Cat 3208 Alternator Improvement

"Are all the high amp rate charge references here for the bulk rate only?"

Depends , if the regulator has a good temperature sensor the batts can be bulked , just below boiling .

But the last bit 85% SOC and on up take big time with LA (lead acid) batts.

Spend big bucks (400% ?) for lithium and it can be quicker.

Most cruisers use LA and live between 50% SOC and 85% SOC an only see 100% at a dock, with solar , or after a long days motoring.

Rent a slip O nite every 2 weeks , fill with water , do the laundry , go shopping and let the shore charger get the house to 100%.

Lithium (as in Lithium Iron Phosphate) has a much greater advantage in not only being lighter, greater depth of discharge (80 vs. 50%) and a much faster charging rate. No acceptance, just pump as many amps into them as you can. And if you buy from Balqon the price can be similar to AGMs. I installed 4 of these: Balqon Electric Vehicle Manufacturer
in my motorhome and was extremely impressed. When/if I do buy a boat I'll probably go this route again.
They do take some "engineering" but not beyond most DIY'ers if you're willing to do the research. The Balmar regulator is a perfect match for these.
And these batteries are NOT LIPOs and are totally safe, will not burn, etc.

BruceK said:

Do you like it. Any info appreciated,I`m considering one to replace my ancient charger. Does it separately assess and tailor the charge to each bank,and if one bank is full does it send the full 60A to the one needing charge?

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Yes, I like it very much. Did a lot of research before I bought it. I replaced an ancient constant volt charger that killed all my batteries at once. And yes it does an assessment of each battery and sends the proper amperage needed to each bank. So, it would send 60 amps to a battery if needed. Lots of adjustable programs and several user programable settings.

Capt. Jon said:

Yes, I like it very much. Did a lot of research before I bought it. I replaced an ancient constant volt charger that killed all my batteries at once. And yes it does an assessment of each battery and sends the proper amperage needed to each bank. So, it would send 60 amps to a battery if needed. Lots of adjustable programs and several user programable settings.

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I wasn't aware of this new product either until reading about it via this post. Sterling is a well-regarded UK manufacturer and this product looks to be truly innovative. For anyone who still has internally regulated alternator(s) it looks like the A-B Charger could leap-frog them into a whole new charging capability at low cost. For example, in the case of twin engines, getting the most out of the existing alternators & directing all charge to the House bank initially, would otherwise require: dismounting both alts & removing the internal regs then re-mounting them; buying & installing two ,say, Balmar smart regulators plus a 'CenterFielder' to combine the output of both alts; installing temperature-sensing cabling between regs and batteries and between regs and alts; and installing an echo-charger between the House bank and the Start battery(ies). I've just looked up the cost of these components from Defender....it totals $1565. And few people would self-install all this gear: figure at least a full day for a marine electrician who knows what he is doing in a stand-up engine room with good access all-round....more if anything harder.

In place of all this, the Sterling product does the same thing, according to their on-line materials, for maybe 1/4 the component costs...AND the alts can keep their internal regs, avoiding not only the dismount/remount costs but also the risk that doing this allows the alt manufacturer to walk away from any warranty claims...AND many owners could self-install.

Add the Remote kit and you get an at-helm monitoring ability that Balmar has been promising for years but has never delivered (neither has anyone else to my knowledge).

Seems too good to be true: are we missing something??

Bruce, this looks perfect for you.

Would be good to get reports from others on their experiences with the A-B Charger.

Here's a link to the A-B charger's product manual for those interested in looking into this further: https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0658/7343/files/AB12210.pdf?477

Interesting. As I'm a bit novice in this arena- the Sterling unit replaces the onboard 120v shorepower charger, or complements it??

Peter

I am in the process of planning a Sterling 210 amp Alt to Battery charger installation on my boat. From what I know the best answer is no it doesn't replace and yes it might complement. You could connect the output of the shore battery charger to the input of the Sterling as long as the combined input from the engine alternator and shore power charger is less than the rated input of the Sterling in the event you are connected to shore power and running the main at the same time. Since I have a Xantrex inverter/charger this isn't an option as the input to the inverter is the same cable as the output from the charger so a direct connection to the house bank is required for the inverter to work. My plan is to the leave an Echocharger in place so the start battery can be charged from shore power but also connect the start battery output of the Sterling to the start battery. This would provide two charging inputs to the start battery while on shore power or the generator is running with the main running, but that situation is rare and shouldn't impact the start battery.

I am looking to use the Sterling as a means of more intelligently charging 1000AH of AGM house batteries while underway and staying with essentially a stock alternator (200A Delco 28SI) on a Cummins 6CTA8.3.

Tom