c tek charger compatability

[tenzing]

I currently have a century wet cell start battery which needs replacement.
I also have an amp tech deep cycle house battery and a three switch isolator system (batt 1 on/off, batt 2 on/off, parallel on/off)and a minn kota charger permanently attached to the start battery.

I am thinking about a seamaster MFM70 for the starter and would like to use a c tek charger permanently attached. Can the c tek be used on this battery given that it is an expanded calcium grid type. If so which one suits best .The multi XS series or an M200 or 300.

Given the set up I could use the existing charger on one battery and a c tek on the other but which one for which??

Cheers
Brendan

[PADDLES]

g'day brendan, if you've already got the minn kota battery charger, what's making you look at buying another charger? is it too small and not charging quick enough or is it stuffed? is the minn kota one suitable for deep cycle batteries and does it have the "smarts" that a ctek has?

personally, i reckon a permanently fixed charger is a bit of a waste of money for most boats. ie. you might as well leave it unfixed so you can use it to charge up other batteries (car, bike, trailer etc.) around the place. there are exceptions however and if you have a sportfishing boat with battery banks for electric motors or a big cruiser with battery banks for house power then permanently fitted chargers start to make sense.

we've found that start batteries tend to not need too much charging in our boat, but house batteries can get flogged. we use a ctek XS 7A charger to charge our 150Ah house battery and our 2 start batteries, a 15A one would be better to charge it a bit quicker but the 7A one does the job. we bought the little ctek plug thingos for each battery, all we do is plug the charger straight onto the plug to charge each battery.

i didn't quite understand the difference between the M and XS series of chargers, the specs all read the same to me but the M series is marketed as a marine type. i think the calcium batteries should charge fine with the ctek, they're just a wet cell anyway aren't they?

[tenzing]

Yes to all those questions really.
I dont think the minn kota has the "smarts" as you say.
It is already permanently installed and is a very simple thing to plug in and walk away from however I am not sure that is doing the job. A bit hard to tell really.
When it was installed I had asked for a c tek but it was not available that day so used this instead. It seems not to mind getting a bit of spray etc.
Have been doing a bit of a refurb and the start has died and I want to get it all finished and as good as it can be. It has been a bit of a process already so just wanting to get it finished right and on the water.
This is the last thing to do.
I looked at the website for the differnce between the series of cteeks M and XS, and the M seems to have some extra series in the process and is more designed for marine use, whether that means more water resistant or just dearer I am not totally sure.
The time taken to charge is not really an issue either so the size is not critical if it will do the same job.
I really just need to be sure about compatibility and difference in c tek models.
Cheers
Brendan

[Fishbait]

The RACQ online shop does the XS3600 3.5amp C-TEK charger for members for $99. I know your looking at the 7amp charger but thought I'd throw my $2 in. I looked at both the XS and M series and found no real difference in the specs either. I just leave the c-tek smart charger leads on the battery, and when I get home, plug it in to charge then - that way the charger isn't copping all the salt and spray in your boat if fixed to it. Anyway, all the best.

[snodger 08]

Hi Brendan,
I run amp tech for both starter and electric, and since buying the C tech I have noticed I am getting more time out of the electric motor, almost an hour over my previous best time. You can also leave the charger attached to the battery all the time. I also wouldnt leave it in the boat unless its a very dry spot. Just my opinion tho.
Steve

[tenzing]

Thanks Steve .PM sent

[PADDLES]

brendan, from what you're saying i'd just buy an XS series one and get a set of plug/leads to bolt to each of your batteries so you can remove it from the boat when it's not needed. you'll still have the alligator clips for other batteries around the shed but when you want to charge a boat battery you just plug it onto the battery an let her rip. how big (in Ah) is your house battery and how much do you discharge it for a normal trip? size your charger (in A) to replenish this amount in about 10-12 hours. this means work out your demand in Ah, divide it by 12 and pick a charger that's going to do that amount of amps. you'll still need to leave it on for longer than this to properly charge the battery but it's a loose guideline.

[tenzing]

brendan, from what you're saying i'd just buy an XS series one and get a set of plug/leads to bolt to each of your batteries so you can remove it from the boat when it's not needed. you'll still have the alligator clips for other batteries around the shed but when you want to charge a boat battery you just plug it onto the battery an let her rip. how big (in Ah) is your house battery and how much do you discharge it for a normal trip? size your charger (in A) to replenish this amount in about 10-12 hours. this means work out your demand in Ah, divide it by 12 and pick a charger that's going to do that amount of amps. you'll still need to leave it on for longer than this to properly charge the battery but it's a loose guideline.

Cheers mate . It is a 120 AH Amptech.
Couldnt tell you how much it drains by. Cant wait to get the boat back on the water . I'm up to 10 weeks this weekend

[PADDLES]

i know your pain mate, were about the 9 or so week mark ourselves.

with your house battery, if you run a fridge/lights/dunnie (big loads) and want the battery to charge up quickly overnight at a marina before you get going again the next day then get a 15A charger. if you just charge it on the trailer at home, overnight only and don't use the house battery for much more than lights and a dunnie then a 7A charger will be fine and arguably better for your deep cycle because it'll charge it slower (they like this).

[tenzing]

Thanks Paddles.
Given the thousands of trailer boats running a "normal" dual battery setup you think there would be a well known and standard sort of answer to these things.
If there is it seems to be being kept a secret.
Cheers
Brendan