[C320-list] Battery Charger

Mon Dec 18 14:02:19 PST 2017

My two parallel 4Ds are now down to 400Ah, fully charged. A charger of 10%, or 40A, of course will not deliver 40A to a bank discharged only, say 30%, or 120A. Such a bank will not accept the full 40Ah for very long, if at all. And, as the charge in the batteries increases, the acceptance rate decreases further. Point is, there are several factors to consider. A lot depends on how you use the boat and how long it's been since the last full charge. Seems to me the 10% is a bare minimum if you want to get underway with a full charge after a full day of sailing. 

Nigel Calder has a good explanation for sizing a multistage charger: "Boatowner's Mechanical and Electrical Manual. A good resource. Also, try Google. 

Warren and Pattie Updike
1994 C320 "Warr de Mar" #62
Middle River, Chesapeake Bay

-----Original Message-----
From: Dave Swanson [mailto:kswanson123 at comcast.net] 
Sent: Sunday, December 17, 2017 5:52 PM
To: C320-List at Catalina320.com
Subject: Re: [C320-list] Battery Charger

In my research on charger type, brand and output.  I recall sizing the charger to have about 10% of your battery bank size.  My new set of 4 trojan T105 GC batteries have 20-hr rate of 450Ah, so I sized my new charger to be 40A.  It works well.

Dave

> On Dec 17, 2017, at 12:25 PM, Mark Cole <boatnboot at q.com> wrote:
> 
> Cosby;
> 
> One thing to consider is charger output.  I’m guessing from the model number (12.30P) you mentioned that this is a 30 amp charger.  Depending on the size of your battery bank, in amphours, and the type of sailing you do (spend a couple of days at anchor with high DC demand), a 30 amp charger may take quite a while to recharge your battery bank.  I currently have a Xantrex 20 amp charger and it takes up to 10 hours to top off my 230 amphour house bank, after discharging it to around 40%.  This usually works fine while I’m out cruising, but I’ve run into a couple of times when I wanted to unplug early and my batteries weren’t completely recharged.  Nigel Calder’s book talks about how to match the output of your charger to your battery bank.  I think it is also important to be able to add a temperature sensor, if not included, plus be able to do an equalization or conditioning cycle if you have lead-acid batteries.
> 
> Mark Cole
> Fiddler’s Green, #8
> Tacoma, Washington
> 
>> On Dec 17, 2017, at 9:53 AM, Freedman Arthur <saltyvet at mindspring.com> wrote:
>> 
>> John,
>> 
>> What is your  Solar Panel set up?
>> 
>> Art  Freedman
>> C310 #227
>> 
>> On Dec 17, 2017, at 12:28 PM, sail-ability sail-ability <sail-ability at sympatico.ca> wrote:
>> 
>> 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
>> 
>>> 
>> 
>> Arthur Freedman, DVM
>> Hawthorne Animal Health Care
>> 978-741-2300
>> saltyvet at mindspring.com
>> 
>> 
>> 
> 