I'll take this as both products suck so steer clear...

 

I am not in the charger industry so others will have to comment, but one part of your post was interesting...
For about 20 years we have had an AGM ("spiralcell") emergency/starting battery because the best place for it is under an aft berth where there's no way to add water to a wet cell battery. I leave it off the shorepower charger due to the imbalance between capacity of the two banks. Our house bank is a pair of Trojan T-145 GC batteries (wet cell technology).
The charger is left on for the house bank all the time at the dock. I do switch in the stating battery on that charger for a partial day if we go over 3 or 4 months in the winter without running the boat. When underway I use the stock Moto 55 amp alternator to charge both banks for an hour, maybe once a month. That AGM always seems to stay fully charged when checked on, and I use it to start the diesel once in a while -- just did that a week ago matter of fact.

There are probably several "right" answers to your question, but this works for me.

As for chargers, I am now using a ProMariner, and the first one failed soon after the install due to a manufacturing glitch that caused the fan to seize up and overheat the charger. Warranty replacement resulted.

Used to have a Truecharge 20, but will not go back to Xantrex due to their poor customer service.
If this one dies, I might go with Mastervolt, as a local marine electronics shop seems to be having very good luck with them.

best,
Loren

 

The Sterling Pro-Charge Ultra and the ProMariner Pro-Nautic P are a jointly developed charger and a very good battery charger with a top notch remote control and some of the best features of any battery charger out there..

Blue Sea makes tremendous quality gear and I would assume the BSS charger will be top notch. Sadly these chargers will not be shipping until late December or Jan. I spoke with Wayne K. a few weeks ago and was told about the est ship dates.

Things I like about the BSS P12:

* The BSS does a "pre-float" stage which can reduce voltage to a near full battery by up to 0.5V less than the absorption voltage. This is unique to the P12.

* The BSS is a world voltage PFC charger

* Allows you to create a custom charging profile

* Made in the USA

* 5 year warranty

* It's a BSS product and they are a tremendous company!

Things I am not crazy about:

* The remote display is not an LCD display, very basic.

* Limited model sizes (smallest 25A / biggest is 40A)

Things I like about the Sterling PCU / Pronautic P:

* Reverts to absorption voltage once every 21 days to "gas" the batteries and roll the electrolyte which helps prevent stratification.

* Drops the voltage to a storage / standby voltage (lower than float)

* They are very efficient world voltage PFC chargers

* 11 Pre-set charge profiles + a custom configurable profile.

* They allows you to create a custom charging profile

* They come standard with a battery temp sensors

* The remote control is excellent and can even tell you the internal temp of the charger and the battery temp

* Models from 10A to 60A

* 5 year warranty

Things I am not crazy about on the Sterling/Pronautic P:

* No "pre-float" but they do now have a Battery Chemistry Module out that turns it into a multi-output, multi-voltage charger.

* Made overseas with non-US labor

 

Being that I'll need a new charger before the blue seas comes out I'm leaning towards the sterling. Any other brand that is more recommended for a 40-50 amp unit?

 

So I'm in a quandary: The recommendation of my electrician (and all y'all) is the Sterling P1220, but in my case cost is a nontrivial issue. I expect my Islander 30 to be a temporary boat, and would rather not overspend dollars that are unlikely to come back for a boat this size. (I have a hard time knowingly purchasing something which is a compromise, but I'm trying to be pragmatic.)

It seems like the ProMarinerGen 3 12 amp would be sufficient for my two batteries, at a cost of around $108 versus around $270 for the Sterling P1220.

Thoughts, slings, arrows, other?

Thanks-

aenlic

 

Need a little more info

What type / size Batteries
Type of sailing ie day / weekend
Acessability of electricity ie slip
How far down do you draw your batteries

I would only buy a three stage charger no matter what you decide

 

Go with the biggest Sterling, you can always de-rate, and it will end up costing a buck or two per month more, and future proof, you're ready to switch to any chemistry bank.

 

Great advice... but that requires collaboration with a different kind of bank, which is not an option currently. ;-)