Sterling A2B or is there a better option?

jac

jac

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My VSR has failed so needs to be replaced.

On my list for the winter was to replace said VSR with a sterling A2B charger - I installed one on our previous boat and other than a slightly dodgy remote unit was very happy with it.

Before I go ahead and install the same on this boat, anyone got any other suggestions.

Boat is used for typical weekend / day sailing, one or two week cruises.

Lives mid river on the Hamble so shore power only when out.

At present domestic bank is too small 105ah but will increase to about 300 this winter when I have got round to building a suitable location to install extra batteries.

Not going down the Lithium route
 
PaulRainbow said:
Not sure what advantage a B2B will be for your use, as opposed to a VSR. Whichever, i would go for Victron.
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A2B is not quite the same as B2B.
It takes the output from the alternator (and I believe other sources), does magical things and feeds the domestic battery with enhanced charging and the starter battery with bog standard charging.
It's a popular alternative to an "advanced regulator " because it needs no alternator modification. The advantage over a VSR is the enhanced charging of the domestic battery.

It's no secret that you are heavily biassed against Sterling equipment but I don't see masses of people complaining about it.
 
I mistakenly bought a s/h but unused A to B but unfortunately had to sell it on as it was so big I couldn't find room for it !
I have a Pro-split which works great and I've never had any problems with it, I also had a sterling regulator for many years without any problems.
I may get another newer one at some point but dismantling the alternator is a bit of a pain
 
VicS said:
A2B is not quite the same as B2B.
It takes the output from the alternator (and I believe other sources), does magical things and feeds the domestic battery with enhanced charging and the starter battery with bog standard charging.
It's a popular alternative to an "advanced regulator " because it needs no alternator modification. The advantage over a VSR is the enhanced charging of the domestic battery.

It's no secret that you are heavily biassed against Sterling equipment but I don't see masses of people complaining about it.
Click to expand...
Give him the benefit of a "typo" :rolleyes: Go on it is Saturday!
 
I have had a Sterling A2B for 5+ years now, worked very well for me. I previously had a Merlin alternator controller which was less reliable
 
I think Paul's question (he will correct me if I am wrong!) is why does the OP think he needs an A2B (or indeed a B2B) at all. The A2B works by raise the charge voltage from the alternator to boost charging particularly on well discharged batteries. However it assumes that the alternator is putting out low voltage in the first place (under 14.1v) and boosts it to 14.8v. This OK in the past when alternators were low output and people were struggling to charge large domestic banks. Now alternators have higher outputs and the limitation is charge acceptance rates rather than alternator output. The OP does not have a large bank even when he goes to 300Ah (hopefully AGMs) and there is no benefit from £450 worth of kit compared with £70 pounds for the charge splitter.
 
Tranona said:
I think Paul's question (he will correct me if I am wrong!) is why does the OP think he needs an A2B (or indeed a B2B) at all. The A2B works by raise the charge voltage from the alternator to boost charging particularly on well discharged batteries. However it assumes that the alternator is putting out low voltage in the first place (under 14.1v) and boosts it to 14.8v. This OK in the past when alternators were low output and people were struggling to charge large domestic banks. Now alternators have higher outputs and the limitation is charge acceptance rates rather than alternator output. The OP does not have a large bank even when he goes to 300Ah (hopefully AGMs) and there is no benefit from £450 worth of kit compared with £70 pounds for the charge splitter.
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Good question Tranona - thank you.

I had assumed AGM and 3 batteries should fit so likely to be somewhere in the 300-350 ah range which should do for me.

I was thinking A2B as I understand it raises alternator output to specified charging voltage regardless of engine rpm and then maintains that. It should mean greater output from lower engine speeds - e.g. going slowly under motor.

i found with our last boat that motoring down the river from our berth to the exit (or vice versa ) took the domestic bank up much further with it than without it
 
jac said:
Good question Tranona - thank you.

I had assumed AGM and 3 batteries should fit so likely to be somewhere in the 300-350 ah range which should do for me.

I was thinking A2B as I understand it raises alternator output to specified charging voltage regardless of engine rpm and then maintains that. It should mean greater output from lower engine speeds - e.g. going slowly under motor.

i found with our last boat that motoring down the river from our berth to the exit (or vice versa ) took the domestic bank up much further with it than without it
Click to expand...
What engine and alternator do you have? My last boat had a Volvo D1 30 and 270Ah and charged as fast as the AGMs could take. Current boat has a Beta 30 and smaller 75A rather than 115 and a 190Ah bank and same. Perhaps a solar panel to keep the bank fully charged is a better approach than spending money to force more charge into the batteries. I have shore power and always plug in when I return so batteries are always fully charged when I start. You can achieve similar with solar over the week you are not on the boat and benefit from it when you are cruising.
 
VicS said:
A2B is not quite the same as B2B.
It takes the output from the alternator (and I believe other sources), does magical things and feeds the domestic battery with enhanced charging and the starter battery with bog standard charging.
It's a popular alternative to an "advanced regulator " because it needs no alternator modification. The advantage over a VSR is the enhanced charging of the domestic battery.

It's no secret that you are heavily biassed against Sterling equipment but I don't see masses of people complaining about it.
Click to expand...
How very kind of you to explain the differences to me.

I don't think "biased" is an appropriate choice of wording, but you never like to miss the opportunity of a dig, do you ?

I have a preference for Victron over Sterling, because they are a better product.
 
Enhanced charging profile ie 3stage or more high voltage to get more charge into a battery, is useful if you are running the engine to charge batteries or usually only do relatively short engine runs. As said modern alternators tend to have a higher regulated voltage which will enhance charge current so may suit your needs.
The enhanced charge profile can be achieved with external alternator regulator which requires modification to alternator and will give the same voltage the engine battery the same as house battery. This then needs a VSR to charge both battery banks (or rely on switching)
A B2B charger will take whatever the alternator gives to the engine battery ie 14v and boost it up higher in voltage to force house battery to accept more charge. albeit with some inefficiencies in conversion but does also do the job of isolation of battery banks.
So Op might find his existing set up is OK for his needs. In any event he needs an amp meter on alternator to see just what he is getting in real life from engine charge over the time taken to charge the house batteries. ol'will
 
For a mid-river mooring, my first priority would be to fit as much solar power as I could afford/had the space for. Even a little would help. Jissel had two 20w panels on the hatch garage and a cheap PWM twin battery charger that ensured the batteries were fully charged whenever we came to the boat. Jazzcat has 200w, but that keeps up with our higher usage, including a fridge.

I won't get into the argument over A2B, B2B or VSR, because Jissel used a heretical headlamp relay to link the batteries when the alternator was outputting power. I'd use a VSR now, but they were too expensive when I set the system up 18 years ago.
 
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