Adverc Battery charging

[AIDY]

Has anyone fitted a adverc battery charging system to there boat?

I am debating wether or not to fit one. Has it given your batteries a new lease of life. what did you go for I currently have 3 domestics and 1 engine battery. Or should I not bother. Was it easy to install.

TIA

 

[pugwash]

I had one fitted to my ketch by a boatyard man two years ago. It works fine and has been greatly worthwhile, the batteries have a lot more oomph and for longer, but I'm no techie and can't give you chapter and verse. I wouldn't be without it now.

 

[pvb]

Well worth doing...

I've fitted Advercs on several boats, always with good results. Certainly improves the charge rate. Installation is relatively easy - if you're worried about modifying your alternator, it's easy to get it done by taking it to an auto-electrician. Adverc's customer service is excellent (unlike the reputation enjoyed by a competitor!), and they're always happy to give sensible and realistic advice.

 

[Robin]

Every boat should have one as standard. Excellent piece of kit, excellent customer service.

 

[BlueChip]

Buy one today - you won't regret it.
Second previous posters comment about their great service & support

 

[LeonF]

Re: Well worth doing...

Had one on a previous boat and apart from compatibility probs with AGM batteries I do believe they are a good piece of equipment. How ever, even Adverc will admit, if one uses one's engine very scarcely, as in people who maybe just motor off a mooring then get sailing, might it not be better to get a constant charger, as opposed to the pulse charger that the adverc is?? One that puts out a high level charge until it senses a well charged battery then drops down, as opposed to the ADVERC that kicks in after 5 minutes then cycles a pre set programme ??

 

[LORDNELSON]

I fitted one to my present boat about three years ago. Simple to fit, lots of advice from Adverc if required. Have had no problems with batteries since fitting the Adverc. Am not sure if you can wire an Adverc to four batteries - but a telephone call to Adverc will clarify that query.

 

[John_Walker]

Great bit of kit and the best customer support I have experienced. I changed the engine from a Volvo to a Yanmar and couldn't work out how to fit the Adverc to the new alternator. After a short e-mail exchange they sent me step-by-step colour photos of the modifications to the alternator. Super, especially when you consider they sold me the unit a few years ago and they are not making any money out of the continued support.

 

[William_H]

You need to ask the question what is wrong with your existing set up? Do you often find the batteries going low from usage? Do you resent having to run the engine for long periods just to charge the batteries? if your sailing style means the answer to those questions is no then your existing system is fine. Yes theoretically a smart charger may keep your batteries more fully charged and give them a longer life but that may not bhe significant compared to the cost of smart charger. You don't necessarily need one just cos everyone else has one.
The smart charger should give a quicker and more complete charge than standard voltage regulated system but do you need that. consider the millions of cars that use standard system successfully. regards olewill

 

[john_morris_uk]

Will, With the greatest respect, the way that a battery is used in a car is completely different to the way batterys are used on boats. When you start a car, you only use a tiny tiny proportion of the Ah's stored. You then usually run the engine for hours and the alternator is designed to allow for this. Specifically, the alternator on a car is designed to run the car electrical systems and at the same time keep the car battery near fully charged.

In a boat, you expect the battery to provide energy over a day or days, until its say 50% discharged. Then the alternator to recharge the battery in as short a time as possible.

This is why firstly car batterys are the wrong batteries for boats. (The design of the plates mean that a car battery is very good at delivering high currents for starting, but not small currents over long periods of time). And secondly, why ordinary alternator regulators give very poor performance on boat engines when recharging the batteries from 50% discharge.

I happen to use a Sterling Alternator Regulator. Its costs about half the price of a new bank of batteries for my boat and increases battery life by a factor of several. I have no allegience to Sterling, and suspect that any of the systems (Adverc, Sterling etc) will perform equally as well.)

If you are not convinced, try monitoring your batterys properly and see what state of charge they truly achieve with a conventional system.

 

[mad_boater]

I also have a Sterling system for the altenator and I have the same make 240 volt charger .Both work well. To try and get 2 days without charging batteries I have fitted extra batteries(total on domestic side 450 amp/hr) and an uprated altenator 60 amps.The biggest drain is the coolbox for the essential liquid refreshment and the Engel fridge but if kept to its lowest setting I can just get two days before flattening the batteries. It is essential to keep chckin the water in the batteries as frequent charge/discharge uses more water.

 

[halcyon]

Until the alternator reaches it's regulation voltage it makes no differance if it's dumb or smart. Assuming you have a alternator running at 14.4 / 14.6 volt regulation, no blocking diodes, there will be little differance.
Smart regulators come in were you have large alternators / small battery banks ( you get bubbles forming on plates resulting in surface charge ), or blocking diodes that are dropping voltage.
Some manufacturers of AGM and Gell batteries are calling for constant voltage charging, what you get with a standard alternator, so that can make a differance as well.

Brian

 

[john_morris_uk]

That yould be true if car type regulators were set at such a high voltage. However they are set at 13.8 to 14.5 volts at the alternator, and not only do most 'smart' alternator chargers allow for sensing voltage off the battery, they also allow for a period of time at the high end or above that voltage. This is usually switchable (you can't charge gell or sealed batteries at such a high voltage at risk of boiling off gell/liquid) but for conventional wet lead acid, you can set the boost charge voltage to a higher level.

In any event, the real limiting factor is the physics of the battery construction. You need a certain amount of time for the migration of the charging process into the plate walls of the battery. At least with a 'smart charger' you reduce the time charging to a minimum.

 

[alienzdive]

Anyone know where or how I can purchase an adverc and how much will it cost?

 

[pvb]

Buying an Adverc...

Take a look first at the Adverc website and work out what sort of Adverc you need (positive/negative, 12/24v, single/twin alternators). Then try JG Technologies for a discount price (their prices include courier delivery and VAT). You can buy the basic kit for £185.