New battery charger - Victron or Mastervolt?

jimmy_the_builder

jimmy_the_builder

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It seems that my elderly Jenelec battery charger has got a bit jealous of all the other new kit on the boat, and appears to be giving up the ghost. This current charger is 12V/50A, and charges my two domestic batteries which are connected in parallel and are 190AH each.

The two logical replacements are these, I think:
http://www.cactusnav.com/mastervolt-chargemaster-output-charger-p-11109.html?cPath=107_109_1056_1060
http://www.cactusnav.com/victron-centaur-charger-12v50a-p-11593.html?cPath=107_109_1056_1060

I don't know much about chargers - but the boat does stay on shorepower for long periods of time, so some sort of intelligence in the charger is required. Instinctively I prefer the Victron because it has an ammeter (and it's £100 cheaper).

Any opinions on these two chargers? Any other product I should consider?
 
Both excellent and both would be fine so it's a splitting hairs discussion. Yep an ammeter is nice but pointless on your boat if charger is in e/room surely? You'll always use the panel ammeter. I ways choose mastervolt because I think they look much slicker in the e/room with LCD displays and all that , but it's hardly a great reason! They also have plug n play Ethernet networking though I haven't installed it yet. So logical answer here is victron I think even though I generally am a mastervolt fan
 
You cannot go wrong with Mastervolt.
It is really great gear and a good backup service if ever needed.
I would fit nothing else.
Hope all is going well with the refit.
Mike.
 
jfm said:
... with LCD displays ..
Click to expand...
Just a quick note. The model you are proposing does not have the LCD display.
This is on the 70 amp model and above.
I have fitted a couple of Mastervolt chargers and they are nicely finished and have a feel of quality about them.
I have no experience of Victron but when I was researching the subject I was put off by some user experiences. But then I have no idea how the volumes of sales compare from one brand to the other.
When at the Excel Boat show I spoke to the guy who would handle any warranty issues. If a fault was found the unit would be sent back to Sweden (I think) for repair.
 
jfm said:
Both excellent and both would be fine so it's a splitting hairs discussion. Yep an ammeter is nice but pointless on your boat if charger is in e/room surely? You'll always use the panel ammeter. I ways choose mastervolt because I think they look much slicker in the e/room with LCD displays and all that , but it's hardly a great reason! They also have plug n play Ethernet networking though I haven't installed it yet. So logical answer here is victron I think even though I generally am a mastervolt fan
Click to expand...

Thanks for this. There's no charge ammeter on the panel on the T40, only a load ammeter. More than once in the past it would have been helpful to know what current the charger was delivering to the batteries, hence my comment about wanting an ammeter this time.
 
Talulah said:
Just a quick note. The model you are proposing does not have the LCD display.
This is on the 70 amp model and above.
I have fitted a couple of Mastervolt chargers and they are nicely finished and have a feel of quality about them.
I have no experience of Victron but when I was researching the subject I was put off by some user experiences. But then I have no idea how the volumes of sales compare from one brand to the other.
When at the Excel Boat show I spoke to the guy who would handle any warranty issues. If a fault was found the unit would be sent back to Sweden (I think) for repair.
Click to expand...

Yes, I'd noticed that the 50A model has no lcd panel. I can't readily see from the Mastervolt site if the 70A model does include charge current on the lcd display - anybody know?

Ref warranty, it looks like Mastervolt is two years, but Victron is five years. Quite a difference.
 
Talulah said:
Just a quick note. The model you are proposing does not have the LCD display.
This is on the 70 amp model and above.
Click to expand...
Yep, I'm fully aware of that :)

Talulah said:
...Mastervolt chargers and they are nicely finished and have a feel of quality about them.
Click to expand...
Yes, completely agreed. In a new build I would always spec Mastervolt not Victron

jimmy_the_builder said:
Thanks for this. There's no charge ammeter on the panel on the T40, only a load ammeter. More than once in the past it would have been helpful to know what current the charger was delivering to the batteries, hence my comment about wanting an ammeter this time.
Click to expand...
Ah ok. Yes it is useful to know - very useful. But if your charger is in e/room that is awkward. You might want to look into fitting a separate ammeter somewhere, or buy the mastervolt then you can have a remote display using Mastervolt's BTM or their Ethernet-cable bus system. I currently have the BTM and it is full of useful info - well worth having imho

BTW do you already have an inverter or would it be worthwhile buying a charger/inverter?
 
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jimmy_the_builder said:
Ref warranty, it looks like Mastervolt is two years, but Victron is five years. Quite a difference.
Click to expand...
You know my view on these things. It's irrelevant because the mastervolt isn't going to break. And if the victron breaks in year 4 you'll have to return it to base and be charger-less for a while, so you'll end up buying a new one on the spot from Lyvio anyway so as not to spoil your vacation (he stocks mastervolt btw, and properly stocks them, on the physical shelf)
 
Talulah said:
When at the Excel Boat show I spoke to the guy who would handle any warranty issues. If a fault was found the unit would be sent back to Sweden (I think) for repair.
Click to expand...

In fact I've just been in touch with the UK sales manager for Victron, and he confirms that (a) it's a five year warranty and (b) you're quite correct, you either return the unit to the selling dealer, or direct to Victron in the Netherlands if you bought it direct in the first place. Apparently it takes a week for the warranty turnaround.
 
jfm said:
BTW do you already have an inverter or would it be worthwhile buying a charger/inverter?
Click to expand...

BartW said:
that's the exact question I was going to asc
Click to expand...

No - I don't have an inverter. Remember this is a titchy T40, not a Match or a BA. About the only thing that can't run on 12vdc is the kettle, and even if I did have an inverter I wouldn't use it to drive a kettle. For my boat, I'm not sure how useful it would be to have an inverter tbh (but I'm open to suggestion).
 
jfm said:
You know my view on these things. It's irrelevant because the mastervolt isn't going to break. And if the victron breaks in year 4 you'll have to return it to base and be charger-less for a while, so you'll end up buying a new one on the spot from Lyvio anyway so as not to spoil your vacation (he stocks mastervolt btw, and properly stocks them, on the physical shelf)
Click to expand...

Yeah, but equally you know my approach to these things, which is that I would take it apart, fail to fix it, put it back together again, break something else in the process, have some bits left over, hurt myself trying to reinstall it, and then I would grumpily fly back to the UK to buy a new one :D
 
Haha! Cactus will love a returned 4yo charger in a tatty box! Oh yes, that will be one really rapid repair, not! Fact is, if it busts you'll be buying a new one. Don't even think about warranties on small items! :D
 
Apart from price/brand the other difference is that the Centaur has no interface whereas the Master volt does.

I use the Victron Phoenix 50A (costs more) as my long term leave on house charger which I can setup all the charge voltages via my laptop. I am very anal about my charge voltages:cool:
 
I had a 2007 Victron Centaur 40a charger & Victron inverter on my little Hardy, would have loved to have unbolted them and moved to my Mitchell. It did what it should, never even thought about it in the 5 years we had our Hardy, so happy to recommend Victron.
 
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