On-board charger question

[SKIPER]

One bank of my Dual Pro Charger just went out. I've got an older 19' Champion with just 12 1/2" from the deck to the lid and about 5 1/2" between the gas tank and inside wall, so space is limited.

I was thinking about going with the cheaper XPS i 5/5/5, but it only puts out 5 amps per bank. Are there any disadvantages other than longer charge time to having just 5 amps to each battery, opposed to 10 amps per battery with Dual Pro?

[Ron C]

...it is smaller in size and weight than the Dual Pro and far more reliable (and less expensive). Here is their website: www.propakcharger.com.

Anglers Marine carries the full line of Pro Pak chargers.

[Schneider Fishing]

All I can say is that I really like my stealth charger. Charges off the big motor when it's running and you can plug it in at home.

[scottsweet]

I would consider the AC/DC Stealth Charger. The AC puts out 20 amps and with the DC, you will charge all your batteries. If you want, you can even put in the tow package and charge all your batteries when you drive.

If you were to look at the ProPak, it looks awfully similar to the AC Stealth...though its NOT the same on the inside.

If you have any questions, let me know.

Scott

[Ron C]

If you were to look at the ProPak, it looks awfully similar to the AC Stealth...though its NOT the same on the inside.

Sorry Scott, but I do not see the resemblance at all:



You are correct, however, it's NOT the same inside. The ProPak will give you a full charge even when the voltage drops below 80 volts - like at a motel during a tournament when everybody is plugged in at the same time.

Skiper, I encourage you to give Rick Stanfield at ProPak a call at (623) 486-6663. He designed the ProPak chargers and is the president of the company. (He also designed the Cul-M-Rite scale). Rick is a great guy and loves talking about this stuff. His customer service is second to none.

And yes, I am sponsored by ProPak. But even before I was, I had ProPak chargers on my boats (after two Dual Pro failures similar to yours).

Good Fishing!

Ron C

[mark poulson]

Are there any disadvantages other than longer charge time to having just 5 amps to each battery, opposed to 10 amps per battery with Dual Pro?[/quote]

Scott or Ron,
What is the answer to this part of his question?

[scottsweet]

In general, the slower the charge, the longer the battery will last. The plates do not get as hot and therefore last longer. Also, you usually get a more full charge. During the charge cycle, the peak voltage is not as artificial so you get the more full charge.

However, if we were to charge our batteries at only 5 amps and they were at 50%, it would take a long time to bring them back . Its basic math....a 5 amp charger means it puts out 5 amps/hr and if your down 50% on a 800 amp battery, you need to put back 400 amps. That's 80 hours or about 3 1/2 days...imagine a battery at 25%! In my case, I have 1200 amp batteries...at 50% down, that is 600 amps...and would equate to 120 hours or 5 full days.

If you charge under 20 amps, you will be fine, but probably slightly shorten the overall life of the battery. The sooner and more often you replace the charge on the battery, the better. As soon as your capacity goes below 85% or so, sulfication starts. If you charge right away (within a couple of days), it never really takes hold on the plates.

Other than it takes so long to charge, and potentially not having a full charge from day to day, that is really the only disadvantage.

Hope that helps.

[scottsweet]

Thanks Ron...but...you probably weren't aware of a product upgrade Stealth made last year. Shown is the updated AC unit along with the DC unit.



Also, you can add the DC unit to any existing charging system.

If you have any questions, let me know. Anglers Marine does sell the system if you are interested.

Scott

[SKIPER]

Thanks for all the good info guys. I have another question for Scott Sweet or other tech.

When I returned from Piru over the weekend and plugged in the charger it was working again. I know it wasn't a dirty battery terminal or wire connection because I cleaned them. I had also switched the bad one to another battery and it showed bad there too.

Do you think there could have been an internal loose connection or something that maybe jarred back into place? FYI, The three batteries are all less than two months old, so I believe we can rule out a battery problem.

If it happens again I'll probably switch out to the Propak charger. Except for a few local club tournament, I only fish weekends and almost never run down the batteries more than half. Five amps should suffice for my purposes.

Thanks again for the input.

[RICK STANFIELD]

Skiper,

I would not recommend the XPS Charger. We get too many calls from customers that are replacing them. They seem to be build cheaply because they fail too often.

The Steath system is good. It does have the advantage of charging on the water when your main boat motor is running. It is important for you to understand however that this " on the water charge" is usually very small when it comes to charge capacity for the battery. The best way to look at this is to think of a typical fishing day and ask yourself what is the percentage of time you are actually running the main motor compared to how much time you are running the trolling motor. Typically it is less than 5 %. This is important to remember because you don't want to depend on the on the water charge to fully charge your batteries.

Of course I am going to recommend the PRO-PAK because it is our product. I think if you ask folks that have it in their boats you will find they are very happy. A good charger is one that should be installed and forgotten. In other words it just does its job well and you can depend on it. We think this best describes the PRO-PAK.

Good luck on your choice and good fishing!

Rick Stanfield
AFT Inc.

[Murph]

Hey guys, the two units that are being discussed are actually a great combination. They will both be on my next boat. The majority of my fishing is on Bigger Lakes that allow the run time to give the trollers a little boost before you get back to the motel. Be sure to consider this package.

[scottsweet]

Hmm..hard to say...but sounds like the charger is the culprit. They do go bad and don't last forever.

[tunaman]

Rick,

While what you say is true, I gave mine the ultimate test the first trip out and it passed with flying colors. Two weeks ago we went to Havasu, and I pre-fished on Friday. I ran about 18 miles from Black Meadows and fished around all day, hard on the trolling motor, eventually running up to Havasu City twice, and when returning to Black Meadows decided that the batteries had sufficient charge (based on my voltage reading on my sonar) to not hook up the charger over night. I made another run the following morning to the same area, and fished all day hard on the trolling motor, without any perceptable loss of power.

Granted, being able to run 15-20 minutes at a time from start to location was longer than I'd be able to do locally, but the point was that I could run for fairly brief periods (minutes rather than hours) and get an effective charge.

Roger