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Old 01-16-2019, 03:09 PM   #4
CMS
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City: Casco Bay
Join Date: Feb 2016
Posts: 308
Quote:
Originally Posted by DLETF View Post
An Amazon review of the Pro Nautic charger by Aphrael does not recommend it to charge AGM batteries.
Gotta love Amazon reviews. Perhaps Alphrael is unaware that some of us have had our hands on these chargers since about 2009 (they won the 2010 Pittman award). Our first installation with one of these chargers was a boat that has a bank of Lifeline batteries. The batteries were installed at the same time we installed the Sterling ProCharge Ultra, in about 2009. Those Lifelines are still going in 2019. But hey an Amazon reviewer says they are bad for AGM...

Quote:
Originally Posted by DLETF View Post
I have the following comments/questions:
1. Why should the battery charger need to be 50 amps?I could understand the recommendation, if the vessel was a sailboat. A 30 amp charger would double the output of the existing charger.
Because good quality AGM batteries such as Lifeline, Northstar, Odyssey etc. all benefit from high current charging. Charging AGM batteries at higher rates actually helps prolong the life and is just one piece of the cycle life / longevity puzzle with AGM batteries. For example Lifeline wants to see a minimum of .2C (20% of Ah capacity in charge current) and Odyssey wants to see a minimum charge current of .4C or 40% of Ah capacity, for optimal cycle life..

Quote:
Originally Posted by DLETF View Post
2. The Amazon review on 10/17/16 by Aphrael states that the Pro Nautic chargers should not be used to charge AGM batteries.
An yet here in the real world we have piles of these chargers out there (Sterling ProCharge Ultra) charging AGM & GEL batteries with excellent cycle life, a number of these banks are now exceeding 8 years old. When you consider many AGM's are murdered in just 2-4 years this is pretty good cycle life..

Quote:
Originally Posted by DLETF View Post
In addition, he states that the output is the same to all battery banks. Is this a problem? I do not have the training or expertise to properly evaluate the review by Aphrael.
This is pretty standard for any "multi-output" charger and Sterling and Pro-Mariner are not alone in this, they all do it. There are very, very few battery chargers out there that are actually two or three complete chargers in one box. This would require three seperate power supplies and three seperate voltage regulators and can get really, really expensive.

Xantrex used to build one, so did Charles (now defunct), but the failure rate of the Xantrex was off the charts and they dropped it.

If you want to charge a different chemistry you could invest in a Sterling Power battery chemistry module (works with any charger not just Sterling) or a battery to battery charger such as the Sterling Power BB1230, again works with any charger not just Sterling..

You may want to give this a read to better understand the installation process: https://marinehowto.com/installing-a-marine-battery-charger/
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