Anyone suggest a reliable battery charger?

[demonboy]

I have a 43ft sailing yacht which will become a live-aboard, based initially in Turkey. I need to replace my batteries and charger but need some recommendations on a reliable battery charger. The old system had 3x115amp house battery bank and 100amp engine battery. Because of battery availability in Turkey I need to downsize to 3x105amp in the short term with a view of increasing the house batteries to 3x125amp or more when I make more space for them.

I need a battery charger that will cover both the short term and long term power requirements (ie switching from 315amps to 375amps at some point in the next couple of years).

The only battery charger I've looked into is a Studer and the only other make I see pop up regularly is Sterling.

What should I be looking for and how much should I expect to spend? I've been quoted £354 on last year's model of Studer (charges from 300 to 500amp).

Any views would be really appreciated!

 

[Talbot]

There are a number of good chargers for your requirements. Recommend that you want a charger of abt 45amps that step charges to two battery banks.

The stirling is a good machine and will accept a broad range of input voltage and 50/60Hz. Adverc also do a good machine.

Personally I have a mobelec as it is cheaper - mainly cause the input range is reduced

 

[demonboy]

Thanks Talbot. Any idea how much I should be spending on this?

 

[Anonymous]

A 35A charger would be a good target for you. I had a 20A Sterling for five years and was well pleased with it. I strongly recommend a battery monitor such as the Link 10 or 20 or (in my view better) the BEP meter (available from Merlin) as this gives a bilge monitor as well. It also looks nicer. If you avoid discharging your batteries more than around 50% and, if then, recharge fully within a few days, you will get much better battery life. You will also get better life if you avoid discharging and charging at very high rates. The '10 hour rate' is a safe maximum target for long-ish discharges - for a 325Ah battery the 10 hour rate is 32.5A - or better still, a 20 hour rate, i.e. 16.25A. If the batteries are rated for cranking or traction then they will also survive very short high loads of hundreds of amps.

However, if you have some piece of dc equipment that you use a lot - e.g. a 12V TV, computer, marine/ham ssb radio, then add that load to the 35A charger requirement otherwise you might find you are a bit short.

 

[MedMan]

I had to replace my charger last year and did quite a lot of research.

The top-quality, expensive brand-names with International Service Agents include Mastervolt and Victron. Amongst those that provide cheaper alternatives, Sterling is one of the best, but don't expect service with a smile. Do a search for Sterling on this site and you will find catalogues of stories about rude or non-existent service - but the chargers are fine.

I bought mine from Yachtbits <sales@yachtbits.co.uk> as they had the cheapest price: £238.45 inc vat. for a Sterling Pro Digital Charger 1230CED As you are looking for the next size up I suggest you email Yachtbits for a quote.

 

[demonboy]

Hi all,

Thanks for your replies thus far. They have helped me put into context a few issues I had which I now understand better.

No one though has mentioned Studer, which is interesting. The quote I got for a Studer 40amp output at £354 seems a little high but the pre-sales support I'm getting from Barden has been brilliant.

Clearly I need to compare Studer with Victron and Mastervolt.

 

[Anonymous]

Be sure to check the physical sizes when you do your comparison. Some are pretty big; for example some of the smaller Mastervolts are in the same box as bigger models.

 

[Spacewaist]

If you are really doing research, go to

http://www.victronenergy.com/BookRVA/ElectricityonBoard.pdf.

and down load their idiot's guide to marine electrics.

Id have said you wd need a bigger charger to deal with 475Amps Hours (nearer 100amps) unless you want to spend your nights in idyllic anchorages listening to your generator chugging away (and your neighbour's well wishes) all night.

Depends on whether you are supplying the charger from a generator or only from shorepower of course. If you spend your life attached to the grid, that's different.