Picking New Battery Charger

[Canibul]

I'm about to junk our IOTA 55 watt thing, it was obviously never intended for the marine environment.

I've been trying to find a 40 amp, 2 bank charger made for boats. I have two banks of batteries, 220 amp hour each bank. I've been searching the internet looking at Blue Sea etc. but just about every charger I've found so far that has a 40 amp output also has three outputs.

Does anyone know of a good two bank, 40 amp, multi stage, smart charger?

Would it hurt a three-bank charger to just leave one of the outputs unconnected?

[westwinds]

Originally Posted by Canibul

I'm about to junk our IOTA 55 watt thing, it was obviously never intended for the marine environment.

I've been trying to find a 40 amp, 2 bank charger made for boats. I have two banks of batteries, 220 amp hour each bank. I've been searching the internet looking at Blue Sea etc. but just about every charger I've found so far that has a 40 amp output also has three outputs.

Does anyone know of a good two bank, 40 amp, multi stage, smart charger?

Would it hurt a three-bank charger to just leave one of the outputs unconnected?

Is one of the 220 amp-hour banks for starting? That's a lot of power for starting, about the size for a 200 horsepower diesel. If the engine battery for starting is not one of the two banks, then of course the third output would go to the starting battery. I have never seen any warnings about letting an output from a charger be unattached.

[skipmac]

1. Agree with Westwinds on leaving an unused output from the charger. Never heard it as a problem.

2. If you junk the IOTA give it to me and I'll pay shipping to FL. Well, depending on how much it costs to ship from the T&C.

3. Why not combine the banks (they are all house banks, yes?) and charge them all on a one output charger? I used to keep two banks but based on research and recommendations from all the experts I am not set up with one house bank and one starter.

[Rusty123]

Originally Posted by Canibul

I'm about to junk our IOTA 55 watt thing, it was obviously never intended for the marine environment. I've been trying to find a 40 amp, 2 bank charger made for boats. I have two banks of batteries, 220 amp hour each bank. I've been searching the internet looking at Blue Sea etc. but just about every charger I've found so far that has a 40 amp output also has three outputs. Does anyone know of a good two bank, 40 amp, multi stage, smart charger? Would it hurt a three-bank charger to just leave one of the outputs unconnected?

What happened to your Iota? (I have the same model).

[DeepFrz]

I have seen previous threads where the IOTA got very high reviews. They were IOTA 55 with the IQ module. Is there something we don't know about? What is your reason for getting rid of it?

[senormechanico]

Chargers I've seen just have diodes in the output to isolate banks.
All the juice is coming from one DC source.
No problem leaving one or all of them disconnected.

[engele]

Avoid the Marinco/Guest three bank chargers. We have had two catch fire. I think both times was likely due to a power surge, but still, catching fire is a bit extreme, even when the power source is likely faulty.

[Pete7]

Something like this perhaps? ours has worked perfectly for 5 years now. The instructions say to join any spare outputs to one that is in use. Since we only have one house bank and don't bother charging the engine start battery I made up a couple of little jumper wires.

Sterling Power Products: ProDigital

Or the newer version:

Sterling Power Products: ProCharge Ultra

[Canibul]

Thanks for all the info and advice. The way the boat is now wired, I have two banks of house batteries, with a 1, 2, off and 1+2 switch between them and the house. Each bank is in an engine room with a small diesel, on a catamaran. The charger is a single output that is wired to bank 2. There's no way to charge bank 1 without switching to "1+2" on the battery switch. All the output of the IOTA goes to bank 2.

Now, I am having issues and chasing down gremlins and shorts in this old boat. I like to charge and maintain the batteries, with the house disconnected. At the moment, I can't charge bank 1 without hooking both banks to the house, which has a short in it. I need to put a disconnect switch between the combining switch and the house, but I'd have to Mickey Mouse two lugs to do that. I don't have any way to make up short battery cables with a good lug on each end.

I also just noticed today that the house banks are not fused between them and the house wiring. I found a new Blue Sea 300 amp fuse in the spares locker, so I figure previous owner had planned to install it. Ain't it fun buying old boats?

As for the IOTA, we were hit by lightning on the way down here last year. Fried just about everything on board that was hooked up to 12volts and turned on. Both fuses blew on the IOTA. Since then, it's been suspect. It sometimes has no measurable output at all ( using a digital multimeter looking at volts ) . The label says the max is 13.6, but I don't see that. I see 12.6, or sometimes zero. Last time I checked the fuses one of them was intact, but the plastic was melted. It's starting to show signs of corrosion. I have been thinking that if I just replaced it with a two bank charger, I could run wires to each house bank independently.

The charger installation location on this boat exposes it to rain and splash when the engine room door is open. The IOTA has a fan on the top of it and the chassis is steel, with a lot of open ventilation holes. I think it would be great in an RV.

Or in a more protected location on a boat.

[DeepFrz]

Okay, not the fault of a charger that has almost survived a lightening strike. I can understand why you need a new one. One in each engine compartment would probably help you maintain the health of your batteries for a much longer period.

I doubt that you will find any charger that gets salt spray and rain splashed on it that will last for any length of time. I think they all say to put them in a protected area.

[onestepcsy37]

now i feel a little bit better; i am about to order an iota 45....

[Rusty123]

In case you haven't seen it, please read this article, which addresses several of your questions.

http://www.pbase.com/mainecruising/i...attery_charger

[HopCar]

If you want a bullet proof battery charger designed for marine use, buy a Newmar.
I've been selling them for more than twenty years and in all that time we've had only one come back not working. It was determined that the charger had been under salt water. Their Phase Three series is American Bureau of Shipping approved.
Newmar Phase Three Battery Chargers

I have a PT-40 on my own boat.

[Rocketman]

Thanks for this thead, I myself am currently looking for a 40 amp charger, the xantrax charger that I installed 2 years and a month ago , just out of waranty, has craped out for no reason, so don't buy that one, I have read all the reviews and apearantly this is a comon problem with the xantrex chargers.

I am concidering a inverter/charger and would like to hear what others think about this, and what brands to concider and also stay away from.

[wingless]

The Charles Industries C-Charger 5000SP Series is an excellent choice.

These are built w/ a large aluminum extrusion "bathtub" to remove the heat. These are built very well.

This has been a workhorse on my boat for many years and I highly recommend this charger.

Be certain to select an appropriate charger output current, that is selected for both the quantity of batteries and for the battery topology. An AGM battery wants a charger w/ at least 0.2C (more than 20A for a 100Ah battery), while a flooded cell battery wants C/10 (10A for a 100Ah battery).

Here is the Lifeline AGM Technical Manual w/ charging rate information on page 19 of 36. Here is the Interstate Battery Deep Cycle Charging FAQ w/ information on charging flooded-cell batteries.