Sterling 12v universal charger.

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uforea

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Can someone explain exactly what one of these units does.I've looked on their site and am none the wiser. What is a "four stage charger", does it increase the volts as well as the amps.? Will it charge my batteries quicker than the standard setup. Basically all their site says is this unit will put more charge into a battery.

Ted
 
If you download the instruction manual from the Sterling site it tells you what it does.

I assume you mean the "ProCharge International" as I dont think they do a "universal" one suitable for other galaxies in the universe /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

If so then read the third page of THIS beginning "charger operation 4step charge"
 
[/ QUOTE ].... in the most ffective amount of time.

That's about it really. All you need to know !!

[/ QUOTE ]

That's what Constavolt, Cetrek, Newmar, etc said in the 1980's, when they were selling 13.6 volt fixed chargers.

Which is why we started making multistage chargers in 1984.

Could never justify absorbtion phase, unless we started selling distilled water, because all it ever did was gas the batteries for little or no gain.

Brian
 
[ QUOTE ]
I assume you mean the "ProCharge International" as I dont think they do a "universal" one suitable for other galaxies in the universe /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

[/ QUOTE ]Isn't "Universal" the name used for their digital alternator regulator?
 
Well it said "a four stage charger" and talked of batteries.

If people want info about alternator regulators I'd expect then to say"alternator regulator.

Anyway If there is such a thing as a fourstage alternator regulator answer the frigging question instead of picking holes in other peoples attempts.

Then go and ID redboatatsea's grub screw cos I cant do that either.
 
[ QUOTE ]
Anyway If there is such a thing as a fourstage alternator regulator answer the frigging question instead of picking holes in other peoples attempts.

Then go and ID redboatatsea's grub screw cos I cant do that either.

[/ QUOTE ]Good to see you're full of Yuletide cheer, Vic!

And I don't do outboards - been there, got the T-shirt, etc. /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif
 
Spurred on by the festive comments of VicS, can you help everyone by confirming whether you're looking at a battery charger or a "universal digital alternator regulator"?
 
Yes , your quite right the post was meant to refer to a "universal digital alternator regulator" and was my mistake in the first place.
Sorry for the slip and that some have got upset as that was not my intention.
However, both seem to do the same thing, one uses the mains, the other the engine and it's alternator.
I still dont understand the "four stages" as one and four seem to be the same thing to me and there is no mention of "amps"
Ted
 
Yep i think as far as the battery charger goes 1 and 4 are the same. As I read it step 4 comes into play when the battery volts falls and merely starts the procedure again.

The battery charger starts by whacking in the most that it can, the actual amps will depend upon the battery and its state of charge. That battery charger does come in two versions a 10A and a 20A one although towards the end of the instructions there is a bit about why you should not buy a charger based on its amps rating!

presumably the alternator regulator will be limited by the max output of the alternator but subject to the temperature monitoring.

Once the battery volts have risen to 14.4 or 14.8 depending on the settings it then goes into the second stage, charging at this constant voltage until the predetermined time has elapsed then it drops to 13.5volts until stage 4 is triggered to start all over.

I can only assume the regulator works in a similar if not identical way. I have not read the instruction for that. Its possible that it also has a slow start, ramping up to max rather than banging it on instantly, in order to avoid belt slip.

PVC can explain in more detail and correct what is wrong.

You could always of course ring Sterling Power Products and ask for an explanation. Charles Sterling is a charming, helpful and patient man I am sure /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif
 
I have fitted both the stirling 20 amp charger and smart 70 amp alternator regulator. i have been very satisfied with the performance of both bits of kit. So I am happy to recommend either of them.
 
OK, the Universal Digital Alternator Regulator is an alternator booster which works by increasing the alternator's output voltage. A higher voltage "pushes" more current into the batteries, so increasing the rate of charge. This effect is especially beneficial as the batteries approach being fully charged - without this, it would take a long time for a standard alternator to bring batteries from, say, 80% charged up to 100% charged.

You'll find there's no mention of amps because it's impossible to quantify the current without knowing the details of the alternator and batteries fitted.

Sterling's catalogue has a graph showing how the charging voltage varies during the 4-step cycle. Here it is...
sterlinggraph.jpg

An important point to note is that, despite what Sterling say, in almost all installations the Universal Digital Alternator Regulator can only increase the alternator voltage - it can't reduce the voltage. So the "float" voltage shown on the chart as 14.0v is dependent on what the alternator's normal voltage is. If the alternator's normal voltage is 14.4v, then that's what the float voltage will be.

Alternator boosters are useful things for most boat owners to fit, and help to ensure that batteries are fully charged as quickly as possible. Apart from Sterling, there are other makes - notably Adverc. Fitting an alternator booster requires the alternator to be removed and modified slightly; if you're not happy about this, you might consider Sterling's Alternator to Battery Charger (details here), which doesn't need any alternator mods, and which also provides a true float voltage.
 
[ QUOTE ]
An important point to note is that, despite what Sterling say, in almost all installations the Universal Digital Alternator Regulator can only increase the alternator voltage - it can't reduce the voltage

[/ QUOTE ] Is this because it is an add on device that operates in conjunction with the alternators own regulator rather that a device that replaces it????

The alternator to battery chargers have been discussed before. Presumably they don't achieve such a high boost in the initial stage as the device currently under discussion?

Is there a device that both boosts the alternator to its maximum like the "universal regulator" and drops to a float level like the alternator to battery chargers and that totally replaces the standard regulator?
 
[ QUOTE ]
Is this because it is an add on device that operates in conjunction with the alternators own regulator rather that a device that replaces it????

[/ QUOTE ]Yes, it works in parallel with the integral regulator. Adverc, etc, are the same. There is a benefit in that, if the booster fails, the integral regulator still provides charging.

[ QUOTE ]
The alternator to battery chargers have been discussed before. Presumably they don't achieve such a high boost in the initial stage as the device currently under discussion?

[/ QUOTE ]Yes, they apparently do.

[ QUOTE ]
Is there a device that both boosts the alternator to its maximum like the "universal regulator" and drops to a float level like the alternator to battery chargers and that totally replaces the standard regulator?

[/ QUOTE ]The Balmar regulators do this, as does Sterling's Universal Advanced Digital regulator, but alternators would need modifying to remove the standard regulator. As an alternative, the Alternator to Battery Charger does basically the same thing in terms of charging performance.
 
Vic
happy new year and all that, my two pennyworth is that the sterling works on top of the std regulator, indeed he mentions it in his blurb, if the sterling were to fail then the old reg will continue to make the alternator charge albeit at a lesser rate, i am pretty sure that he also talks about it being possible to put a switch in the excitation circuit to allow for disconnection for testing purposes. am going to fit one next week so can report back.
Stu
 
Vic
read your post again, from my understanding, should be possible to take the std reg out of circuit.
Stu
 
[ QUOTE ]
Vic
happy new year and all that, , i am pretty sure that he also talks about it being possible to put a switch in the excitation circuit to allow for disconnection for testing purposes. am going to fit one next week so can report back.
Stu


[/ QUOTE ]

Just fitted mine last week. I can confirm what you are saying about the wire that can be disconnected.

I have fitted a switch on mine which lets me enable or disable the booster at will. On small engined craft apparently the extra drag on the alternator when the booster is in use can sap up much of the engine power and slow the boat down.

I have a more than adequate size of engine but felt that having the facility to remove the loading of the boost might be a help if I had starting problems.

Iain
 
[ QUOTE ]
I have a more than adequate size of engine but felt that having the facility to remove the loading of the boost might be a help if I had starting problems.

[/ QUOTE ]When starting the engine, the alternator isn't turning fast enough to place any appreciable load on the engine, so you'll probably not notice any difference. However, once the engine is running at a reasonable speed, it's interesting to hear the change of engine note when you turn the booster on and off - showing that it is indeed increasing the alternator's output. Incidentally, the Sterling booster has a "slow start" feature built in, so the extra load on the alternator is increased slowly after starting the engine, to help reduce belt slip.
 
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