Crown Converter Charging Voltage ?

[sdowney717]

I hooked it back up yesterday and it reads 12.95 volts when on.
the amp gauge said about 10 amps going in.
the batteries read 12.75 when the charger is off
these batts I believe to be fully charged and are conventional lead acid flooded cells.
Does this sound normal?

It is a B series Raritan R3012B-3 30 Amp 12V, B-Series B
http://www.raritaneng.com/pdf_files/..._II_convrt.pdf

it is adjustable for voltage and amps. If I open the inside there is a sliding resistor with a clamp but I dont see any other adjustments.

[GordMay]

See also ➥ http://www.raritaneng.com/pdf_files/...I-b_series.pdf

[sdowney717]

I am now a little uncertain on this charger identity. It might be a f series, the name tag is not clear like I recalled. Looking closely at it it says
R2012-3 (no B or F is stamped into the plate, ID plate was riveted to front cover) So even though the meter says 30 amp on the front, it might be considered a 20 amp. Anyhow it is putting out 13.45 volts now.

Can someone look at this board and tell me if F or B series?

The indicator light on the front is burned out? Located below the front switch. One wire solders to switch, other is white and goes back behind the right hand phenolic board. If so, where to get or replace with something else?
The only adjustment I see is the sliding resister with clamp.

[btrayfors]

These are old technology and are not the same as a good smart charger. I have one on my boat which is almost 30 years old. Don't use it these days. I used to when I first got the boat.

The meter does not indicate the size/model of the charger.

These "converters" will not provide a full charge to your batteries, nor will they charge a deeply discharged battery bank properly.

You'd be much better off with a modern 3-stage smart charger. They need not be all that expensive, either. Iota, for example, has a line of chargers from 15A to 90A capacity which are very good value for the money.

If you do purchase a new charger, try to size it to be at least 20% of the AH capacity of your battery bank, e.g., if you have a 200AH battery bank you'd want a 40-45A charger.

Bill

[sdowney717]

of course not as good as a new 3 stage charger.
I have old style flooded cell batteries so old charger should be good enough.
I ran this for many years prior with out any issues.
Recently put the boat back in the water after 5 years so I am going through the various things bringing it back to life.

[sdowney717]

emailed raritan and talked to Vic, this guy is nice fellow and knows an awful lot of information. I reposted the info I got in case people are interested.

This charger predates F and B series. Charger is an R series made from early 1960's to mid 70's.
This particular charger is robust and lasts a long long time.

model is 2012-R

Is it ferroresonant?

No, it isn't a ferroresonant - it predates ferroresonant technology by
quite a few years. It has a conventional step-down transformer, going
through a half-wave rectifier (metal plate w/2 diodes on it) putting out
pulsating DC, controlled by a linear SCR (metal plate w/1 component on it),
and the output goes through a diode splitter (metal plate w/3 diodes on it -
acts as a battery isolator). The actual circuit came from an article
printed in Popular Electronics Magazine, back around 1958. It is archaic
technology but it is virtually bulletproof, as your shorted battery proved.

The only problem we ever had with them was that under certain conditions,
they could overcharge your batteries, and boil the water out of them. It
would be a good idea to monitor the water in the batteries about every two
weeks or so, especially during hot weather, and add water when necessary.

What I've done at times, was to have it operate off of a timer, 2 hours on
and 2 hours off. But you've gotta be careful if you have a gas-powered
boat, as the timers make a spark when they turn on and off, and they could
ignite fuel vapors if any are present. So if you should decide to go that
route, be sure the timer is above deck in a well-ventilated location. But
connecting it that way, you don't have to worry about overcharging the
batteries. I've had batteries last for 6 or 7 years by doing it that way.

I have the crown converter which I can read for model number R2012-3
There is no B or F designation that I can see stamped into the tag label, so is it a B or an F series?

<< It is neither the “B” nor the “F” series; it is the older “R” series which predated both the “B” and the “F” series. The “R” series was manufactured from the late 1960’s until August, 1981 – yours was probably built sometime during the 1970’s. If you look at the serial number stamped in the nameplate, it will indicate month and year, plus the sequential number of the unit manufactured that year. (Examples: Serial # 1074321 would indicate a manufacture date of October, 1974, and it was the 321st R2012-3 manufactured that year. Serial # 48042 would indicate a manufacture date of April, 1980, and it was the 42nd R2012-3 manufactured that year, etc.). Our converters were always a low volume product, and if memory serves correctly, there were only 2 years during the mid-‘70’s when we built over a thousand R2012-3’s. >>

Also the Red Indicator Light appears to be burned out, but the amp gauge works.

<< It is nothing more than a pilot light that comes on when the unit is turned on, letting you know that it’s on. It is a fluorescent, 125 volt AC pilot light with a red outside lens, that snaps into a ½” round hole in the case. Generally, when they’re getting ready to burn out, they’ll flash off and on just like a fluorescent light in your ceiling, when it’s ready to conk out. You can find a replacement at any electronics store, even Radio Shack. Cost should be somewhere around $5.00.

The amp gauge indicates the rate of charge being received by the battery(ies). When the batteries need charging (and the charger is on), the amp gauge will show a noticeable charge rate on the amp meter, and as the batteries start to accept the charge, the indication on the amp gauge will begin to drop. When the batteries are fully charged, the gauge will usually flutter between 0 and 2 amps. The charger is monitoring the state of charge of the batteries 60 times per second, and as the state of charge drops a bit, it will automatically give them a “shot,” trying to maintain the 13.6 volt system voltage (in your case 13.3 volts), and you’ll see that indicated on the amp gauge as it flutters at the bottom of the scale. >>

I get 13.3volts and batteries are charged ok, is this correct for the voltage?

<< It varies a tiny bit from unit to unit, and yours may have lost a little of its original moxie during the intervening years since it was built. But generally speaking, anywhere between 13.1 volts and 13.7 volts is OK. Original factory setting was 13.6 volts. >>

I notice a sliding resistor adjustment, is there other adjustments and what does the sliding resister affect for output?

<< That is the only adjustment, it adjusts the shutoff voltage of the charger based on the feedback it is receiving from the batteries - and PLEASE do not try to change the setting. Those sliding resistors are extremely sensitive and if you should break one of the tiny wires inside the resistor, it won’t have any regulation at all. Then the charger will overcharge your batteries. Please note that we have absolutely ZERO replacement parts available for those old units.

We went out of the business of manufacturing battery chargers in the late ‘90’s, and we have no one remaining on our staff who is technically competent in troubleshooting and repairing them. Our last employee who was well versed in the converters died unexpectedly in 2004. So when your converter finally “gives up the ghost,” we have nothing to replace it with. Sorry to say, you’ll have to go with a different brand. Our marine converters were probably the best product we’ve ever built, with respect to reliability and longevity. That appears to have been the major problem with them – they were built “too good” - and we weren’t able to compete with the cheaper Far Eastern imports on pricing. As a result, our converter sales dropped significantly during the 1980’s after the “B” and “F” series units were introduced. Rather than cheapen the product in order to compete, our management decided to discontinue their manufacture.

I worked in our converter department during the mid-1970’s, and there’s a fair possibility that I may have been the person who built yours. I’m one of only 3 or 4 people left with the company who even remembers those units, and only 2 of us has actually worked building them. But with no parts available to repair them, even our limited knowledge of them, isn’t of much use to our customers these days. >>

[David M]

Keep it, but buy a modern smart charger and use the older charger as a backup.

[familycruisers]

Yes no factory support, but most components could still be had. In many ways this charger is "better", at least you can work on the board. SMT makes self fixes a thing of the past.

[sdowney717]

luckily I have not had to work on it. I did re - paint it
the thing is charging now at 13.3 to 13.4 volts.
I had it off for a few years while boat was on the hard getting hull repairs.
The last few months, I went thru all the boat wiring and redid and rechecked all of it.
The only thing wrong with it is the pilot light is out.

I had a shorted battery about 5 years ago and it made it run pretty hot till I discovered what had happened, but it survived.