Battery charger - what size

[Docrockit]

Jeff,

My 1988 Series II 41C has the Sentry unit mounted in the ER on the forward bulkhead. If I replace it with the Xantrex XC5012, will this unit go in the same spot? ie.Can it be mounted vertically on the bulkhead? My Sentry is boiling my 8Ds...

 

[fissioneng]

Jeff,

My 1988 Series II 41C has the Sentry unit mounted in the ER on the forward bulkhead. If I replace it with the Xantrex XC5012, will this unit go in the same spot? ie.Can it be mounted vertically on the bulkhead? My Sentry is boiling my 8Ds...

The XC5012 is about the same size as the Sentry C140 which is what I had. It can be mounted vertically with the face plate up, terminals down. It does need some air flow, but if your Sentry is in the same position, there is probably enough room around it. Fortunately, the DC outputs are almost in the same position (lower right) as the Sentry so they should be easy to hook up. The AC input, however is on the opposite side (lower left) so you will need to reroute your AC feed to the Xantrex.

 

[GJH]

Why would you buy a foreign owned and manufactured Xantrex product when you can get an American made Charles or NewMar with great quality and customer service?

My boat came with an XC 2524 for the thruster bank and on the two occasions I have had to call them with a question it has been a horrible and unproductive experience. I know other people who have had problems getting service as well. I will never buy a Xantrex product. Do yourself a favor and look elsewhere.

George

 

[fissioneng]

I made my decision based on my past experience owning a TrueCharge 40+, unique features, and the recommendation of Powerboat Reports.

I have never had any service issues.

 

[GJH]

Have you ever had occasion, especially recently to call them or otherwise get service from them?

And again, why not buy American? Beside the great economic benefit to the country, why not have an American who actually is involved in the company answer the phone when you call?

George

 

[TopHattandTails]

Without knowing why you want to change your charger... Lots of people change out the charger when they cook the batteries. Typically all you need is to replace a few resistors and a couple other little items that only an electrician knows how to change... I cook 8 - D batteries in 1 summer and thought I was going to loose my mind. As I was getting ready to use the LaMarche as a back up anchor, one of my dockmates flipped the resistors and capacitors out and $300 later I was back in business. Next step is to tune down the charge and make the charger act more like a trickle rather than a blast... Something to think about...

 

[Docrockit]

After talking with some other people,
I decided to get the Charles C-Charger 5000 series 40 amp. It is a perfect fit and the A/C and D/C input outputs are identical location to my Sentry. I did not know xantrex was foreighn but do agree that we should buy American if the quality is similar (or in this case superior)
thanks for your inputs. Now, about my batteries...I want to get rid of the 8Ds altogether...can I substitute Group 37s instead? How about Optimas at 1000 CCA rating ?
Please advise.

 

[rwetherington]

be sure what ever battery you select that the new charger that you bought will charger them. there are different charger setting for different batteries. make sure to ask the charger manufacture for the different setting.

 

[fissioneng]

I replaced my original charger with the xantrx TrueCharge 40Plus Battery Charger in 2004. At the same time I replaced my 8D's with group 24s. They fit perfectly into the 8D box, a LOT easier to handle and will give you more amps than the 8D.
Have had zero problems with this setup. And I only replaced one 8D on each side so have the rear boxes empty but available should I ever get around to installing an inverter system

I put in new, luggable, wet cell 8Ds when mine died last year. The multiple Group 24s sound like the way to go next time. You will need harnesses to connect them together in parallel. If I had the $$, I would go with AGM.