Sterling battery charger

From recollection the the information sheet makes it sound more complex than it really is.

I fitted one two years ago, having previously got by with a car battery charger plugged in when I needed it. The Sterling does what it should do without any problems and is silent - the car battery chrager whined and hummed to distraction.
Regards
 
I've had a 12A Sterling Pro-Sport Charger, which is somewhat less fancy but waterproof for exterior mounting, for over a year. It charges my engine and service batteries very nicely. What more can I say?
 
The info sheet is misleading and in at least two places completely incorrect.
The layout was like it was a childs first attempt at DTP
I called Sterling and complained about it and they laughed at me and said their instructions were a feature of their products and customers liked them.
Not me, I never bought another Sterling product
 
Thats about right, he doesnt suffer fools gladly, he produces products that do what they say on the box and are reliable, I have spoken to him several times and find him a breath of fresh air. He did a controversial article in one of the comics a few years back about charging batteries. I have fitted one of his smart chargers on my previous boat and will be fitting one on my new boat next month, nuff said.
Stu
 
Each to his own, if you find inaccurate amateurish user manuals acceptable then you will be in the right place with Sterling, if not then I would talk to those excellent guys at Adverc who really know what they are talking about.
 
Yes, We have a pro digital battery charger installed.

We leave it on all the time we are aboard, without problem.
Just because the manual is plain & simple doesn't bother me in the slightest.
It's been very reliable, it's well made & is easy & straightforward to fit.

Why do you need a technical glossy manual?, just further expense for no better performance IMHO, after all the manual probably gets read once, it's the quality of the charger that counts, or am I missing something?
 
I use the Sterling 12v 30amp charger…..it`s looking after three batteries at once and to date over the last year we have had no battery related problems, even though we have an electric fridge…so it must be doing it`s job…

Recommended
 
In my experience ............good kit but poor and inaccurate instructions.
Also if anything goes wrong customer service appalling.
 
[ QUOTE ]
In my experience ............good kit but poor and inaccurate instructions.
Also if anything goes wrong customer service appalling.

[/ QUOTE ]Sort of sums it up. We have Sterling products and its the product we are interested in and not the glossy manual. The products have worked faultlessly. Nuff said?
 
[ QUOTE ]
In my experience ............good kit but poor and inaccurate instructions.

[/ QUOTE ]For Sterling Pro-Digital battery chargers, you can always refer to the excellent ProMariner manual - same kit, Sterling just have it differently badged.
 
Agreed. Most of their stuff is badged anyway. Their combi inverter is a FE OEM unit that has been butchered (user programming locked out and preset) by Sterling to meet Mr Sterling's bizarre personal views, making it a sow's ear. A (radio amateur) friend who had installed it on his Super Maramu prior to a transat was not a happy bunny and keeps me in the loop on his increasingly fruitless correspondence with Mr S. Then there is the whole "this is an advanced regulator not an alternator booster" nonsense which is complete crap (are we allowed to say 'crap'? No other word describes it better).
 
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
In my experience ............good kit but poor and inaccurate instructions.

[/ QUOTE ]For Sterling Pro-Digital battery chargers, you can always refer to the excellent ProMariner manual - same kit, Sterling just have it differently badged.

[/ QUOTE ]

There's me thinking "Sterling, brilliant design, naff support" and he's just a shop?

So, why don't we buy Pro-Mariner?

I'll answer that question myself after a bit of surfing.

First result;-

"Pro digital" comes under the heading "discontinued products" on the Pr0-Mariner website.

Not a good start!
 
My ham friend downloaded the manual and found the details about how to configure it for different requirements but the Sterling badged product would not accept the commands. He eventually found that Sterling had arranged for the programming to be locked-off (or, at least, the part that my friend wanted to work with). He wanted to take it back to the (Spanish) chandler or chuck it overboard (he is not exactly hard-up) and buy direct from the manufacturer. The manufacturer would not deal with him, only via Sterling. He is Canadian, with a Canadian-flagged vessel cruising from the EU to the Caribbean so goodness knows how wide the agreement stretches.

Sterling's own product (at least, I think it is their own) - their original ADVERC clone, their advanced alternator controller - is actually a booster (it cannot reduce volts below the alternator's internal chip voltage) and has totally inadequate IP protection for use in the engine compartment. There is no sealing at all. If a water hose burst you'd lose the controller almost 100% certain. Everything electrical in the engine compartment should be protected from water under pressure from any angle or don't fit it, or put it in another box for protection. Sterling ought to know better but one suspects that their knowledge and experience does not run to modern offshore cruising yachts.
 
I have one on my boat which has been looking after my battery's for about 4 years now.

Agree the manual is difficult but phoned for advice and found them very helpful. No problems once fitted and set up and I personally think it is a good bit of kit for the money!

Speak as you find?

Tom
 
I fitted a Sterling Alternator to Battery charger a couple of years ago. It's been faultless, and was easy and straightforward to fit, following the manufacturer's instructions and diagrams provided.

I do seem to remember that amongst the recommendations were that it should be sited in a cool place, i.e. ideally not in the engine compartment, to enable it to keep cool efficiently.

If it's sited away from engine hoses (e.g. in the lazarette, like mine) there isn't the need for fire-hose proof IP protection so it's not a problem.

It made sense to me, but perhaps the words weren't glossy enough for some!
 
hee hee hee, there are some pedantic so and so's on this forum, so far up their own arse its unbelievable! IMHO of course!
 
I use an 80 amp charger - leave it on all the time through the winter, and use it when the generator is running to charge quickly. No problems at all - what do you want instructions for - just plug in a and switch on!

Another said try Adverc - but they don't do the range of products.

I had a problem - caused by poor main cables when I installed by alternator controller - they could not have been more helpful over dozens of calls until I finally rectified the cable problems!
 
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