help with battery charger selection please

[kashurst]

Posted last week I suspected my charger was playing up - it is/was and is now dead.
fortunately local Spanish boaty electronic supplier has got a sale on including Victron Chargers

previous charger was a MasterVolt 12V 60Amp single output feeding three separate banks via a diode module (I think) so 60 amps total current. Victron do a Centaur Charger with 3 outputs - apparently each output gives the rated current. So a 3 X 20 amps gives 60 Amps total , a 3 X 30 amps (90Amps total) and a 3 X 50 (150 amps) amps. Any of which would seem powerful enough. Not sure which one to get. I'm not familiar with Victron chargers so any input appreciated.

 

[markc]

Hi

I replaced mine a few months ago with a Victron Skylla i 24 / 80 with 3 outputs. I paid about £1300 from the Battery Megastore in the UK, if you want to compare with your Spanish supplier. I have 4 x 180 Ah domestic, 4 x 180 ah engine start, 2 x 180 Ah stern thruster. I've been very happy with it so far

 

[BartW]

Victron advices to charge at 25% of rated batt capacity,
take MarkC's example above,
usually the domestic banc needs to most (re-) charge
I assume he has 4 x 180Ah 12V domestic batts, used as 2 x 24V 180Ah = 360Ah rated capacity,
so recommanded charge current for the domestic banc is around 90Amps


when changing the charger, why not place a combi charger / invertor like Victron Multiplus or Quattro ?
these have one main and one aux batt. output
with the addition of a Cyrix battery combiner you can create a charger for the 3th batt bank.

excuses for making your decision even more difficult ;-)

 

[superheat6k]

My Sterling Pro Charge D is not putting out the correct voltages. It is still working, just doesn't seem to be to specification. However, I have asked Sterling for advice and after one week nil response. So if I do have to buy a new one I would not buy from a supplier who does not offer technical support.

Battery Megastore service is first class.

 

[Portofino]

Here’s another one and i would recommend.

https://www.dolphin-charger.com

When I got my boat about 4 seasons back , we had a slight problem now and agian starting and having to use the x over switch intermittently.
Then the cockpit fridge seemed to have a mind of its own , turning off for no apparent reason .
I mentioned all this to a boat sparky recommended by Sunseeker France .He was retro fitting new Aircon at the time .

One morning he arrived with a “charger tester ‘ .later he said the OEM 24v 40 was only giving out 4 Amps max .

That explains the intermittent starting difficulty and fridge on / off issue .
The fridge is a 220 v and 24 v auto switch but if the V drops below a certain level say at anchor it turns off to conserve the battery’s .
2x 180 ah starters and 2x180 ah house @ 24 v a very simple set up .

Because he does 24 callouts for S/Sker he carries chargers on the van , so within an hour he fitted a 24/100 Dolphin .
The factory is only a few miles away in Pegomas .
A few days later he brought a new 3 outlet modern Dolphin 24 / 80 and fitted it , removing the “ spare “

We have never had any bat issues since .
I can see from the console in the saloon the charge rate and depletion levels in aH as well as overall V on both banks .
The most I’ve seen stuffed in the house is about 60 aH ( 360 aH capacity) after say 10 hrs at anchor ,which quickly drops then ends up just a few on float .

I guess these days modern smart chargers can figure out exactly how much to stuff in and when etc .
It’s just a case of getting one caberble of handling the two banks .

The geny runs from a small 60 aH dedicated bat and has its own charger a small Bosch thing that’s also a smart thing and keeps it on trickle .
I have a x over for that to nick 12 v from somewhere, but never had to use it .
Shore power is on permanently and all three banks should be on trickle/ maintenance.

 

[markc]

Here’s another one and i would recommend.

https://www.dolphin-charger.com

My charger that went pop last summer was a Dolphin, and as we're not far from the factory in SoF, I asked them if they could look at it with a view to repair. Their answer was "it's out of warranty so you need to buy a new one". I quickly crossed them off my Christmas list!

 

[MapisM]

Fwiw, Dolphin used to be the OEM installation in DPs, and in my boat I still have the original (2004 vintage) 24V/100A unit.
But having heard from the builder's electrician that they had serious problems with a few units that caused battery explosions (!), and since I had a great experience with a Victron Multiplus retrofitted to the previous boat, the Dolphin charger went straight into my "to be replaced" list.
Otoh, since the same guy assured me that the problem with those defective units surfaced within weeks from the first installation, and none of the non-defective units ever had any troubles afterwards, I didn't give it a big priority.
Now, two seasons later, I must say that the charger has always been flawless, and I'm beginning to think along the lines of if it ain't broke, don't fix it...

That said, a charger+inverter unit as BartW suggested and as I had on the previous boat is definitely a very nice addition, because for any light AC usage (like recharging PCs/mobiles, making an espresso, using the microwave, TV, music, whatever), it's very convenient not needing to turn the genset on.
Definitely worth the cost difference, which ain't that big anyway.
Should I replace the charger for any reason, I'd go for a combo unit without thinking twice.

 

[Bigplumbs]

I just replaced the old charger in my Sealine S24. with a Victron 12/15 3 output Bluetooth. It is a third the weight of the old one and about a third the size

Mind you the old one is in my opinion an electronics work of art. I will clean it up and mount it to the wall of my office as a piece of art

 

[matthewriches]

Think these were made by the KDD bloke of this forum. Nice bits of kit.

Mind you the old one is in my opinion an electronics work of art. I will clean it up and mount it to the wall of my office as a piece of art

 

[Boat2016]

My Sterling Pro Charge D is not putting out the correct voltages. It is still working, just doesn't seem to be to specification. However, I have asked Sterling for advice and after one week nil response. So if I do have to buy a new one I would not buy from a supplier who does not offer technical support.

Battery Megastore service is first class.

My last Sterling charger burnt out leaving a nasty burn mark on the bulkhead where it was attached, mainly cosmetic damage but could have been a lot worse, you get what you pay for and I have since had a few Victron chargers and been very pleased with their reliability.

 

[Bigplumbs]

My last Sterling charger burnt out leaving a nasty burn mark on the bulkhead where it was attached, mainly cosmetic damage but could have been a lot worse, you get what you pay for and I have since had a few Victron chargers and been very pleased with their reliability.

I certainly hope you get what you pay for as you have paid for it. Are you actually saying that it is better to buy something that costs more money as it will be better than a cheaper alternative. I think that has been soundly proved to be incorrect in another thread of mine but some people will never acknowledge this

 

[Boat2016]

I certainly hope you get what you pay for as you have paid for it. Are you actually saying that it is better to buy something that costs more money as it will be better than a cheaper alternative. I think that has been soundly proved to be incorrect in another thread of mine but some people will never acknowledge this

Not at all, I bought a new Victron off fleabay for 20 quid delivered, took about 6 weeks to get here, only issue is I need someone to translate the instructions, you’re the forum Chinese expert, care to help ?

 

[Bigplumbs]

Not at all, I bought a new Victron off fleabay for 20 quid delivered, took about 6 weeks to get here, only issue is I need someone to translate the instructions, you’re the forum Chinese expert, care to help ?

Just connect the battery to the appropriate terminals and plug it in...………. Failing this plenty of instructions on line

 

[Boat2016]

Just connect the battery to the appropriate terminals and plug it in...………. Failing this plenty of instructions on line

Cheers, if you dont hear from me again you can assume it went wrong......!