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[Jack Hutteball]

I took the advice on the board and replaced the Charles charger with a Xantrex Truecharge 20 right after we bought our boat in 2001, and it has worked flawlessly for the last 13 years. Kept my original 4d's going for 10 years, which seems good. 

Plugged in and turned it on after our trip and all i get is the 20 amp light flashing with no ready or recharging lights on or flashing.  Owners manual says this indicates overheating or underheat.  Batteries are cold to the touch, both banks.  (4 golf carts in house bank, and 1 - 12 volt start/reserve, all flooded)  I have checked all wiring and connections are clean and bright.  Fuses in the wires to the batteries are good.

Turning the unit on it goes thru it's start up cycle and just reverts to the 20A light flashing and no charging.  Tried disconnecting either or both battery banks, same thing.  Assuming at this point the charger is toast unless any of you have any other ideas.  Reading thru the info on chargers here I noted that starting with shore power and the charger on may kill the charger.  I may have done that as I was anxious to get going this year, but do not remember for sure.  I usually unplug prior to starting.

Time for replacement?  Looking at reviews for Xantrex chargers on West Marine site does not give me much confidence.  Should I be looking at something else if I need to replace?

Jack

[Stu Jackson]

Jack, if it's truly toast, look on the "Electrical 101" topic for Maine Sail's recommendations on new chargers, IIRC it's on how to replace a battery charger.

[KWKloeber]

Jack,

What's your budget like -- the Pronautic P chargers are a giant step above Xantrex. 

20 amp might be a little light, depending on how many amp-hours you carry and your charging situation.  Elaborate?


cheers.
Ken

[Noah]

I just installed a Promariner Pronautic 1240p (40amp). I've only had it a month, but it works well and is a Mainsail recommended model. Mine is located under my chart table so I purchased the remote panel and mounted it alongside my main distribution panel and other Nav/com gear.

[Roc]

Jack,
I've mistakenly started my engine with the shore power and charger on with no apparent issue with the charger.  Probably did this a few times over the years.   I have a 40 amp Xantrex Truecharge that I've had for at least 10 years (same situation as you, the Pro Mariner charger just stopped working).  From what I remember correctly, the Xantrex charger is ignition protected, and from what I understand, turning your engine on shouldn't cause any issue.  Try calling Xantrex tech service.

[mainesail]

Ignition protection has noting to do with starting the engine & damaging the starter. IP is a spark / ignition standard for testing equipment that may be in the vicinity of explosive fumes. An IP rated device is safe to use in a gas engine space. A charger without an IP rating should not be used in a gas engine space, fuses are IP rated too.

[Ron Hill]

Jack : Don't know if your True Charge 20 has a blower or not?  If it does make sure the air intake on the bottom is not matted up with junk.

If it doesn't have a blower make sure it is mounted vertical (for convection cooling) and is not mounted so the warm air cannot clear the top of the unit (ie. under the nav table high).

A thought

[Jack Hutteball]

Ron, it does not have a fan as it is an older 20 Amp unit I installed under the sink where the original was 13 years ago.  Plenty of air around it, nice and close to the batteries and used the same wiring.  I have tried everything I know of and found it puts out about 8 volts no matter what the setting.  Since it was undersized for my newer 6 volt main battery bank, I just went ahead and ordered a ProNautica P, 40 Amp charger as a replacement. 

Jack

[Juan]

Hi guys,

a quick (and perhaps a stupid) question. I am also in the process of changing my charger. Following this blog, I have been considering the ProNautica P, 40 Amp. But I also noticed they have the 30 Amp option. I don't have a lot of loads in my boat. Should I go for the 30 amp instead of the 40 amp? The shorepower that I get is 30 amps, anyways.

Thanks

Juan

[Stu Jackson]

The amperage is DC into your batteries, NOT AC input to the charger.  Divide by 10 (or 12) to get the AC load, it's pretty small.

The answer is: It all depends on how YOU use YOUR boat.  The difference between a 30A charger and a 40A charger won't make any difference if you marina hop.  If you intend to stay out and have limited access to shorepower, the faster charger would certainly reduce the time to recharge, by 25%.

Your boat, your choice.

[Ralph Masters]

My TrueCharge 20 has been doing a good job for about two years now.  House bank is 3 group 27 deep cycles and a group 27 aft start battery.

Ralph

[Noah]

Two months now and I am very satisfied with my ProMariner Pro Nautic P 40 amp with remote display panel. House bank is four T105s and start is one Group 24. Charger fan is very quiet! Faster charging vs a 20 amp is a plus as far as I am concerned.

[Jack Hutteball]

Juan,

My TrueCharge 20 did a fine job for me for 13 years, even though I recently changed to 4 - 6 volt house batteries and a single 12 volt reserve/starting battery.  The main reason I upgraded to a 40 amp charger is that we seem to be routinely hanging out on the hook for 3 days without charging the main bank, so when we hit a marina I want to be sure we have a full charge when we leave the next morning.  Our main draw on the boat is our refrigerator as we don't have a TV or computer and have a LED for the anchor light.  When sailing we only have the Garmin plotter and speed/depth running that take any power.

Jack

[Terry Forshier]

I have a xantrex 40, this after 3 promariner chargers , a 15 , a20 then a40. All failed within a few months. This was years ago but have to say the xantrex has done the job for me. I bought it after a big discussion on this forum regarding battery chargers.

[Noah]

From what I read (Mainsail's site and others) the "new" ProNautic P series is much better than old ProMariner. It is a product developed in partnership with Sterling and carries a 5yr. Warranty. I'm at 2-months and counting!