Recommendations for a new main charger

[davidej]

Our OEM French charger has gone wrong and I doubt if it is worth trying to get it repaired. So recommendations for a new one please.
Our House bank is 160 Ahr and we need to be able to fully charge it overnight after a hard day’s sailing. What output is needed to do that - 20A? 30A?
After advice, we no longer charge the motor battery from the mains charger, so only single output is required.
A good economical multi stage replacement is required.
TIA

 

[Tranona]

20A more than enough. The charge required is determined by the acceptance rate, not the charger output. So having a larger charger won't shorten total charge time. Going from (say) 50% to full is slow, particularly the last 15% and you may not achieve that overnight. Perhaps consider some solar to reduce the extent of discharge during your day's hard sailing so you start the night with a higher SOC. - or increase capacity so you use a smaller proportion of it during the day.

Victron seems to be the most popular charger now. Widely available.
Victron Blue Smart IP22 Bluetooth Battery Charger - 12V 20A, 1 output

 

[Sandy]

Victron Blue Smart IP22 Bluetooth Battery Charger - 12V 20A, 1 output

+1

A cracking bit of kit. Installed one, plus shunt and battery temp monitor and love the amount of data it gives me.

I do have my old charger listed for sale in the For Sale sub-forum.

I'd be interested why you were told not to charge the starter battery from the mains, DC is DC after all. I charge mine via a VSR.

 

[jwfrary]

There's plenty of victron products that would suit what you want to do. There's an ip67 version if your worried about the damp at all.

The one tranona linked to is great though.

 

[PaulRainbow]

Our OEM French charger has gone wrong and I doubt if it is worth trying to get it repaired. So recommendations for a new one please.
Our House bank is 160 Ahr and we need to be able to fully charge it overnight after a hard day’s sailing. What output is needed to do that - 20A? 30A?
After advice, we no longer charge the motor battery from the mains charger, so only single output is required.
A good economical multi stage replacement is required.
TIA

See post #2, but i don't know why you were advised not to charge the engine battery by shore power.

 

[ChromeDome]

I've been charging 2 x starter and 1 x domestic batteries by shore power for may years without ever having an issue.

What should the reason be for not charging the start battery?

 

[wingcommander]

Starter battery will be back to almost full charge after a short engine run. Maybe Op is misunderstanding shouldn't need connection to mains charger with do not .

 

[davidej]

In theory the boat is wired so that no house item could possibly drain the motor battery and visa versa. But somehow I got the feeling that there was some cross connection and the mains charger seemed to be the only possible culprit . Anyway the Motor battery is always fully charged by the alternator.

 

[LiftyK]

Would your failed charger be a Dolphin? If so, when mine failed and an enthusiastic friend investigated, he opened it up and found a blown fuse inside. This was in addition to the external fuse It was an easy fix.

 

[ChromeDome]

In theory the boat is wired so that no house item could possibly drain the motor battery and visa versa. But somehow I got the feeling that there was some cross connection and the mains charger seemed to be the only possible culprit .

That would be something to look into in any case.

Sometimes you find devices connected directly to the batteries or to the engine supply (bilge pumps, heating, radio etc.). Easy to fix if you like.

 

[GHA]

A vote for Sterling pro charge ultra

 

[Lollypop]

20A more than enough. The charge required is determined by the acceptance rate, not the charger output. So having a larger charger won't shorten total charge time. Going from (say) 50% to full is slow, particularly the last 15% and you may not achieve that overnight. Perhaps consider some solar to reduce the extent of discharge during your day's hard sailing so you start the night with a higher SOC. - or increase capacity so you use a smaller proportion of it during the day.

Victron seems to be the most popular charger now. Widely available.
Victron Blue Smart IP22 Bluetooth Battery Charger - 12V 20A, 1 output

I'm replacing a big old heavy iron Sterling 3 stage charger and the Victron IP22 types look ideal. There is no info on battery current drain when the charger is permanently connected to the battery but off the mains. Is there a problem with that setup?

 

[Lollypop]

I'm replacing an old heavy iron Sterling 3 stage charger and the Victron IP22 types look ideal. There is no info on battery current drain when the charger is permanently connected to the battery but off the mains. Is there a problem here?

 

[PaulRainbow]

I'm replacing an old heavy iron Sterling 3 stage charger and the Victron IP22 types look ideal. There is no info on battery current drain when the charger is permanently connected to the battery but off the mains. Is there a problem here?

No, there is not a problem with leaving the charger permanently connected.

 

[Neeves]

We have an old Victron inverter charger (excellent product) - it is permanently 'connected'. All we do is throw a little, really little, toggle switch when connected to the mains. When in inverter mode, not connected to mains, the unit does draw, from memory, about 1 amp. We thus do not leave it active when not connected to mains and don't need 240v.

If you forget the unit soon gobbles up your amps.

The main use in inverter mode is power tools, bread maker (when we know we will be running an engine (entering an anchorage). Its inefficient but if we NEED the 240v we would charge other items - thus making better use of the 1 amp draw. We had romantically thought we could use a microwave using the inverter - the power usage is high, compared to anything else. We only use the micro wave during the few times we have access to shore power.

The reality is that an inverter is very convenient but if you have battery power tools, 12v chargers for your electronic kit (laptop etc) and don't have a bread maker - then you really don't need an inverter.



Jonathan

 

[PaulRainbow]

We have an old Victron inverter charger (excellent product) - it is permanently 'connected'. All we do is throw a little, really little, toggle switch when connected to the mains. When in inverter mode, not connected to mains, the unit does draw, from memory, about 1 amp. We thus do not leave it active when not connected to mains and don't need 240v.

If you forget the unit soon gobbles up your amps.

The main use in inverter mode is power tools, bread maker (when we know we will be running an engine (entering an anchorage). Its inefficient but if we NEED the 240v we would charge other items - thus making better use of the 1 amp draw. We had romantically thought we could use a microwave using the inverter - the power usage is high, compared to anything else. We only use the micro wave during the few times we have access to shore power.

The reality is that an inverter is very convenient but if you have battery power tools, 12v chargers for your electronic kit (laptop etc) and don't have a bread maker - then you really don't need an inverter.

Jonathan

This is totally irrelevant to an IP22 charger and is only likely to cause confusion. There is no such standby current "drain" using the charger, unlike an inverter, which is a totally different thing.

 

[Neeves]

This is totally irrelevant to an IP22 charger and is only likely to cause confusion. There is no such standby current "drain" using the charger, unlike an inverter, which is a totally different thing.

I did mention we had an inverter charger, I have never suggested our old inverter charger was an IP22 charger. I simply described our experience with a Victron inverter charger.

If you were confused maybe you should have read my post more carefully.

Jonathan

 

[jac]

I did mention we had an inverter charger, I have never suggested our old inverter charger was an IP22 charger. I simply described our experience with a Victron inverter charger.

If you were confused maybe you should have read my post more carefully.

Jonathan

Obviously thread drift is to be expected but why mention issues with an invertor charger when the OP was asking about new chargers or spend time talking about best use of an inverter?

 

[PaulRainbow]

I did mention we had an inverter charger, I have never suggested our old inverter charger was an IP22 charger. I simply described our experience with a Victron inverter charger.

If you were confused maybe you should have read my post more carefully.

Jonathan

Posts 12 and 13 refer to an IP22 charger and you jump in with your inverter charger, totally different equipment and likely to confuse Lollypop.

I read your post and i'm not confused, perhaps you are confused, do you know the difference between an IP22 charger and an inverter charger ?

 

[Neeves]

I'm replacing a big old heavy iron Sterling 3 stage charger and the Victron IP22 types look ideal. There is no info on battery current drain when the charger is permanently connected to the battery but off the mains. Is there a problem with that setup?

If you look at this post you will find mention of current drain - there can be current drain - from an Inverter charger - and the inverter might be the source of drain (not the charger) - I simply added our experience.

Jonathan