32V charger behavioral changes......

[oscarvan]

This is in dock, engines off, shore power connected.

For months it would charge for 2-3 minutes, as witnessed by a fairly loud humm, and pump 2-30A into the system as witnessed by the gauge. Then it would stop and the amber light would illuminate. Turning on 32V users, like the engine room lights would increase frequencey.

Now it's cycling more rapidly for shorter periods. (10-15 secodns) and the light only flashes when it stops charging, then it goes out.

Hmmmmmmm.

While I would like to think these old units were built like tanks to last forever I am also not 100% sure that they are as sophisticated as todays units. To wit, there is a lot of wet gassing at the batteries resulting in wet battery tops. I think the bursts of 40A may not be the best thing, and a more continuous lower amperage would be better.

What is the replacement of choice, if any?

Thank you for your thoughts as always.

(On edit, I don't have the model number and am looking for a picture. It's the 1x1x2 foot box with ammeter, amber light and two switches on the front)

 

[Boatsb]

Sentry services their units. I've sent customers units in for refurbished and repair more than once.

Also check the batteries. They may be the cause.

You can't diagnose the problem without a full list of symptoms.

 

[MadHatter53]

I’ll be replacing my LeMarch charger this season. There’s not a lot of choices, analytical systems and Sterling are my two comps. Sterling is under $600 analytical is over $1k last time I checked.
I replaced 6 out of 8 of my batteries last year with the final 2 coming this season, there was a two month lag time due to the China flu and a odd high demand for 8V.

 

[bigbill]

how old are your batteries? they may have the charger doing things that are not normal

 

[oscarvan]

how old are your batteries? they may have the charger doing things that are not normal

Hmmm, that's possible although the change was rather sudden.

 

[racclarkson@gmail.com]

Hmmm, that's possible although the change was rather sudden.

Cold weather makes batteries do things rather suddenly.

 

[SKYCHENEY]

Analytic makes a great charger. I have had mine since 2004. The equalize function really extends the life of your batteries.

 

[whoover]

Oscar this is my experience from spring 2020. I have the Sentry charger, original 1973. Because I left a light on and went home which depleted my starboard bank. When I put my charger on it would charge for a few minutes then stop. One of the switches on the front of mine is a circuit breaker for the charging voltage and it would trip from the overload. My cure was to bring a portable charger and slowly bring up the voltage to a point where the sentry could take over.

Walt Hoover

 

[jmooney]

Every time I have a short cycling charger , there’s a weak battery. With 8 volt batteries you can usually check each cell with a multimeter . I would think that you will find one bad cell . Also after running the boat , with a hot engine room , the charger stays charging for much too long if a battery is going bad. Obviously my batteries are in the engine rooms .

 

[divert00]

Same experience as JMooney over multiple chargers over multiple boats.

John McCarley
Water Colors - 63 MY
Wrightsville Beach NC

 

[cenger]

I replaced my La MARCHE (aka the cooker) with a Sentry last year. What adifference, my batteries never boil and I only added water once throughout theseason. I did my research and it came down to Analytic or Sentry. I wentwith the Sentry based on the recommendations from this site but I'm sure theyare both good. For what it is worth, I spoke directly with someone at Sentrywho took the time to make sure I had all the specs and got exactly the rightcharger. I like that kind of customer service.

 

[Blowncar]

What do they charge for the Sentry?

 

[SKYCHENEY]

If you can't do an equalize charge with the Sentry then you'll never see the full life out of the batteries. You have to be able to desulphate the plates.

 

[cenger]

I believe the Sentry was under $1,000. Call the company and work directly with them rather than a reseller if you go the Sentry route.

 

[Boatsb]

The sentry is not under $1000.00

This is list price from my sheet.

SFR3230/3X$2,340Output: 32V, 30A, 3 Banks / Input: 115/230V, 60Hz (Lead Acid, AGM or Gel)SFR-TEMP$130Temperature Sensor for SFR chargers 12” extension (Monitors Battery Temp.)SFR-TEMP-20$175Temperature Sensor for SFR chargers 20’ extension (Monitors Battery Temp.)Ammeter$340Additional charge to add ammeter to any chargers listed above (see photo below)

I'm sure someone will doubt it but it's a cut and paste from my dealer price sheet.

 

[oscarvan]

All done..... pretty happy with the result. Had to extend the battery wires as the old Sentry was a bottom connection.....Will see how the batteries do.

 

[MadHatter53]

Looks good. I’ll be doing my sterling install next weekend.

 

[JuiceClark]

I still have the old NewMar onboard. The boat came with a brand new Sentry 32v still in the box. However, it's a 30A and the boat has 16 8v batteries...two sets of four 8v on each side.

Obviously, that's a small charger for all that lead. After sitting on it for 100 days, I think I'm going to install it anyway. We're just not using much juice. I've only had to turn on the NewMar for maybe 15 minutes each week...or less. With the boat right behind the house, it doesn't go unattended for long periods of time. The engines will always run at least every couple weeks.

My only concern is will that charger properly charge two 8 battery banks? Really, my major concern is a battery getting overcharged, from not working properly on all these batteries, and not the opposite.

 

[cenger]

I'm not sure why you would need 16 8V batteries. 2 banks of 4 should be enough to power the boat. On my 55C one bank is used for the engine, the other is for the generator and house. The 32V Sentry 30 amp is plenty for 2 banks. One bank on the charger left unused.

You may be able to shed some weight and make some room.