Do you know of any good but also affordable single bank chargers in the 40 amp range?
Thanks,
Geoff
Thanks,
Geoff
Single Bank Charger
- Thread starter ggooch
- Start date
Wiring a new charger From Maine Sail: http://forums.catalina.sailboatowners.com/showthread.php?t=136765
Iota with the IQ4 module is a good quality single bank for a great deal less than most chargers.
http://www.iotaengineering.com/12vdc.htm
Look at the 45 amp model. I have installed several and they are reliable, good to the batteries (flooded) and very well priced.
http://www.iotaengineering.com/12vdc.htm
Look at the 45 amp model. I have installed several and they are reliable, good to the batteries (flooded) and very well priced.
Do not limit your search to single bank chargers as most multi output lead chargers can be installed to serve a single bank.
I am curious about single bank chargers from a cost perspective.
This might sound rude, but Stu, can you tell me where in Maines article my question is answered? I am a voracious reader of his article but have seen nothing but multi bank chargers.
The Iota charger does not appear to be a marine charger. Can anyone show otherwise?
Thanks,
Geoff
This might sound rude, but Stu, can you tell me where in Maines article my question is answered? I am a voracious reader of his article but have seen nothing but multi bank chargers.
The Iota charger does not appear to be a marine charger. Can anyone show otherwise?
Thanks,
Geoff
Not rude at all. :dance: Read it again, he talks about jumpers quite clearly.
Like this:
For owners who have a charge distribution system in place, such as an Echo Charger, Duo Charger, VSR (voltage sensitive combining relay), or in the US often referred to as an ACR (Automatic Combining Relay), the outputs can be "jumped" together as shown to create a simple "single output" charger.
There is no savings to a 40A single output marine charger and this is why you don't find them. The outputs consist of a couple of diodes and an extra terminal and this adds very little cost to production.... There is no incentive to build a 40A single bank when a multi-bank works as a single bank and means one SKU vs two of three. I know of no "good" marine single bank 40A chargers...
The Iota previously mentioned is a pretty reliable land based charger but has no marine UL testing. They are also very basic "egg timer" chargers and run an 8 hour absorption whether needed of not. The also bump out of float every 7 days and do another 8 hour absorption cycle. This may be fine for some batteries but not all....
In reference to :
http://forums.catalina.sailboatowner...d.php?t=136765
and this thread can someone please confirm two minor points.
1. Can multiple case grounds be routed to a bus with a single lead to the engine block? This would be to avoid a mess of wires going to the engine.
2. I understand from the tutorial in the link above that the case ground should not be connected directly to the negative DC bus which is led to the negative battery post. However both the case ground and the negative battery post are led to the engine block. Is this not the equivalent of connecting them together further upstream ?
Thanks for the help and the excellent tutorials and advice one finds on this forum.
http://forums.catalina.sailboatowner...d.php?t=136765
and this thread can someone please confirm two minor points.
1. Can multiple case grounds be routed to a bus with a single lead to the engine block? This would be to avoid a mess of wires going to the engine.
2. I understand from the tutorial in the link above that the case ground should not be connected directly to the negative DC bus which is led to the negative battery post. However both the case ground and the negative battery post are led to the engine block. Is this not the equivalent of connecting them together further upstream ?
Thanks for the help and the excellent tutorials and advice one finds on this forum.
While not a "marine" charger the Iota is the least expensive charger I would trust my flooded batteries to. I have installed several in years past and they are working well.
Favorite chargers are the single bank Pronautic P and the multibank Blue SEas, albeit more expensive.
The Iota's with the IQ-4 option will charge the batteries to 14.8V then the charger drops the voltage to 14.2V for an additional 8 hours. It uses the 14.8V as a trigger point or "end of bulk" to merely drop the voltage back down to 14.2V. At the end of 8 hours at 14.2V it then goes into float at 13.6V.. If you don't use the IQ-4 the Iota's are simply a 13.6V power supply & not a true battery charger...
Some flooded batteries may do okay with this profile but this charger should really not be used with AGM or GEL. The problem I have with The Iota is that charging to 14.8V is fine for a Trojan or some other golf cart batteries but it should be ideally held above 14.6V (temp compensated) for a while to help knock down sulfation. 14.2V is a low absorption voltage for any flooded battery and really does a poor job at knocking sulfation back. Absorption is the healthy stage of charging where we try and shed some sulfation and reconvert the sulfation but the time at high voltages even with the IQ-4 is just too short to do this effectively.
Even if you were to try and use it on an AGM like an Odyssey or Northstar, which can charge at 14.7V, and the battery was in standby, it does not need another 14.8V hit then 8 hours of 14.2V every seven days. The self discharge is just too low for this on an AGM.
The sad thing is that the IQ-4 is not programmable and what you get is what you get. The charger also lacks any ability for temp compensation...
While these are reliable chargers, they are not marine tested for UL, not programmable and have only one charge profile, and they lack temp compensation..