The Best Charles Charger Retrofit Battery Charger

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SailJunkie

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Jun 4, 2004
67
Catalina 310 LaSalle, MI
Hi Gang,

So, thanks to my marina, my Charles SP5000 series 2 bank 20 amp charger is cooked. As Charles Chargers appear to be no more, I am looking for advice on a 20-30amp HARDWIRED Battery charger for my 2 (4D) batteries. Ideally, I would like to use my existing wire configuration (with the breaker on the board). Do NOT want to use a 3 prong for power as I do not have an outlet where I would normally mount the charger (aft, port side locker). Thoughts?
 
jssailem

jssailem

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Oct 22, 2014
21,137
CAL 35 Cruiser #21 moored EVERETT WA
I like my Sterling 40 Amp smart charger. It is hardwired to the boat circuits through the AC panel.
sterling-power.com

Battery Chargers

Market leaders in power distribution for off-grid purposes. Providing class leading AC/DC and DC/DC chargers, highly customisable charge options and high performance lithium batteries. Sterling aims to be an accessible performance brand.
sterling-power.com sterling-power.com
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The ProMariner line is similar.

There are many others, some good, many bad to your batteries.

Choose wisely.
 
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Alansails

Alansails

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Oct 3, 2011
827
Anam Cara Catalina 310 Hull #155 155 Lake Erie/Catawba Island
We replaced ours when we replaced our batteries with two 4 D batteries, AGMs and we used what John said pro mariner/ProNautic
recommended by practical sailer and Maine sail.
It has been two years and we are very Happy
 
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S

SailJunkie

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Jun 4, 2004
67
Catalina 310 LaSalle, MI
Ralph Johnstone said:
Just out of idle curiosity, how did they manage that ?
Click to expand
My shorepower at the dock was down. Every time I would flip the switch, the breaker would trip. It wasn't my boat because I had no problem hooking up to the shorepower at the dock next to me. I guess when they came to fix it, they sent a power surge through the shore power which, I believe, blew my charger. In the end, it was my fault I guess as I left the charger in the "on" position on my board. I am actually looking at Xantrex because, again, I need to hard wire the charger. I cannot "plug" it in to a wall outlet (and most of the chargers now have the 3 prong plug which doesn't work for me.
 
Maine Sail

Maine Sail

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Feb 6, 1998
11,675
Canadian Sailcraft 36T Casco Bay, ME
SailJunkie said:
I am actually looking at Xantrex because, again, I need to hard wire the charger.
Click to expand
As many others have already posted the Sterling ProCharge Ultra or the Promariner ProNautic P are both excellent and both feature a 5 year warranty.. As a veteran Marine electrician I would strongly steer you far away from Xantrex due to reliability issues..
 
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jssailem

jssailem

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Oct 22, 2014
21,137
CAL 35 Cruiser #21 moored EVERETT WA
SailJunkie said:
looking at Xantrex because, again, I need to hard wire the charger. I cannot "plug" it in to a wall outlet (and most of the chargers now have the 3 prong plug which doesn't work for me.
Click to expand
Xantrex are nice. They have the added feature of being an inverter turning your battery bank into an AC source.

The two chargers listed in post #2 can both be hard wired into a boat. They also can be wired to be plug in. I found the hard wired function to be better on my boat.

What is it about the Xantrex that you like? Are you concerned that Xantrex applys a timer to change out of Absorption (6 hours)? Is this compatible with your battery system size?

There are many ways to maintain batteries. Some are ok. Some require more interface between the user and the charger. Some provide good user interface. What are your thoughts about what you need for your system?
 
Ralph Johnstone

Ralph Johnstone

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Jan 4, 2006
6,513
Hunter 310 West Vancouver, B.C.
SailJunkie said:
In the end, it was my fault I guess as I left the charger in the "on" position on my board.
Click to expand
And if you'd been away from the boat for a long period, the same thing would have happened.

Sue them for all they're worth, at least until they send notice to cancel your moorage :facepalm: .
 
JRT

JRT

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Feb 14, 2017
2,048
Catalina 310 211 Lake Guntersville, AL
I'm a bit lost on I need to plug in and not 3 prong comments. I'm pretty sure you are replacing the OEM on board charger that uses a 3 prong shore power cable. You don't want to hear this but the wiring from the oem is, in my opinion, a bit under sized and a strong use case to move the charger inside the cabin, run new larger wires and update the shore power will add value and safety

This is the thread from my previous owner on charger replacement and relocation and new wiring. He did a great job and the system has been flawless. The final change was a new smart cord shore power cable update.

Battery Charger question...

Should have new charger and battery bank installed soon... with help from this forum and guidance from KZW. Thanks. I was surprised that the promariner tech recommended a 60 amp charger. It is the Pronautic 60. The old charger was 20 amp and I have read that many use a 20 amp. If I have the...
forums.sailboatowners.com
 
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Davidasailor26

Davidasailor26

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May 17, 2004
5,091
Beneteau Oceanis 37 Havre de Grace
I have a Xantrex because it came with the boat. I find it adequate. The first one lasted 6 seasons and then some of its capacitors blew up. I wanted to replace it with a Sterling, but it was right at the beginning of COVID lockdowns, and I didn’t want to be stuck without a charger for want of a random cable or something, so I went with an exact replacement instead. The charging algorithm isn’t all that bad. When I look at my state of charge vs float transition it’s clearly smarter than a pure egg timer, even if it’s not as well tuned as a smarter model.
 
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