Bought a new boat that needs new agms?

[Ahquabi]

Just to confuse things, if you do end up going with trojans you may want to consider the T-105-RE over the standard T-105. Discussion below.



https://forum.solar-electric.com/dis...rojan-t-105-re

[Tim francis]

Just bought these, they were pretty cheap and 232 amp hours
640$
I just need to find a good battery charger and remember to pickup distilled water and check fluids monthly. Any suggestions on chargers? I also plan on leaving the solar controller I have pictures in my op. Someone mentioned that I could get a better controller to up the amp intake. There’s slot of solar companies here that carry them for a hundred bucks. At least I bought one for my solar setup for my van conversion. You can set the voltage by a dial. Thanks again everyone.

[jen1722terry]

Hi Tim,

We had to go back to the manufacturer (Odyssey) to learn the exact voltages for surge, float, etc. The 14.7 volts required for the surge part of the cycle was not possible with our smallish Morningstar controller, so we switched to a larger on with custom programming. We also had some back and forth with Morningstar to learn what amperage controller we needed. It got complicated and we're still not where we want to be. All AGMs are not equal for their charging needs and simply setting your controller to "AGM" may not be enough to ensure full charging.

If we could do it again, we would have had a competent electrician design the entire solar system and install it, for the current system is still a bit of a patchwork of parts.

Someone mentioned refrigeration. It can be a big draw on the batteries, particularly down south. We are fortunate that our existing ice box on our Cape Dory 31 was one of the double-walled varieties and a top loader. It was fairly easy to drill a grid of access holes in the inner fridge wall and pump in cans of urethane foam. Now our little NovaKool fridge unit only runs for about 15 minutes every few hours and less at night, yet keeps the contents cool. We set the fridge thermostat at 1, the lowest setting. If we wanted to carry frozen foods, we would up the setting to 2.5.

So, I guess the point is that a fridge can be a low small draw like our small, tight top-loader or a big draw like a large stand-alone front loader with freezer. Something to consider as you decide just how large a fridge you really need on-board.

And so kindly let us all know what you learn and you delve into the mysteries of onboard electrical systems.

Jenn and Terry

[john61ct]

All charge sources should be user-adjustable so you aren't limited what chemistry bank to buy in future.

Shore: Sterling ProCharge Ultra or ProMariner Pronautic P

Solar: Victron very widely used on boats

Also Outback, Morningstar, Midnight Solar, Blue Sky

[Toccata]

The point I was (laboriously) trying to make was, IMO only go as sophisticated as you have to.
Having tried a very fancy Li based system, I too am now happy to have FLA or AGM batteries. At least you don't need to be a "tech head" to drive them.
My choice will now be dictated by location.
Under the aft cabin bed, to get them out of the engine room (avoiding heat issues). So I think AGM will be the better choice for me?
What do others think

[Toccata]

Re Chargers
Any opinions on the C Tek?

[Tim francis]

I too need input on a good charger for the above picturedfla us batteries 232 amp hours. The batteries are under the aft bed and I’m not sure how well the ventilation is compared to what’s needed. I may whole bit a few holes. I have an electcal engineer guy here on Maui I hired but if I can save a few hundred bucks or more I will. I also feel even if I pay him, it will be worth every penny. I’m just making captain pay below average so money is an issue but I’m not cutting corners. I expect most my yearly income will go towards the boat the first year or so to get her Bluewater worthy. She’s close but need water maker life raft and radar gos bottom unit. Bottom job some new rigging. New mainsail top deck paint and non skid.

[a64pilot]

I like my Sterling 60 amp Pro Charge Ultra.
The Honda will easily run it and not get too loud and it very user friendly to program etc.
Then of course there are inverter / chargers that do both

[Tim francis]

Thanks. I’ll look that one up. Plus if it has 120 plugs on it, that would be even better. I could plug in tv iPhone chargers etc to it in the stern instead of extension chord from forward. The ted brewer design was built with no 120 outlets. Built only for use with solar. So previous owner had a 120 chord coming in through the deck with extension chords going forward and aft. I will be on mooring/anchored.

[a64pilot]

The Sterling is a Charger only.
For your size boat and bank capacity, I don’t think you need or want an inverter / Charger as they are almost always meant to integrate into an existing AC power system, which it sounds like you may not have, plus they are often bigger, and big inverters have larger losses. It’s not logical to power up a 3000 watt inverter and run a 50w TV off of it, cause it has likely almost 30 Watts of power used just being on, where a 300 W inverter may only use 3 watts of power just being on.
It would seem like maybe what you want is a good quality charger like say the Sterling, and maybe a separate pure sine wave inverter, maybe 300ish Watts as a guess.
You want at least a 60 amp charger in my opinion, just to utilize the power that the Honda can easily make and to some extent decrease the run time of the Honda, plus of course remember that any house load comes off of the charger so if you have a 10 amp load, then your 60 amp charger is only charging at 50 amps.
Plus it seems to me that if chargers etc aren’t run at max capacity, they seem to not get so hot, and to last longer.
Pure sine wave inverters have come down so much in price that in my opinion it just doesn’t justify buying a modified sine wave, they can be bought on Amazon too.

[Tim francis]

Thank you sir. Is this the one you have. Looks legit to me.

[a64pilot]

That is it, however if your going to pay shipping, I would shop around..

You may want to peruse this site in your spare time, it is a treasure trove of useful info, I believe this is the old site, but it has a link to the new one as well.
http://www.pbase.com/mainecruising/boat_projects

A LOT of people have learned a lot from there, I know I have.

[admiralslater]

Originally Posted by a64pilot

That is it, however if your going to pay shipping, I would shop around..

You may want to peruse this site in your spare time, it is a treasure trove of useful info, I believe this is the old site, but it has a link to the new one as well.
Welcome To MarineHowTo.com Photo Gallery by Compass Marine How To at pbase.com

A LOT of people have learned a lot from there, I know I have.

Plus one on that recommendation

[Pete7]

Originally Posted by a64pilot

It’s not logical to power up a 3000 watt inverter and run a 50w TV off of it, cause it has likely almost 30 Watts of power used just being on, where a 300 W inverter may only use 3 watts of power just being on.
It would seem like maybe what you want is a good quality charger like say the Sterling, and maybe a separate pure sine wave inverter, maybe 300ish Watts as a guess..

We do just this, sterling 350w runs our mains items like TV, slow cooker, dewalt drill charger etc. The remaining stuff runs off 12v so a small sine wave inverter fits nicely for lower power items.

Pete

[The Sun King]

FLA is Flooded Lead Acid. If you can easily pop a cap and look at the liquid that should be inside, then that is a FLA battery! If you charge off your alternator, then you need FLA. AGM is a little delicate when it comes to charging. You can easily boil off the liquid because the battery is not as sealed as it seems. You can open the battery and add water, but you need to know what you are doing. Solar controllers need to be set for AGM, or they will ruin the AGM. AGM batts can last longer than FLA, but they need to be coddled. FLA batts just need to be watered regularly and equalized on occasion. BTW, buying a battery at SAMs, at least in Florida, can cost you an extra $50. That includes core charge, state fee and sales tax. THERE IS NO SALES TAX on solar stuff in Florida. Check with Sun Electronics in Miami. 6v 230ah "golf car" battery, house brand is $95. They also have Trojans and Rolls, others.