EugeneR
Well-Known Member
Recently, I added a Xantrex echo charger (12v to 12v) to remotely charge a thruster battery in the bow.
I first used the thruster in earnest during our last trip. When returning to the boat this weekend, I found that my main batteries were dead and that the 240v charger's fuse had blown.
My main battery charger is a Sterling ProCharge 20A with "battery pack" capability i.e. can charge and meet power needs. It gives 20A across 3 outputs - two connected to battery 1, and one to battery 2. From there, the Xantrex draws 10A to charge battery 3 in the bow. It will stop charging when the source battery voltage drops below a certain level, to prevent it from emptying the source.
When I left the boat, battery 1 and 2 were connected in parallel i.e. the 20A from the 240v charger should have gone into the combined bank and would have been enough to meet the 10A echo-charger's requirement.
When I found that my batteries were dead, and I did not see any lights on the battery charger, I switched off and on the 240v supply to the charger at the power distribution panel - at which point the circuit breaker popped, which suggest the charger's fuse also went at that point, rather than before.
The fact that the failure happened so shortly after the Xantrex been called upon to recharge the thruster battery, suggests that it has something to do with the failure - but I cannot see how/why.
Does anyone see any issues with this setup or have any ideas what could have caused the 240v charger to stop charging (before the fuse blown, that is)?
I first used the thruster in earnest during our last trip. When returning to the boat this weekend, I found that my main batteries were dead and that the 240v charger's fuse had blown.
My main battery charger is a Sterling ProCharge 20A with "battery pack" capability i.e. can charge and meet power needs. It gives 20A across 3 outputs - two connected to battery 1, and one to battery 2. From there, the Xantrex draws 10A to charge battery 3 in the bow. It will stop charging when the source battery voltage drops below a certain level, to prevent it from emptying the source.
When I left the boat, battery 1 and 2 were connected in parallel i.e. the 20A from the 240v charger should have gone into the combined bank and would have been enough to meet the 10A echo-charger's requirement.
When I found that my batteries were dead, and I did not see any lights on the battery charger, I switched off and on the 240v supply to the charger at the power distribution panel - at which point the circuit breaker popped, which suggest the charger's fuse also went at that point, rather than before.
The fact that the failure happened so shortly after the Xantrex been called upon to recharge the thruster battery, suggests that it has something to do with the failure - but I cannot see how/why.
Does anyone see any issues with this setup or have any ideas what could have caused the 240v charger to stop charging (before the fuse blown, that is)?