Wednesday 29 February 2012

Electrical system overhaul - Pt 1 Battery charger

Being an American built boat Crosswind has both a 110VAC and 12VDC electrical system. In Australia we use 240V as the AC power source. Since I moved aboard in December 2011 charging the batteries has been a pain.  The solar panels don't quite keep up with my power usage and running the engine to charge the batteries is a pain. I decided to bite the bullet and buy a 240V battery charger. 

On the reccommendation of other liveaboards and after talking with their service department I purchased a 25 amp Durst SMARTcharger which is both a battery charger and 12V power supply (while berthed). Durst battery chargers are micro processor controlled to vary the charge rate in three stages from what is known as the Bulk Rate (about 60 – 70% charged) down to the Absorption Rate (almost fully charged) then finally the Float Mode (minimal charge rate) that will maintain the battery in a full state of charge and maximise battery life. Should the level of charge decrease, the charge rate automatically increase to compensate thereby maintaining full battery charge. Set and forget - works for me.


Charger installed
:) fully charged batteries











Before I start any further work on the electrical system I need to know how much power I need and what 12V storage I need to meet those needs. In Part 2 I'll post my initial analysis.





Anyone want to buy a 110V charger?

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