Need a new charger

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Dave_E

Dave_E

Senior Member
Joined
Sep 2, 2014
Messages
276
Location
USA
Vessel Name
Agnus Dei
Vessel Make
36' Shin Shing
Hi All,

The good ship has this ginormous old charger/inverter and it's failing. It's original design was such that shore power went into it and came out of it for AC circuits and if it sensed no shore power it would kick on the inverter. We are not worried about having an inverter for AC power, as we don't have anything to run other than a micro-wave and the Admiral's curlers and hair dryer. The refrig is an AC/DC model and switches to DC when you unplug shore power.

Looking for recommendations for a capable charger to work with an 8D and 4 GC batteries.

Thanks - Dave
 
Dave_E said:
Hi All,

The good ship has this ginormous old charger/inverter and it's failing. It's original design was such that shore power went into it and came out of it for AC circuits and if it sensed no shore power it would kick on the inverter. We are not worried about having an inverter for AC power, as we don't have anything to run other than a micro-wave and the Admiral's curlers and hair dryer. The refrig is an AC/DC model and switches to DC when you unplug shore power.

Looking for recommendations for a capable charger to work with an 8D and 4 GC batteries.

Thanks - Dave
Click to expand...


Victron ! ........ " you get what you pay for " .. fb
 
Just replaced our 32-year-old Professional Mariner Promatic 30-3 charger with a Professional Mariner Pronautic 12-60. It’s smarter than me! The charger is capable of charging, conditioning, and maintaining three banks of batteries. The optional dash-mounted remote will keep me out of the engine room. Happy so far.
 
Our ancient charger just went in the trash ~6 weeks ago. We also swapped out 2 boiled off 8ds. we also have a group 31 for the generator.

We bought a promariner and found it to be defective (wouldn't MAINTAIN a charge after the batteries reached float). I found there were a number of less than positive reviews on them. I went back, returned it, and paid a little extra for a Mastervolt 40amp (Model#10976165). We've been very pleased!
 
Gabe n Em said:
We bought a promariner and found it to be defective (wouldn't MAINTAIN a charge after the batteries reached float). I found there were a number of less than positive reviews on them. I went back, returned it, and paid a little extra for a Mastervolt 40amp (Model#10976165). We've been very pleased!
Click to expand...

These chargers ship in a California compliance mode and will drop below 13.0V once the battery is full. The need to be set to run in "power supply mode" which will give a float and turn it back into a regular charger. They also have "maintenance mode" which it enters after long periods of no use...

It may not have been defective and possibly just doing what it was set up for..
 
I replaced (the original?) ferro resonant charger in our boat with a ProMariner 12-50P and have been very happy with it. I purchased the remote monitor and installed up in the helm for easy status checks.
 
CMS said:
These chargers ship in a California compliance mode and will drop below 13.0V once the battery is full. The need to be set to run in "power supply mode" which will give a float and turn it back into a regular charger. They also have "maintenance mode" which it enters after long periods of no use...

It may not have been defective and possibly just doing what it was set up for..
Click to expand...

After I am away from the boat for 2+ weeks, ours shuts down, and must be re-booted. It is a bit of a PITA.

The other real PITA about the Sterling line is that what they call a "remote control", doesn't allow you to change the charging profile remotely. I have to change our charge profile when we run the genset at anchor to stop from burning up its little alternator. Our charger is mounted in a pretty awkward place and it would be GREAT if I could change it from the "remote".
 
CMS said:
These chargers ship in a California compliance mode and .........
Click to expand...


Needless to say that I am no fan of anything coming from California and now I learn they have laws on how battery chargers operate? How soon will it be before they regulate fart frequency? Bizarre!

Sorry, I believe there is just tooo much big government. The road to hell is paved with good intentions.
 
Tom.B Post # 12:

I have to change our charge profile when we run the genset at anchor to stop from burning up its little alternator.
Click to expand...
I am an experienced marine electrician and I do not understand the interconnection between the small alternator on your genset and how it will burn up as a function of the Sterling battery charger charge profile. Please enlighten me.
 
CharlieJ said:
Tom.B Post # 12:


I am an experienced marine electrician and I do not understand the interconnection between the small alternator on your genset and how it will burn up as a function of the Sterling battery charger charge profile. Please enlighten me.
Click to expand...



Maybe not “burn up” (although it does get very hot) but the small genset alternator doesn’t have the power to charge my large house bank efficiently. I originally wanted to bypass it with a shorter drive belt... and still might. With the genset running, the charger won’t charge because it senses the alternator’s 14.4v output. So i setup a custom charger profile for genset charging. 14.7v absorption and 14.6v float. That puts charger voltage .2v above the genset alternator output rendering the it “off”.

Sorry for the poor wording. “Burndt slap up” is more a redneck terminology.
 
I just put a Promariner 1260P in my boat. Also have a 1215P for the stern thruster battery. Have had good luck with Promariner so far.
 
Tom.B said:
Maybe not “burn up” (although it does get very hot) but the small genset alternator doesn’t have the power to charge my large house bank efficiently. I originally wanted to bypass it with a shorter drive belt... and still might. With the genset running, the charger won’t charge because it senses the alternator’s 14.4v output. So i setup a custom charger profile for genset charging. 14.7v absorption and 14.6v float. That puts charger voltage .2v above the genset alternator output rendering the it “off”.

Sorry for the poor wording. “Burndt slap up” is more a redneck terminology.
Click to expand...
So what you are saying is the House bank serves as the gen set Start battery and its alternator trys to recharge the House bank. You should be able to just disconnect the alternator FIELD effectively neutering it. Then put your charger settings back to normal for your battery type. 14.6V Float is not good. If you should need it at some later date for emergency battery charging (doubt it but possible) just reconnect the FIELD terminal.
 
Last edited:
High Wire said:
So what you are saying is the House bank serves as the gen set Start battery and its alternator trys to recharge the House bank. You should be able to just disconnect the alternator FIELD effectively neutering it. Then put your charger settings back to normal for your battery type. 14.6V Float is not good. If you should need it at some later date for emergency battery charging (doubt it but possible) just reconnect the FIELD terminal.
Click to expand...

...or install a switch on the field wire to permit selective use with ease.

An alternative might be to just let your genset alternator charge your genset battery and allow the shore charger to charge the house and start banks.
 
High Wire said:
So what you are saying is the House bank serves as the gen set Start battery and its alternator trys to recharge the House bank. You should be able to just disconnect the alternator FIELD effectively neutering it. Then put your charger settings back to normal for your battery type. 14.6V Float is not good. If you should need it at some later date for emergency battery charging (doubt it but possible) just reconnect the FIELD terminal.
Click to expand...


First... we aren’t on this thread to solve any problems you may think I have. But no worries... ;-) And thanks for the tip. :-D

Second... float charge voltage doesn’t matter in this scenario. Running the charger with the generator is only for bulk charging if the batteries are low at anchor.
 
Last edited:
FlyWright said:
...or install a switch on the field wire to permit selective use with ease.



An alternative might be to just let your genset alternator charge your genset battery and allow the shore charger to charge the house and start banks.
Click to expand...



A genset battery does not exist.
 
Tom.B said:
First... we aren’t on this thread to solve any problems you may think I have. But no worries... ;-) And thanks for the tip. :-D

Second... float charge voltage doesn’t matter in this scenario. Running the charger with the generator is only for bulk charging if the batteries are low at anchor.
Click to expand...
Just curious what happens when hooked up to shore power?
 
foggysail said:
Needless to say that I am no fan of anything coming from California and now I learn they have laws on how battery chargers operate? How soon will it be before they regulate fart frequency? Bizarre!

Sorry, I believe there is just tooo much big government. The road to hell is paved with good intentions.
Click to expand...

I have just returned home from 4 months in California. The most frequent cause of :banghead: is the prop 65 warnings that appear everywhere: “known to the State of California to cause cancer or reproductive toxicity.”
I bought a fitting for my sewer hookup on my Motorhome that displayed that label. Was I in danger of reproductive toxicity if I touched it, licked it, ate it, looked at it crossly? What is "rep tox"? No clues given. I suspect the entire state should bear the label, then when we suffer such an ailment (if one actually exists) we know it is just from visiting.
 
It would help to know what brand/model the original OP is replacing, why he thinks it’s failing and what he doesn’t like about it.
 
Need battery charger

My dytek model VHD1250, onboard battery charger has bit the dust, the date code is 4895 (it has served its time well). 115v 10a, 12v 50 amp, 6 cells, I charge 3 batteries off of it. (2 gas 454’s and 1 generator battery.
Does anyone have a recommendation for replacement. I have a 97 34’ mainship motor yacht. Any help would be greatly appreciated
 
I like Promariner. I have 2 in my boat now and had one in my last boat.
 
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