Bat Charger contest

[Portuguese]

Gents
Greetings
Amongst a MasterVolt ChargeMaster 12 V 70A, a Newmar PT 80 (12V 80A) and a Charles Charger 5000 80A, all at same price, which would you pick?
Time to change the Chinese made cheap stuff that is already braking.


Thank you
Portuguese

 

[N4712]

That's a tough one, they're all great!

 

[dimer2]

I have not had them all but can say I have several Charles chargers and they are well built and work well.

 

[Capt.Bill11]

Newmar or Mastervolt.

 

[Heron]

I have a Charles and it has worked flawlessly. I need to up this from the 15 amp to a higher capacity to better supply my new (440 amp/hour) housebank. Charles, is high on the list obviously..

 

[SteveD]

The Mastervolt and the Newmar both give their power factor in their specs and it is good (~.98) The Charles does not, so would surmise it is bad. If you are planning on running your charger off of your generator you should care about the power factor, which measures the efficiency with which your AC current is converted to DC.

I think all of these chargers are overpriced. The least expensive charger per amp is a Magnum inverter and it has a power factor of ~.98. (You essentially get an inverter for free.)

As for Charles, I am not a happy camper. They would not repair a three or four year old unit that no longer functioned. Into the trash it went.

 

[caltexflanc]

As for Charles, I am not a happy camper. They would not repair a three or four year old unit that no longer functioned. Into the trash it went.

Which model? That is very unlike them. Not to mention the 5000 has a five year warranty. I've known them fix chargers and old C Phone systems much older than that, and their customer service on the phone is excellent.

As for the OP, I'd opt for whichever has the best service and support for your country.

 

[SteveD]

I looked in my emails. I was wrong. It went belly up a couple of months out of warranty and their "flat rate" repair cost was only a little less than what I paid for the unit.

I now have two 24 volt Magnum inverters which each put out 100 real real amps. these from Hodges could be obtained at the lowest cost per amp of any charger I could find. Together, they nicely load up my generator!

 

[River Cruiser]

Newmar would be my choice.

 

[HopCar]

I can vouch for Newmar's reliability. I've been a Newmar dealer for more than twenty years. Darn few of them are ever sent back for repair. I've got a PT-40 on Possum. If you want to know anything technical about them, talk to Kap Kaplan at Newmar. He's my go to guy there.