Pretty sure my NEWCO charger died

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Great replacement..

Troubleshooting is tough without seeing the total setup and electrical system plys knowing a little about the charger.

Without a doubt, hooked to a known good, slightly discharged battery with fresh connections it should sense and work normally....14 plus volts and rated amps down to sonething above 10 at least depending on battery and depth of discharge.
 
I agree with the above. And that is a very nice charger. But do you hang out on the hook much and do you have a genset. If so I would buy a bigger charger to load the generator more and reduce running time. But if you are mostly at the dock, that 20A charger should be fine for you.

David
 
Airstream345 said:
Any suggestions for troubleshooting or replacement? Considering this: https://www.westmarine.com/buy/prom...rine-battery-chargers--P012039467?recordNum=9
Click to expand...

The ProNauticP line seems to get good marks on the 'net. We've gotten good service from our older ProTech 1240P, and last year we installed one of their inverter/charger combinations and that seems to be working according to plan.

Sometimes seems like a goofy company, though. Phone support has been decent; e-mail support, not so much.

The inverter/charger comes with a labeled profile for custom charging... but once installed we find out that was never implemented. The manual could well have mentioned that, but no... OTOH, others have said that feature is indeed implemented on the ProNauticP chargers.

Also, the inverter/charger is a PSW model, but it comes with a remote unit labelled as QSW. Why, I asked? 'Cause they'd have to make a separate remote unit, they replied. Hmmm.... big whoop.

FWIW, I'd consider a model that's larger than the illustrated version in that link (30A pictured, price is for 20A selection), no matter what your current charger amperage was. And then I'd shop the 'net, 'cause you might find better prices elsewhere. We source the inverter/charger from Hodges Marine in FL.

-Chris
 
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So is ammeter pegged on zero or at full amps? If on full amps you might have a shorted batt.
 
jump up to at least the 50 amp.

In conjunction with my Promariner pure sine wave inverter charger rated at 70 amps, they both top off my 6 golf cart batteries in an hour or so from 80 percent state of charge.
 
Some chargers (for reasons unknown to me) will not start charging unless volts are above a certain point. Ran into this on a Mainship, can't remember brand. Hooked up a non-smart car charger and then the boat charger came to life. Weird.
 
Ski, I think most smart chargers that dont have the power supply feature do the same as they think it is a faulty battery without some number of volts present. Several of mine are like that.

Airstream, with both running off the generator, my run time is cut in half. When at the dock, the inverter/charger is plenty.
 
I plan to throw a smart charger on there today and see what happens with the batteries.

Good advice all around. I've been suspicious of the LEWCO since getting the boat as it's such a basic approach to battery maintenance. My tech lovingly referred to these as 'dial a boil' - which didn't help my confidence.

The plan is to update/upgrade systems when needed, the charger was already on the list so I'll likely replace with the ProMariner 1250 and be done with it. Step one in a larger battery bank project.

Amazon has the charger and the helm remote for less than WM and way less than Fisheries.
 
Keep in mind that for AGM longevity it's worth getting up to .4C charge rate.

So 160A for a 400 AH bank.

For Lifeline that's their starting *minimum* recommendation.

.2C (20A per 100AH capacity) is OK for FLA.
 
ranger42c said:
The ProNauticP line seems to get good marks on the 'net.
Click to expand...

john61ct said:
I think their design comes from Sterling Power.

Also look for his ProCharge Ultra

PKSYS, Bay-marine

Try Maine Sail / CMS if you want to support his work ​ compassmarineservices@gmail.com
Click to expand...


Put a 40 amp sterling in a few years ago and have been very happy with it. Very configurable to your battery types. With the remote panel it makes for a user friendly package. I particularly like that it floats at a battery friendly 13.0 V when dockside..
 
psneeld said:
top off my 6 golf cart batteries in an hour or so from 80 percent state of charge.
Click to expand...
Then you are defining Full way too early.

Try holding Absorb until trailing amps acceptance rate falls to .005C (1/2 Amp per 100AH).

That is 100% Full, and usually takes lead at least 3-4 hours, even for high-CAR AGM chemistries. Stopping significantly earlier drastically shortens bank life.

Obviously burning dino juice to get there is wasteful, but solar can handle that "long tail" beautifully, by using the high-amp fuel sources in the early morning to get to 80-85% first.

Shore power, you have all night, but you need to get Hold Absorb time calibrated correctly, even the best chargers default settings are prone to premature infloatulation.
 
psneeld said:
In conjunction with my Promariner pure sine wave inverter charger rated at 70 amps, they both top off my 6 golf cart batteries in an hour or so from 80 percent state of charge.
Click to expand...


Does it take anything special to use two chargers on the same battery bank simultaneously?

I disconnected the ProTech 1240P from our starboard bank when I installed the 2000 PSW inverter/charger for that bank. Partly 'cause I'm not sure the older ProTech is smart enough to deal with one 300Ah bank and a 440Ah bank at the same time with the inverter/charger also on the 440Ah bank...

-Chris
 
I have 2 Promariner chargers. A 15 amp for the thruster battery and a 60 amp for the house and 2 start batteries. Nice chargers.
 
john61ct said:
Then you are defining Full way too early.

Try holding Absorb until trailing amps acceptance rate falls to .005C (1/2 Amp per 100AH).

That is 100% Full, and usually takes lead at least 3-4 hours, even for high-CAR AGM chemistries. Stopping significantly earlier drastically shortens bank life.

Obviously burning dino juice to get there is wasteful, but solar can handle that "long tail" beautifully, by using the high-amp fuel sources in the early morning to get to 80-85% first.

Shore power, you have all night, but you need to get Hold Absorb time calibrated correctly, even the best chargers default settings are prone to premature infloatulation.
Click to expand...

you and theory versus my reality....tired of it....we have gone though this before...please comnent on others who might buy your opinion.

when my smart charger and my smart inverter charger both shut down to standby mode....good enough for me.

sure charging and batteries follow your theories...but not my boating lifestyle.

just passed 1000 miles this winters trup, how about you?

my perfectly great LA golf carts are smiling every anchorage...how about yours?

after studying batteries and charging since my first sailboat in 1977, my cruising setup is just fine according to me, not some article that doesnt live on my boat or pay for my new electrical system.
 
OK sorry, my memory's not good that way.

May be helpful to others who do care though, best to just say "go to float" rather than imply the bank's actually full.
 
ranger42c said:
Does it take anything special to use two chargers on the same battery bank simultaneously?

I disconnected the ProTech 1240P from our starboard bank when I installed the 2000 PSW inverter/charger for that bank. Partly 'cause I'm not sure the older ProTech is smart enough to deal with one 300Ah bank and a 440Ah bank at the same time with the inverter/charger also on the 440Ah bank...

-Chris
Click to expand...

My 2 seem to love each other.

They do just charge the same house bank through the same 12V buss.

The charger usually goes to standby first, then minutes later, the inverter charger.

Even my solar regulator starts signalling the bank is maybe not full but close when the chargers start going into standby.

When the chargers are used independently, the bank voltage takes awhile to pass 14V. with noth on, it usually passes 14V in minutes. Thats with 20 to 25 percent depletion.
 
john61ct said:
OK sorry, my memory's not good that way.

May be helpful to others who do care though, best to just say "go to float" rather than imply the bank's actually full.
Click to expand...

Again, theory and terminology over practical.

I apologize for trying to convey that, but correct in that they arent full, like a working battery bank on a liveaboard ever is....
 
psneeld said:
My 2 seem to love each other.

They do just charge the same house bank through the same 12V buss.

The charger usually goes to standby first, then minutes later, the inverter charger.
Click to expand...


Just hook 'em both up to the battery bank, done deal? No extra charge controllers, etc., necessary?

Our original charger (if I reconnected at one of the charger terminals) would be connected via a wire that goes thru the main battery switch. The 70A inverter/charger is connected directly to the bank (fused, etc.).

All I'd have to do is reconnect that positive lead (that I previously disconnected) at the charger terminal?

If so, the older 40A charger would then be servicing both banks again, and it's not huge for that purpose... but I'm thinking ahead to when I might replace that one with a new 1260P...

The two banks are both AGMs, but with different manufacturer-recommended charging profiles... I guess that'd be an issue for me to ponder on...

Still, seems useful to know the possibilities. Always good for me to have something to ruminate on...

-Chris
 
Yes multiple charge sources on one bank are not an issue at all.

Nice if they have similar charge profiles, but NP if they don't.
 
The old one is a ferro resonant? Reliable but outdated.
Rule of thumb is(?was) charging amps should be at least 10% of bank size, I don`t think you mentioned bank size. If the selected charger is 20A, I suspect it gets split between the 2 banks, ie it`s not 20A per bank, though I think if bank A is full a smart charger might direct everything to a not yet full bank B. I doubt 20A is enough for most boats.
 
Amazon had the best price and delivered today. I know what my plans are this weekend!
 

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One of the best I have seen for just the amount of info ights and meters built right into its face.

Plus the price point is right especially with those features. Just hope its longevity matches the real old time ferro resonant style... :)

On my boat it replaced a less but not much less expensive "modern" unit that had ZERO indicators whether working or not except what the main panel voltage meter showed. POS!!!!
 
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