What best boat battery charger ?

Caer Urfa

Caer Urfa

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Hi All

Ask six people which is the best boat battery charger and you will propably get six differant ansers.

I need to buy a new more modern and efficient batter charger for my 'starter battery' and currently looking at a CTEK MXS 7.0 7A 12V and around £90

Anyone suggest a better one and cheaper or do you gets what you pay for!

Mike
 
Hi Pete

At present I do not have anything charging the batteries as my last basic charger packed up a year ago, recently I have had problems starting and have had the alternator,fan belt, starter and batteries checked and all are ok and when the engine is running the batteries are recieving the appropiate charge.

The general conclusion is I am not running the engine long enough to fully charge the battery as I mainly 'sail' once out the piers.

I do not like 'anything' alive (except the automatic bilge pumps) left on when I am away from the boat, however as I understand it (hopefully) that this CTEK 7.0 charger will shut down when the battery is fully charged.

However I also see other CTEK models (some cheaper)and wonder just which one or another make is best.

Mike
 
Pete7 said:
If you have a CW, surely you have the perfect spot for a large solar panel on the cabin roof? Sterling is another manufacturer that you could look at btw.

http://www.sterling-power.com/products-chargers.htm

Pete
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Thanks I will have a look at the sterling, but my halyards do not run back to the cockpit, so I have to go on deck/cabin roof for anything to do with the main sail.

Mike
 
Gwylan said:
Have a Lidl charger. Does the business, has smart settings to float charge. Wait until they next come around.
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The Lidl ones are only 4 amps IIRC although that will probably be sufficient for C.U.s starter battery. A larger one might be better for the house bank which is presumably a substantial size.

IIRC a slight snag with the Lidl chargers is that if the power goes off they have to be restarted manually ??

A test of chargers in one of the comics ( PBO or YM ??) fairly recently came out in favour of one of the Ring Smartcharge Plus chargers, I beleive.
 
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Gwylan said:
Have a Lidl charger. Does the business, has smart settings to float charge. Wait until they next come around.
Click to expand...

Seconded. I have about three of them doing various batteries at the moment, including the boat's. Only 4A, but under a tenner, well made and, in my experience, very reliable.
 
Really surprised if your start battery is running down. Normally it should only take a few minutes engine running to bring it up to full charge after a start. If you have a VSR the start battery will only be used for start and immediately recharged and all other requirements come from the house bank. Add a method of paralleling the banks and you should never be in a position of not being able to start the engine. A simple 7-10w solar panel should be more than enough to keep the start battery fully charged if you want belt and braces.
 
The Lidl ones are Ok but I spent 2 days plugged in and the charger only went into float mode just before I left the marina.
I'm looking for something that will zap some amps in quick if I have just one night in a marina so a CTEK or similar is on the shopping list.
 
I needed a charger for 155 AH battery bank and I really like my lower capacity C-Tek charger that I have already. In the end though, I bought a Ring Automotive one, which comes in about £30- £40 cheaper, here's a link to one on ebay (though not the seller I got mine from) http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Ring-Automotive-Ring-RSC508-12V-2A-8A-Smart-Charger-and-Lead-Acid-Battery-New-/300908365451?pt=UK_Sound_Vision_Battery_Chargers&hash=item460f89468b
I've used it on several trips and does what it says on the tin. Although it is a lot louder than I expected, don't know if the C-Tek ones are silent, when this one's on full blast you can hear the fans....:) though it goes silent-ish once battery's up to 90%
 
aquaplane said:
The Lidl ones are Ok but I spent 2 days plugged in and the charger only went into float mode just before I left the marina.
I'm looking for something that will zap some amps in quick if I have just one night in a marina so a CTEK or similar is on the shopping list.
Click to expand...

MarcJ said:
I needed a charger for 155 AH battery bank and I really like my lower capacity C-Tek charger that I have already. In the end though, I bought a Ring Automotive one, which comes in about £30- £40 cheaper, here's a link to one on ebay (though not the seller I got mine from) http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Ring-Automotive-Ring-RSC508-12V-2A-8A-Smart-Charger-and-Lead-Acid-Battery-New-/300908365451?pt=UK_Sound_Vision_Battery_Chargers&hash=item460f89468b
I've used it on several trips and does what it says on the tin. Although it is a lot louder than I expected, don't know if the C-Tek ones are silent, when this one's on full blast you can hear the fans....:) though it goes silent-ish once battery's up to 90%
Click to expand...

Both thses ranges of charger come in a wide selection of maximum output

The ring Smartcharge Plus is available from a 0.8 amp maintenece charger through 4, 8 and 12 amps to 16 amps.

CTek offer a wide range of chargers aimed at different markets, including a range for marine use, with outputs ranging from 0.8 amps to 25 amps.

It is important to select a suitable type/size for the intended use and shop around for the best price rather than to jump at the first eBay bargain.
 
These youtube videos of CHarles Sterling are worth watching before you make any decisions.

I have all my power inputs going through a Sterling Alternator to Battery unit, including my mains battery charger. Here is why:

 
MarcJ said:
I've used it on several trips and does what it says on the tin. Although it is a lot louder than I expected, don't know if the C-Tek ones are silent, when this one's on full blast you can hear the fans....:) though it goes silent-ish once battery's up to 90%
Click to expand...

My Ctek charger can be heard when on full chat, but it does have a night mode button which cuts the noise down, never felt the need to use it.
 
Vara said:
My Ctek charger can be heard when on full chat, but it does have a night mode button which cuts the noise down, never felt the need to use it.
Click to expand...

The night mode button may be a feature of the marine range. Worth checking out if little noises annoy you.
 
PBO did a test a couple of years ago and the "Best Buy was an own brand Halfords smart charger model no BFH1275. I bought one on sale for less than £40 and have used it extensively before finally replacing my dodgy alternator. It will charge the battery at full power and then convert to a trickle and "maintain the charge" as necessary. The model has since been superceded but if the inards are the same it is worth considering.
 
SimonP85 said:
Can anyone vouch for the noise levels of the Sterling or Mastervolt units?
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My Sterling Pro Charge Ultra fan kicked in today after I had it switched off for just over a month. Normally the fan is never on so I am not sure why it came on after this period of time being switched off; it was flowing 17A at 28V though. Anyway, noise levels, the fan is installed in the cockpit locker against the bulkhead that backs onto the galley - it was just audible, similar to a computer fan, low volume murmur. It stopped after an hour, the fan is only supposed to come on at high ambient temperatures and I have never been aware of it on before.
 
Many thanks gents for all your input.

Over the weekend I got the battery off, the starter motor off and the alternator and had them all checked and all were ok and checked the alternator belt.

We then checked that the battery was recieving enough charge with the engine running which again is ok, it is now the general feeling with all that I am just not running the engine enough to charge the batteries enough as It takes me only 20 minutes from the marina to sea when I then switch to 'sail only'.

Again talking with others from experiance I have decided to instal a CTEK MXS 5.0 charger for the starter battery.

BOATS NEED TIME AND MONEY 'LOT'S OF BOTH!

Mike
 
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