[C320-list] Battery Charger

[JONVEZ at COMCAST.NET]

Great advice Dave.
The Sterling and ProNautic are the same under the hood. I currently have a
Charles but will be proactively replacing it this season. The Charles does
not have battery temp sensing (only on board), no option to equalize and
rarely gets up to proper bulk with larger banks....
Reading through the Compass site is very worth while when making a decision
(full disclosure I know him personally)


-----Original Message-----
From: C320-list [mailto:c320-list-bounces at lists.catalina320.com] On Behalf
Of DAVE Swanson
Sent: Saturday, December 16, 2017 8:19 PM
To: C320IA List Server <C320-List at Catalina320.com>
Subject: Re: [C320-list] Battery Charger

Crosby,

I replaced my Charles Charger with a Sterling Pro Charge Ultra 40A just a
couple of years ago.  I believe it is made by the same company that makes
the ProNautic Charger.  I received the best price on it from a San
Diego-based marine electronics retailer, Bay Marine Supply.
https://baymarinesupply.com/ <https://baymarinesupply.com/>  I paid $310 for
the charger and $72 for the remote control panel (April 2015).  They are
located near Rosecrans and Sports Arena Blvd.  I believe that they are mail
order only.

I have been super happy with the new Sterling Charger.  I also upgraded our
house bank to 4 6V Trojan T105 GC batteries and instaled a flexible Solbian
Solar Panel on our binmi.  Great setup.

Compass Marine has a ral nice writeup on the Sterling Pro Charger.  I
basically follwed his advice.

http://www.pbase.com/mainecruising/installing_a_marine_battery_charger
<http://www.pbase.com/mainecruising/installing_a_marine_battery_charger>

See my Owner Photos on the C320IA website to see more of what I did on my
2007 C320 MK II.

Good luck with your upgrade!

Dave

David Swanson
S/V Emily Ann
2007 C320 MK II, No. 1107
Mukilteo, WA and San Diego, CA



> On Dec 16, 2017, at 11:18 AM, Crosby Roper <VMDatSEA at hotmail.com> wrote:
> 
> Hi all,
> 
> My Charles 5000SP spontaneously combusted inexplicably  last weak. When I
called Charles about it, the seemed to think this was not unusual- a
Chinese-made part was to blame they said. Fortunately, the fire was limited
to the unit itself and aside from some smoke residue in the port settee,
there is no apparent damage. Charles cannot ship to California anymore (CA
EPA rules) so I am looking for a replacement charger. So far I have settled
on the Promariner ProNautic 12.30P. Does anyone have any experience with
this charger? I seem to remember an article in Practical sailor several
years ago that touted the Xantrex chargers. Any thoughts or comment on those
would be helpful.
> 
> Thanks, and happy holidays
> 
> Crosby  Roper VMD
> s/v Tethys (#1054)
> San Diego, CA