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TrojanDan
01-26-2004, 10:26 AM
MBrown you have a pretty wicked setup there in your DCB. You stated you have the dual bank Xantrex charger in your boat. What do you think about Pro Pak's battery chargers (www.culmrite.com)? Or is Xantrex better? Did DCB do your battery charger install?
I recently had my boat serviced at ALCO Marine in Havasu and they had Pro Pak's display. They wanted close to $600 to install a dual bank charger (Alco's price was $385 for the charger but it's on the internet for $132; $250 for a three battery setup) :eek: . They wanted another $188 in labor for the install.
I'm not an electrical engineering geek when it comes to this stuff but I also know it's not rocket science either. What I'm looking for is a simplier way of charging my batteries every night instead of using the old trickle charger connected to the battery posts dealio. I also want something quick and easy to plug into when I leave my boat stored at my house in Havasu between trips.
I'd use ALCO, but man they aren't cheap. If I'm not wrong, I think RiverCrazy wants a charger in his set-up too.
Thanks. :cool:

rivercrazy
01-26-2004, 10:32 AM
Ahhh. YUP! :D

SUPERCREWJOHN
01-26-2004, 01:14 PM
I would say the answer is SHORE POWER.. Just plug your extension cord in a go. I know Mark's Auto Sound has done quite a few of these on Halletts and a few Nordics. They placed the inlet plug on the bottom of the back bench along with a battery voltage meter. They are located in San Gabriel off Las Tunas.
http://www.markautosound.com
They also do some pretty awesome audio work..:)

mbrown2
01-26-2004, 02:09 PM
Trojan Dan,
Thnx for the comments. I am not really an expert on which Charger is best....I had heard good things about Xantrex and Guest chargers, but did not do a lot of research in this area after I found what I needed in the Xantrex...plus the fact that they and Guest are carried by a large number of dealers, I figured they are reputable and easy to get a replacement or service on.....
If you are just worried about having a fixed mount charger on board that you would plug in at the end of the day or leave connected while your boat is in storage in the garage, there are a number of options that are probably less than the Xantrex model I went with...I only did that model because I wanted the 40amp charge while on the water boating on occassion...if I was just plugging it in at the end of the day, I could have went with a model that provided less amps but put out 15amps or less with auto shut-off and trickle capability if the voltage on the battery dropped below a certain voltage...I thought I remember these types of chargers running the 150-300 range...but for the difference of $100 I would step up to the 350-400 range for a smart charger like the Xantrex...
Do a search of Xantrex Battery Chargers, and Guest Battery Chargers...you will soon become familiar with the model lines and the pricing structure based on the different models and features....
You can probably get the Charger for less online than Alco, and I don't necessarily think a Marine guy has to install it for you....Actually, there is an Alternator guy I use in Havasu to troubleshoot issues we had with our Eliminator...He could probably do it for less labor than a Marine guy and he possibly knows Electrical better than the Marine guy since he works on boat and car electrical issues day in and day out...These are not that hard to install...just need to install them somewhat near the banks with a little distance based on the manufacture's specs.
DCB installed ours and procured it...I gave them the website of where it was at, and they might have made a little profit on it, but overall, I got a good deal on the stereo setup when you add everything up, retail versus wholesale and the labor for install time..
Let me know if I can answer any other questions.

TrojanDan
01-26-2004, 02:50 PM
MBrown2, Thanks for your reply. Is your charger waterproof (too lazy to look it up on their website)?
Yes, I am just looking for something to plug into and charge back at the house. I wouldn't have this problem if it wasn't for the low water level in Havasu :yuk: . My batteries went dead from having my boat just sit there these past couple of months. Hopefully only a few more weeks and I can take it out again.
Do you have a number to your alternator guy you used in Havasu?
Thanks again.
Dan :cool:

mbrown2
01-26-2004, 02:59 PM
No, I don't think its waterproof....we have it mounted behide the backseat on an amp rack that does not get much water..
The name of the Alternator guy is:
Alternator Specialities Auto
1944 Acoma Blvd W # D, Lake Havasu City, AZ 86403
Phone: (928) 680-8646
His name is Ray (I think)...low key guy....plays in Latin Band in town up there...cool dude..

BoatFloating
01-26-2004, 03:18 PM
Dan, here is a unit that goes for about the same price and MB's but it's 75 amp charger for about the same price. It has a fast charge setting on it also. Cascade (http://www.cascadeaudio.com/prod/powersupp.html) The APS 75 is the model you would need.

mbrown2
01-26-2004, 03:56 PM
BF,
I looked at that website...and that unit looks very cool...I like the 90amp version.....I am wondering if can do trickle and smartcharging as well? If you have any additional info on it please send it...since I could find additional literature on the site....But if it can do smartcharging and trickle along with putting out 90 amps, that is a pretty serious unit...run that could run a system at full tilt...

TrojanDan
01-26-2004, 04:04 PM
Wow BF,
That looks like serious stuff. I think I'll just settle for the trickle charge/smart charge thingy. I spent enough money on this stereo system already.
Thanks MBrown for the info.
:cool:

BoatFloating
01-26-2004, 06:58 PM
Originally posted by mbrown2
BF,
I looked at that website...and that unit looks very cool...I like the 90amp version.....I am wondering if can do trickle and smartcharging as well? If you have any additional info on it please send it...since I could find additional literature on the site....But if it can do smartcharging and trickle along with putting out 90 amps, that is a pretty serious unit...run that could run a system at full tilt...
I would call Casade and ask since I didn't see anything on that either. I know it has charging but smart I don't know. The 90 amp would be the way to go, you could crank all day long. Dennis has the 75 in his Carrera 29' with the Honda EU2000i and it's worked great. Let me know what you find out.
Thanks for the link on the Honda generator, I found a place in National City that has them for $895. So I think I'm good to go.

mbrown2
01-26-2004, 07:31 PM
BF,
I will probably call them...when I was contemplating the Xantrex system, a couple of folks I talked to said the "Power Supply Route" was the other way to go...but no one could give me website or information on who was making these power supplies that the folks were using in show cars and displays, so I could not get a lot of info...
I am going to look into...if it can charge smart.....it might be next upgrade...:D

BoatFloating
01-26-2004, 08:09 PM
Originally posted by mbrown2
BF,
I will probably call them...when I was contemplating the Xantrex system, a couple of folks I talked to said the "Power Supply Route" was the other way to go...but no one could give me website or information on who was making these power supplies that the folks were using in show cars and displays, so I could not get a lot of info...
I am going to look into...if it can charge smart.....it might be next upgrade...:D
Keep me posted, I might go that route also with the new setup.

rivercrazy
01-26-2004, 09:23 PM
Whoa 50, 75, and 90 amp chargers. Can you set those models for a lower amp charge like 5-10 amps or do they automatically sense a power need in excess of a battery charge and kick up the amp supply? I know for sure if you hit a discharged battery with a 90 amp charge, your gonna kill the cells pretty quick.

BoatFloating
01-26-2004, 09:28 PM
Originally posted by rivercrazy
Whoa 50, 75, and 90 amp chargers. Can you set those models for a lower amp charge like 5-10 amps or do they automatically sense a power need in excess of a battery charge and kick up the amp supply? I know for sure if you hit a discharged battery with a 90 amp charge, your gonna kill the cells pretty quick.
This will keep the battery from every hitting that low of a amount. The higher the charge isn't always that bad on a battery as long as it's automatic. My Sear's charger puts out 60amp. Remember if your at 90amp you divide it by the # of batteries and for the most part 2 is the norm, so that would be 45amp. Heck they have alternators out there that put out 200 amps.

rivercrazy
01-26-2004, 09:36 PM
I guess the only difference would be how many amps the alternator is charging the batts with after running the motor and any other accessories. And splitting the charge between a few batts is also a great point.
Does a voltage regulator limit the amps a battery is getting as well as volts?

ROZ
01-27-2004, 09:53 AM
Don't get too technical now...... :D We use that type of power supply in our display boards, but MUCH larger ... :D
The only question I would have is if the unit automatically turns on for charging and off when the batteries are fully charged...

Steamin' Rice
01-27-2004, 10:42 AM
Am I following this correctly?
Install the generator, plug the power suppy into the 110V output of the generator, and wire the output of the power supply in parallel to the batteries? I might need to look into this in more detail... Mbrown, your setup looks killer....

ROZ
01-27-2004, 11:26 AM
Originally posted by Steamin' Rice
Am I following this correctly?
Install the generator, plug the power suppy into the 110V output of the generator, and wire the output of the power supply in parallel to the batteries? I might need to look into this in more detail... Mbrown, your setup looks killer....
No more looking needed. You're following correctly... :p

Steamin' Rice
01-27-2004, 12:13 PM
Mr. Roz..You got the hookup on the power supplies???? :D :D