[C320-list] Electrical problem

[Albrecht, Alan]

If anyone is thinking about replacing or upgrading the wet cells in the
boat do some leg work and search for refurbished, repaired and
reconditioned batteries both AGM and wet cell sealed. These are
generally handled by specialty shop that deals only in batteries and
normally come with a 6 month warranty. The shop may not have an
expansive selection but the savings are dramatic.

-----Original Message-----
From: c320-list-bounces at lists.catalina320.com
[mailto:c320-list-bounces at lists.catalina320.com] On Behalf Of Dave
Anderer
Sent: Wednesday, January 13, 2010 5:47 AM
To: C320-List at catalina320.com
Subject: Re: [C320-list] Electrical problem

Seems that all agree that replacing the ProMariner is a good idea.
However,
there are a number of chargers out there besides the Xantrex 20 - I'd
suggest some research rather than just assuming the Xantrex is your only
choice.

My boat had a Xantrex 20 installed by the PO.  Personally, I never liked
the
screw connectors for attaching the battery cables.  I thought the 20A
unit
was a bit undersized for 2 4Ds.  And when it died a year ago, Xantrex
wouldn't repair it, but would just offer a not-very-good discount on a
new
unit.

I'd suggest starting with the charger review that Practical Sailor did a
few
years ago.

If you do go AGM, make sure that both the charger and the regulator for
the
alternator can be set to change them appropriately.

Dave
#642

On Tue, Jan 12, 2010 at 8:48 PM, Mike Paris <mparis495 at gmail.com> wrote:

> I'm going to buy new batteries. Are there any potential problems with
me
> just replacing the batteries? Mainly, could I damage the new ones if
there
> is some unknown problem at the source of my electrical troubles.
>
> Secondly, wet cell or AGM? The West Marine price for a wet cell is
$292 and
> an AGM is $539. Is the AGM that much better?
>
> Finally, should I replace the ProMariner with the Xantrex 20 just on
> principle? It doesn't seem to be giving me problems but many have
strong
> feelings against the ProMariner.
>
> Thanks,
> Mike
> #734
>