer period of time to recharge..but it is sailing and supposed to be a lackadaisical time so whats the hurry and it does have all the bells and whistles you like

Maine Sail · Jul 18, 2015

gettinthere said:
RC
Same recco for a 40 amp charger?
One of my 2 Zantrax Trucharge 40s quit.
Need to be able to run both simultaneously, the 2 truchargers did fine together

Yep... The Sterling has a 5 year warranty as does the Promariner.. Xantrex = 2 years and the newer ones often die right out of warranty.....

Got a dead Xantrex 40A sitting on my bench as I type this...

In all honesty you guys are good candidates for a big inverter charger such as a Magnum with 100A charger...

gettinthere · Jul 18, 2015

Will that magnum run on my honda 2k? The pair of truecharge 40s did fine

Actually, with all our solar we hardly need a charger at all except at the dock acting as an inverter

Benny17441 · Jul 18, 2015

rpwillia said:
OK, I angered the smoke god and it released the smoke throughout the boat. Luckily I was on the boat and was able to shut it down before things got really bad.

What happened to a fuse or breaker? Luck is a poor substitute.

Stu Jackson · Jul 18, 2015

Why?

OK, kids.

Let's see.

We have one of the foremost authorities on boat systems, especially electrical, who recommends a specific charger (same things, two different labels).

And you STILL ask questions?

woodster · Jul 18, 2015

"Inquiring Minds Want To know!"...... and one never knows what other helpful tidbits of knowledge may surface.......

Stu Jackson · Jul 18, 2015

Ah, yes, admirable.

'Ceptin' not much is new since Maine Sail wrote that.

If there had been, he'd have mentioned it.

One of the things I admire about him (among MANY) is that he won't post on forums that do NOT let him go back and edit things (forever).

One forum has a 30 minute timeline for editing. He's rarely there.

Sometimes we learn new things, and not being able to do so limits the integrity of true authors.

And he certainly is one.

Kinda like reinventing the wheel. Rarely is there a reason to do so.

Maine Sail · Jul 18, 2015

Benny17441 said:
What happened to a fuse or breaker? Luck is a poor substitute.

In perhaps 80+ dead battery chargers I've replaced, the number of blown fuses have been about 2 or 3. It is usually stuff on the PCB that fries and this occurs at well below the fuses rating for the 8GA+ wire... The fuse at the battery is there to protect the wire not the charger. Some chargers have on-board fuses and these too are rarely blown. The dead TruCharge 2 40A on my bench never blew either of its two on-board fuses, nor the fuses in the 4GA wire, yet the smoke monster still escaped..

mitiempo · Jul 18, 2015

I will second Maine's recommendation of the Pronautic P. I have installed quite a few and will be installing one on a Bayliner tomorrow. The only other I would rate very good is the Blue Seas.

Bob 04 H260 · Jul 19, 2015

We have been using a Sterling for a couple of years now very pleased with it. A 50 A model with 400 Ahr, AGM house bank.
Bob

Maine Sail · Jul 19, 2015

mitiempo said:
I will second Maine's recommendation of the Pronautic P. I have installed quite a few and will be installing one on a Bayliner tomorrow. The only other I would rate very good is the Blue Seas.

The Blue Sea charger is also excellent but has limited sizes just 25A and 40A with bigger sizes reportedly due out next year sometime..

Replacement Battery Charger

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