Upgraded Battery Charger recommendations

[Cest La Vie]

At risk of asking which production boat (Beneteau, Catalina, Hunter...) or which anchor (Manson, Rochna....) type debate, I am now in need of timely upgrade from the wimpy 20A Xantrex charger that was installed by the factory to a 40A unit. I have had the boat for 11 years with the Xantrex unit and it has performed well to date. Given an unexpected change in my charging environment (as in no access to shore power for the next four or five months), charging time has suddenly become a priority to me. Looking at any recommendations/experiences with 40A Xantrex, ProMariner, Mastervolt units. looking for reliability, ease of installation, ease of settings, etc. Price for all three units appears to be relatively equal, so that is not an issue.

And yes, I have converted all lights to LED's, but do like to run my power hungry fridge/freezer on weekends.

 

[Cest La Vie]

Sorry, failed to mention that the charger is feeding one group 27 starting battery and two 4D house batteries (all wet cell batteries, not gels or AGM).

 

[Ragbaggers]

I replaced a fried xantrex with a Charles 20 amp charger. We have 3 4D lead acid batteries and the unit has given no trouble.
The Charles was recommended by a marine mechanic friend of mine. I also purchased there Start-Now battery isolator. Ordered it on Amazon.

 

[Stu Jackson]

Wiring a new charger From Maine Sail: http://forums.catalina.sailboatowners.com/showthread.php?t=136765

Your fridge uses maybe 5 amps per hour. A 20A charger will take care of that easily, given you're already down to LED lighting.

Why bother?

New Xantrex stuff? Stuff it, don't even consider them, except for the echo charger, which you don't need (just for the record).

 

[Ron20324]

I was at Baconsails.com 's store, and they have a 40 on the shelf. I changed my B323 from the 20 to 40 when I upped my batteries. JUST BE SURE to up the fuses between the charger and batteries. All 3 of mine popped, not being able to handle the increased charging current/voltage.

 

[sailingseadragon]

I have had good luck with the Sterling ProCharger . All the functions I need or want, easy installation with a compact form-factor.

http://www.cruiserowaterandpower.com/Battery_Chargers.html

Garner

 

[PGIJon]

The PO installed a Xantrex and less than 3 years later I had to junk it. Ended up going with 30Amp ProNautica after reading Maine's article. Love it!

 

[ALNims]

Than ks for the link. Very useful.

 

[Bob 04 H260]

I too like the Sterling charger, 50 Amp model. It seems to have the program's I need (AGMs). It can maintain a constant float voltage on the house bank once they are up to 100% as lights, refrigerator etc. turn off and on. Our Promariner could not do that, it also over heated if the battery bank was down too much.
The Sterling has a battery temp probe.
I ganged all three charger outputs together to feed the house bank and use an Echo charger for the start battery.

Bob

 

[woodster]

I too like the Sterling charger, 50 Amp model. It seems to have the program's I need (AGMs). It can maintain a constant float voltage on the house bank once they are up to 100% as lights, refrigerator etc. turn off and on. Our Promariner could not do that, it also over heated if the battery bank was down too much.
The Sterling has a battery temp probe.
I ganged all three charger outputs together to feed the house bank and use an Echo charger for the start battery.

Bob

i did exactly the same thing except i have a 40 amp one