Charger/Battery Monitor Recommendation

J

jritsema

New member
Mine is a 2008 TomCat, lead acid batteries, 2 house, and one each start batts for my dual 150 Hondas. All batts new when I bought the boat this spring form Mobile East Marine. Gene did not advise of the need to replace the charger but did advise that it was a "lightweight".
I have the original Guest 20 amp charger and understand the general consensus that it is best to replace this, but am undecided regarding the Make and Model number best recommended. I will not be using an inverter.
I have had recent Xantrex failures on my former 36' sailboat so I am a bit uneasy about that manufacturer.
Further, I wonder if it is best to have a stand alone battery monitor, and what make and model might suit my needs.
Appreciate any thoughts.
Jeff
 
The Guest chargers are sort of battery maintainers, and function mostly to top off the charge, but not made to take the place of a converter, or heavy duty battery charger, which carries the higher power loads at the dock. They are not fan cooled, and only have a relatively low output to each battery.

Of all the "latest" battery chargers, I would look very carefully at theBlue Seas.

The other two I would consider are Victron, and MasterVolt. I have a Mastervolt on my 22. It works very well.

The monitor systems are of several types, and certainly one type is recommended.
The Victron 702 allows monitoring of the house bank--and voltage of one other battery. You can supplement this with cheap digital battery monitors from Amazon.

I happen to use the" Link" system which is similar. There are some really cheap similar systems available, but not as easily reset, nor waterproof. All of these type use a shunt in the negative circuit, and monitor the current in and out of the battery--to give a picture of current status.

Another way of looking at the whole system is by Balmar Smart Guage This does not use a shunt, and gives a reading of "state of charge"--more expensive, but many who have used it, say it works very well.
 
Oops, Bob beat me on this post.
He must be retired.
We're not in cahoots.
I'm rather surprised he didn't insist you can just monitor your House voltage carefully (to 0.01V) instead of a $300 monitor.
I'll have to get one someday, as another expensive redundant toy.
What fun is boating without expensive, redundant toys?

Jeff,
Yeah, I was there too, and that cheap Guest ruined 3 group 31 batteries (over $1,000). As always, I will be accused of buying the top of the line too soon, but I'm very happy with the Blue Seas P2 40A.

http://www.westmarine.com/buy/blue-sea- ... P013908876

Unique ability to individually pre-float each battery (your House unit takes a beating compared to the Start batteries). Built bullet-proof, Fast US based tech support, designed and built right in Bellingham, and iron-clad 5-year warranty. NO ONE ELSE HAS A 5 YEAR WARRANTY ON A MARINE BATTERY CHARGER.
You get what you pay for.
After all is said and done, again, you get what you pay for.

I just installed their 12v digital readout for $40 on the helm bus and it works well enough to get you 0.01 voltage accuracy. Combine batteries or recharge at 12.20V on the House unit.

https://www.amazon.com/Blue-Sea-Systems ... s=blue+sea

Good hunting. You will find many cheaper units.
Gene is a good honest dealer, he didn't lie to you.
My PO bought my boat from them.
I've had to replace every Guest unit including charger and Galvanic Isolator.

John
 
Another way of looking at the whole system is by Balmar Smart Guage This does not use a shunt, and gives a reading of "state of charge"--more expensive, but many who have used it, say it works very well.
Click to expand...

Just installed one. Works great, was easy to install and is simple to understand.
 
Hey Jeff
I just went through the same decision process over the last few months. Lots of good recommendations on the blog.
I have the same flooded battery set up as you have. I ended up going with Pro Mariner's ProNautic 12 -20amp charger. It won some innovations awards and had some feature I liked. It is newer to the market and does not have a lot of history yet but so far (2 months) no surprises. It basically shuts is self off when fully charged and automatically conditions the batteries when needed. It is supposed to be more energy efficient and even has a temperature probe to monitor the batteries.
I got if for only $227 from Hodges Marine on line. http://www.hodgesmarine.com/Xantrex-Tru ... 220-02.htm

Voltage meter
If you want to go cheap I ended up with some simple inexpensive volt meters I added impulse switches and fuses so I could monitor each battery voltage independently. I mounted them by the battery switches for convenience vs the dash.
https://www.amazon.com/MICTUNING-Digita ... tage+gauge

I will try and add some pics of the gauges and set up over the next few days I mounted the charger high in the hanging closet for easier viewing. I hated looking under the seat where the guest was installed.
Good luck with the project
 
Hey Guys,
My local marine electronics guru recommended the ProNautics 1230P or 1220P as a reliable, reasonably priced charger. He's installed a lot of these over many years. He went on to say that Blue Seas also a good choice.
Any thoughts, experience, with the Pro Nautics?
Thanks, Jeff
 
Bob, which model Mastervolt do you have. I am looking at replacing my guest charger here in the next month or so, and while I like what I read about the Blue Sea, the Mastervolt appears to be quite a bit cheaper. My Guest has served me well, and for all I know might continue too. But I'm assuming it came with the boat, a 2007 model, and I'm sure the newer stuff is much more efficient. I'm also looking at replacing my batters in the next few years, and wondering if the Optima's would be a better bet over my regular lead acid batteries now. This is the mastervolt I was looking at:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B007D27KW...&ascsubtag=76c45a1c927536e5b3d261d3dbbd52a9_S

I really don't need more than 20 amps, I don't believe. I'm just running the two batteries now, and have not had a problem with the time to charge when on shore power. If I were to go to the Blue Sea, I'd look at the smaller one there too. Colby
 
Colby, I have the ChargeMaster 12/25-3 Which I believe is the same one you linked to on Amazon.

I have no experience with the Professional Mariner current products. I had one of the Professional mariner years ago--and had a board failure which I replaced. My good friend also had one which he used on several circumnavigations. I did send him some parts along the way, but as I recollect the charger was still working when he sold the boat. But that was some time ago--and the newer products will be entirely different. I do have one of their small DC to AC MSW inverters and it has worked well for years.
 
Colby, I have the ChargeMaster 12/25-3 Which I believe is the same one you linked to on Amazon.
Click to expand...

And I assume you've been happy with it? Where do you have it mounted. My intent is just to put a new charger in place of the old one, which is mounted above the water tank on the bottom of the aft dinette seat. Thanks again. Colby
 
Hey Jeff
With regard to ProMariner product longevity, before I installed the Dry Mount ProNautic 1220 in my tomcat I did have 4 years of trouble free use with the waterproof ProSport in a sailing catamaran I lived and cruised on. Familiarity with the brand, was probably part of the reason I leaned toward this unit over some of the other highly recommended chargers out there.

Also I did upload a picture of where I mounted the ProNautic in the Tomcat closet (Off Leash Photo album} . No matter which dry mount charger you end up getting, I would encourage you to consider this location, same wiring, better monitoring visibility even when the closed has hanging gear, and better air space than under the seat where my wife stuffs everything under the sun next to it. One more thing I am hoping for is heat and air movement from the charger fan will hopefully keep items in the closet a little dryer and keep any mold down.
One caution, if you are a big guy it will be tight to work in there if you don't have long arms.
Again , Good luck with the project.

Mike
modules.php
 
Here's the photo:

ProNautic 1220P Charger mounted in hanging closet for easier battery monitoring:
(Good thinking/logic/execution! - Joe)
ProNautic_1220P_in_Closet.jpg
 
Looks like a bit of overkill for the C Dory, but certainly interesting technology.
For someone interested in simplicity the Balmar SmartGauge battery monitor is on sale at Defender as the Active Captain special of the week for $220--the lowest I have seen it.


Here.
 
Just purchased and installed a Victron 712. (Dr. Bob should be proud of me. lol!) But here's my question. I placed the shunt in my aft port lazarette where my house battery sits. As you know, with the original hatches, these compartments are not completely dry. I'm wondering if I should seal the shunt with some Quicksilver Corrosion Guard spray. While I don't believe water will drip down on it, there is still moisture to be found in that compartment after a rain or wash. (And remains so for sometime unless I open it up in the sun to dry out...) I asked Victron for an answer, but got some BS in their first reply.... ("Best to discuss issues like this with your local supplier or a nearby installer." Not sure what their reply will be to my I am the installer...just answer the question....) Colby
 
colbysmith":22i9hc26 said:
Just purchased and installed a Victron 712. (Dr. Bob should be proud of me. lol!) But here's my question. I placed the shunt in my aft port lazarette where my house battery sits. As you know, with the original hatches, these compartments are not completely dry. I'm wondering if I should seal the shunt with some Quicksilver Corrosion Guard spray. While I don't believe water will drip down on it, there is still moisture to be found in that compartment after a rain or wash. (And remains so for sometime unless I open it up in the sun to dry out...) I asked Victron for an answer, but got some BS in their first reply.... ("Best to discuss issues like this with your local supplier or a nearby installer." Not sure what their reply will be to my I am the installer...just answer the question....) Colby
Click to expand...

Or you could just change the hatches (like a lot of people do). I changed mine when I first got the boat and my compartments are dry all the time.
 
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