Visit our Popular Forums

markpj23 · 31-01-2008, 05:19

You know - the one you *borrowed* from me a while back...

Finally back on the boat, all banks are dead - as in 3v - dead. The solid state charger I left on to maintain float charge was indicating 24 volts - and yes I have a 12 volt system. Still haven't figured that one out... reset it and it now indicates 12v

Batteries were in need of replacement anyway... now they're out for sure. Ever see a T105 with a bulging case? Not pretty.... and all 6 house batteries were bone dry.

This is the second such incident with the charging system on this boat, one before I bought her. So now I'm going to rip out these inferior chargers and put the Iotas in. I may even correct the black wires that connect to the positive terminals while I'm at it..... retired electrical engineers should NOT be allowed to own boats... or at least sell one to me....

I'm a New England pack rat by breeding... knew I should've hung on to that unit I sold .... Or maybe never should have bought a boat?

It's all good.... even that messy bilge beneath the battery locker....

ssullivan · 31-01-2008, 05:52

Hey Mark, sorry to hear about that. Those are such great batteries to have a faulty charger cause that kind of mess... What a shame.

**knottybuoyz** · 31-01-2008, 06:23

Quote:

Originally Posted by markpj23

You know - the one you *borrowed* from me a while back...

I don't have that one anymore remember?

It died a horrible death about a month after you loaned it to me!

What I have now is a nice brand new shiny one replaced under warranty by Iota (great company)!

I had to replace both my deep cycles this year (just before the o/d broke). Even with proper charging from the Iota it wasn't enough to salvage the old ones. What's on your boat now for chargers?

I'm just glad I didn't buy your whole boat!

**irwinsailor** · 31-01-2008, 07:22

What is a "iota"?

**knottybuoyz** · 31-01-2008, 07:50

Quote:

Originally Posted by irwinsailor

What is a "iota"?

Hey Gunner

It's the ninth letter of the Greek alphabet or the name of a company that builds battery chargers & power supplies......

IOTA Engineering DLS Series AC/DC Power Converters and Battery Chargers for 12VDC Systems

Renowned in the SSB radio world for being virtually free of noise. (from what I'm told). Good units with great techincal support (this advertisement was paid for by MarkPJ23).

**irwinsailor** · 31-01-2008, 08:15

I have a working 40amp 12 volt take out that I would like to sell. I do not remember the brand name but it worked fine.

**Alan Wheeler** · 31-01-2008, 10:37

Mark, I doubt the charger was the problem. Most likely a battery finally died enough to suggest to the charger that it was flat and in need of charge. Or in other words, the battery was not coming up to a high enough voltage for the charger to come out of bulk charge. This results in the entire bank being feed the bulk charge and they eventually overheat and boil dry. Unless your charger is really poor quality, I would suggest you simply replace the battery bank. With proper monitoring of the charge process, you should be fine with new batteries.

markpj23 · 31-01-2008, 11:55

Wheels - you may be right. I just want to replace this mismatched stuff anyway. 2 different units, one is a MasterMariner 75A whose fan sounds like it may have had bearings around 1995; looks like an old ferro-resonance unit - not sure. The other is a ProMariner solid state thing whose indicator lights are intermittent. The purchase survey noted that even though the charger lights indicated a dead unit, it was still delivering charging current.

Just don't trust 'em.... and will sleep better with a pair of spiffy new Iotas.

Plus I'm a card-carrying member of the "if you can afford to replace it don't waste time dinkin' with it" club. That's a limited membership of course - but in this case it's cheap battery insurance to me

I'll save my dumpster diving for other things