Battery Converters(charger)

L

letsgotoo

Member
Joined
Aug 3, 2006
RO Number
22671
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23
We went out to our boat today to find both batteries dead!
at first I thought possibly I didn't leave the converter or the shore power breakers on . However I found them as well as shore power up and running. from what I could gather it is a guest 15 amp model. I would check that it was in working order when opening the engine compartment to check fluids and such and it would always show some amperage on the guage .today it was at zero.Does anyone here have an idea as to the direction I should head in to replace it? Is 15 amps enough with my batteries 870 MCA each?
I currently took my car charger down to charger them up as I don't want the Mercathoide not working. I am pulling for the season in the next week our two and will be doing the repair work in my yard.
Any help would be apreciated.
Thanks
Frank
 
My 2000 2660 has a Charles converter. In either case, check with the mfgr. first. It may still be in warranty or they may have a flat rate repair charge. This is best left to the experts.
 
When was the last time your were down there?

I never leave mine plugged in, but turn the battery switch off, and have come back after 2 weeks and she starts right up.

MJK
 
King

I'm guessing your boat does not have any CO detectors since they can kill a battery in a relatively short time. What about the memory feature for your radio? But the number one reason why what you do is a bad idea is that in the event of a leak, bellows, thur hull, heavy rain, your blige pumps, which bypass the battery switch, will quickly kill the battery allowing your boat to sink. Using shorepower with a good charger will help prevent that. Of course if you keep your boat on a trailer then never mind.

letsgotoo

Be very careful with that car battery charger, they are not ignition protected and if you have any gas fumes in the engine room you could cause an explosion.

Try turning the battery switch off, turn on the charger/converter and see if your 12 volt cabin lights work. Should at least let you know if the charger is putting anything out. Best way is to use a multimeter thou.
 
Thanks guys for your inputs so far. I left the cocpit cover off last night and the charger is sitting on a cooler in the cocpit so the fume issue wouldnt affect it. I will check with the manufacturer on the repair and will do the battery off check to see if it works. The concerns Rommer listed are why I want to keep the charge in the batteries as well.
The old forum had quite a few threads on this issue that I breezed over but I didnt remember the details!

Steve
Do you know the size of the Charles charger that is in your vessel?

Thanks again guys
Frank
 
quote:
Originally posted by rommer

King

I'm guessing your boat does not have any CO detectors since they can kill a battery in a relatively short time. What about the memory feature for your radio? But the number one reason why what you do is a bad idea is that in the event of a leak, bellows, thur hull, heavy rain, your blige pumps, which bypass the battery switch, will quickly kill the battery allowing your boat to sink. Using shorepower with a good charger will help prevent that. Of course if you keep your boat on a trailer then never mind.

letsgotoo

Be very careful with that car battery charger, they are not ignition protected and if you have any gas fumes in the engine room you could cause an explosion.

Try turning the battery switch off, turn on the charger/converter and see if your 12 volt cabin lights work. Should at least let you know if the charger is putting anything out. Best way is to use a multimeter thou.

Click to expand...


That's a pretty good point about keeping the boat from sinking. I have read other threads regarding poor dock electric causing your drive to suffer horrible corrosion. My boat is over in Bamar, and I am note sure how clean there electric is or if there are any ground problems there. It is alot easier to replace a new lower unit than an entire boat.

Thanks,
MJK
 
If your worried about "bad" electric just make sure your boat has a galvanic isolator. Most Regals do but I'll admit I'm not sure about Sea Rays.
 
Isn't that the Mercathode system? I'll check that one out.

MJK
 
No it is not. It isolates the AC ground from the DC ground and helps eliminate corrosion from AC sources.
 
Thanks for the education. I just saw them on Boatfix, and it looks like a good winter project.

MJK
 
I was incorrect in the manufacturer on the converter. It is a Charles Marine and had a 1 year warranty. Not to to pound out questions here I have the 2000 series 15 amp. As the saying bigger isnt always better goes would the upgrade to a 20 amp or the 15 amp 3000 series be worthwhile? It is not about the cost (like 25.00) but the increased output when we are on board using the lights ,frig etc that may benefit from the increased power plus I keep the fridg on the whole season.
Thanks for your input!
Frank
 
letsgotoo

The charger should have a meter on it. Turn on all the things you normally use at one time and see if the meter is pinning. You may find the 15amp is enough for you. Also do this test with the house battery run down a bit to make sure you can charge and run house loads at the same time. The sizes you talk about won't hurt and may help but why spend the money if you don't need to.

In my case I have 2 chargers, a 60amp Charles and a 100 amp Xantrex which is part of the inverter I installed which keeps the house side charged. Keep in mind my house side consists of an 8D in parallel with 2 golf cart batteries for a total of roughly 440AMP hours of capacity. (Will be 3 pairs of GC's when the 8D dies for about 675amp hours)
 
Frank

what is equally important to the amps of output is the type of batteries you are going to charge. if you use AGM or Gel type you need to verify that the charger you purchase has the ability to set the output voltage down specifically for those types of batteries. if you know for certain that you will remain with lead acid type, the issue of output voltage goes away. Charles makes chargers with this ability, check the specific model for specs on this feature. over charging with too high a voltage for AGM and Gel types ruins them. to answer your question on the amperage Roomer is on the money with testing the draw first. my guess is that 15 amps is light as that is only 180 watts of power. with the ref. running and additional lights and loads you could probably benifit from some additional capacity.
 
Rommer
I before we would disembark on trips would check fluids etc. always glanced over at the meter and for the most part seemed to be around 5 amps. that is with the fridg running and a few lights etc on. When I had drained batteries a few months ago( the shore power breaker was left off) for about a week the load after jumping etc was 15 amps.
I have 2 group 29 deep cycle/Starting batteries on board that are 875 MCA each. I try to
Use Battery 1 for starting and 2 as the house when out as the Mercathoide system is tied to 1.
When I button up I leave the switch for the most part on 1 as well. Last time out I left it on both leading to both batteries fully draining. I am doing more research on the subject and I want it to be a straight replacement using existing wiring etc. The Charles 5000 series seems to be a heavier duty model with the same width and depth and only slightly longer. I can get a 15 amp 5000 series for about 20 bucks more than the 2000 series which on the charles site says economy model. is your Charles a 2000 model ( they are availible in that size)_ or the 5000 series....

I cant thank you enough for your advise as Sy and Marcy Sims says" An educated consumer is our best customer!!!!!!!

Frank
 
We have the 5000 series on the current boat and the 2000 on the previous one. Both are fine units IMHO. If you're buying a new one I'd go for the 2000 and spend the extra $ on higher amps.

See some good prices here.
 
letsgotoo, Sorry I didn't get back to you sooner, but you answered your own question. Yes, I have the Charles 2000 15 amp model. I've had no problems with it at all, and as Rommer said, stick with a dup of what you have.

Have you inquired as to whether Charles will fix yours? If so, is it significantly less than a new one? Personally, I prefer factory rebuilds/reconditions over new as a REAL human has done the work and checked it out. Most times the item is far less expensive.
 
Steve
no problem.
I am pulling out either this weekend or next And i agree with you on the reconditioned/rebuilds as they are looked over closer the second time around!
The information here is great as i can bounce off people with far more knoledge than myself and get good sound advise here. I will call Charles up in the next few days and surf the web for refurbs and the prospect of getting mine repaired.

Thanks
Frank
 
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