Adverc charging system, a good thing?

[Blue Nile]

My 2 house batteries have given up the ghost from new in 2012, having been looked after by an adverc system.
I've noticed that the battery voltage last season was frequently in the 14v range, till later on in the season they gave some strange discharge readings, the chartplotter gave low battery alarms and eventually the man from boat electrics said the batteries needed replacing.
I'm now getting advice from the boatyard that advercs keep the batteries at high voltage which may not be good for their longevity, depending on the demands made.
I suppose there could be other factors, but 3 years life for batteries seems short especially when they had an easy life, being kept on trickle every winter.

Any opinions anyone?

Thanks

 

[Minchsailor]

I've had a very similar experience with a Sterling charger. Batteries new in 2013 were shot by the end of this season. I have now removed it.

 

[GHA]

What sort of batteries and how often were they actually really fully charged? 14 and a bit volts isn't that high for normal open lead acid.
Undercoating or not getting good back to full charge might be more likely than overcharging.

 

[JumbleDuck]

Advercs don't take the voltage as high as modern alternator - they top out at 14.2V (from memory) and alternators go up to 14.4V.

 

[halcyon]

I suppose there could be other factors, but 3 years life for batteries seems short especially when they had an easy life, being kept on trickle every winter.

Any opinions anyone?

Thanks

Adverc work on a high charge for a period, then drops to a lower voltage, before going high again, more complex but that's the basic. Back in the late 80's / early 90's Hella sold it as a over charge device, thought we can add that to our product range, before I could sort out a deal with Hella they stopped selling it. So if working to spec, I would not say it's over charging.

If you have had the batteries on trickle charge all winter, this could be your killer to the batteries. In the old days when I was designing battery chargers I found out that running at 13.6 volt, remember the old single voltage mains chargers from 80/90's I found it greatly reduced battery live. Which was why we sold multi -stage with a maintenance cycle for long term non use of boat.

So check Adverc voltage cycles and periodically recycle battery charger over Winter, so that it goes to high voltage, 14.4 volt, it stirs up electrolyte.

Brian

 

[PhillM]

No problem with a ctek over 5 years.

 

[VicS]

No problem with a ctek over 5 years.

Presumably that's a mains battery charger whereas I guess the OP is talking about an Adverc alternator controller

As Halcyon and JD have said it controls the volts around the gassing point

The underlying principle is that batteries should be charged fully, quickly, safely and without damage to batteries and alternator. This is achieved, firstly, by cycling the battery voltages to an established programme, at a nominal 14.0-14.4v (12v systems) or 27.5-28.5v (24v systems).The cycling programme is normally: 5 minutes @ 14.0 volts, followed by 15 minutes @ 14.4volts. After four 20 minute cycles, there is a 'rest period' of up to 40 minutes i.e. at the lower voltage, depending on the battery state-of-charge and electrical duty-cycle.These voltage values lie either side of the battery gassing voltage, ensuring rapid chargingwithout the battery actually gassing. Voltages can also be set to suit battery types e.g. Gel, Ni-cads etc and, moreover, the charging voltages will automatically compensate for ambient temperature variations around the batteries, an important consideration.

But AFAIK it wont control the volts below the normal alternator output volts. The Ctek chargers are multistage "smart-chargers " which reduce theit output to a maintenance charge at 13.6 volts once the battery is fully charged.

 

[pvb]

The Adverc is highly unlikely to have damaged your batteries. Maybe they weren't very good batteries? I had an Adverc on my old boat, with maintenance-free batteries which typically lasted around 8 years.

 

[PCUK]

ADVERC isn't the problem!

 

[GrahamM376]

My 2 house batteries have given up the ghost from new in 2012, having been looked after by an adverc system.

What type of batteries - sealed or open lead acid? Adverc and Sterling both charge at higher voltage than alternators and electrolite sometimes needs topping up more often - did yours?

The Sterling I had on the last engine used to go up to 17+ volts and would then cut out due to over voltage. It's kicking around in a locker now, unused.

 

[rgarside]

Presumably that's a mains battery charger whereas I guess the OP is talking about an Adverc alternator controller

As Halcyon and JD have said it controls the volts around the gassing point



But AFAIK it wont control the volts below the normal alternator output volts. The Ctek chargers are multistage "smart-chargers " which reduce theit output to a maintenance charge at 13.6 volts once the battery is fully charged.

+1 I have had an Adverc on board for the last 7-ish years with no problem. Over the winter the batteries are given a charge with a smart charger at 1-2 month intervals.

 

[pvb]

The Sterling I had on the last engine used to go up to 17+ volts and would then cut out due to over voltage. It's kicking around in a locker now, unused.

It was faulty!

 

[vyv_cox]

I have had a Sterling alternator controller installed for well over ten years. Through that period and well before, battery life has varied considerably, almost totally due to the regime they follow. Batteries have a life measured in discharge cycles. In past years we were weekend sailors and batteries lasted for quite a long time, seven years was the best, partly before fitting the Sterling. Now my batteries are discharged to something like 12.2 volts or maybe a little less every night for six months of the year, followed by recharging by solar panel or engine. Nowadays they last three or four years.

 

[Blue Nile]

Thanks , everyone, very helpful.
The batteries are sealed.
Looks like the opinion is that I should keep the adverc and alter the winter maintenance regime.
Thanks

 

[sailorman]

My 2 house batteries have given up the ghost from new in 2012, having been looked after by an adverc system.
I've noticed that the battery voltage last season was frequently in the 14v range, till later on in the season they gave some strange discharge readings, the chartplotter gave low battery alarms and eventually the man from boat electrics said the batteries needed replacing.
I'm now getting advice from the boatyard that advercs keep the batteries at high voltage which may not be good for their longevity, depending on the demands made.
I suppose there could be other factors, but 3 years life for batteries seems short especially when they had an easy life, being kept on trickle every winter.

Any opinions anyone?

Thanks

Better that sliced Hovis :encouragement:

 

[GrahamM376]

It was faulty!

Try telling that to Charles, if you fancy one of his lectures.

 

[sailorman]

Try telling that to Charles, if you fancy one of his lectures.

Let that be a lesson to you :ambivalence:

 

[pvb]

Try telling that to Charles, if you fancy one of his lectures.

So you're scared to tell the supplier that the product's faulty? You're obviously the dream customer!

 

[GrahamM376]

So you're scared to tell the supplier that the product's faulty? You're obviously the dream customer!

I sent it back to them, fault found and repaired then not too long after re-installed it started again. About an hour working properly then the voltage would start to rise again and it would cut out with high voltage light on. According to Charles, the fault couldn't be with his product, must be the boat wiring. Even tried it with the voltage sensor wire on the alternator to rule out any battery cable glitches, same result. Returned again but I re-engined and didn't re-fit due to possible warranty problems. Never got around to fitting it again, solar does the job.

 

[sailorman]

I sent it back to them, fault found and repaired then not too long after re-installed it started again. About an hour working properly then the voltage would start to rise again and it would cut out with high voltage light on. According to Charles, the fault couldn't be with his product, must be the boat wiring. Even tried it with the voltage sensor wire on the alternator to rule out any battery cable glitches, same result. Returned again but I re-engined and didn't re-fit due to possible warranty problems. Never got around to fitting it again, solar does the job.

I got "Little Stewie" to add the wire to my alternator for the Adverc, before he knew what i was fitting he said "Its not a Sterling is it !!!!" No said i its an Adverc, "thats ok then" was his reply.