[C320-list] Battery Charger

[sail-ability sail-ability]

   If Ur thinking about a Xantrex I wouldn't bother. I've had two and both
   failed, company policy is that they are not repairable, ie. they are
   throwaways if they fail! Apparently Xantrex were not a bad company when
   they were Canadian owned out of BC?? I need to replace my shore
   charger; been three years since it failed and batteries are charged
   from a 180W solar panel, so I'm not in a rush.

   Cheers

   JohnM

   1999#574

     ---------- Original Message ----------
     From: JONVEZ at COMCAST.NET
     Date: December 17, 2017 at 7:15 AM
     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_charg
     er
     <http://www.pbase.com/mainecruising/installing_a_marine_battery_char
     ger>
     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

   >