Without question it is now accepted that 3 or 4 step battery charging, is the best way to charge any battery. In order to do this the charger must have some programmable system to establish what type of batteries you have and what size of battery bank you have. The Sterling units have this facility. With larger chargers it is important to be able to restrict the output power, i.e. a 12 volt 100 amp battery charger requires about 2000 watts of power which is about 8 amps.

Most battery chargers work well at 230 volts, but at most marinas especially at the end of the pontoon the voltage can drop to as low as 180 volts. Most battery chargers claim to work at these voltages, however there is a difference between working at 2% and 100%. Do not be fooled by transformer based chargers which claim to work at low input voltages.

Continuous rating is a point to bear in mind. Remember that on a boat this unit could be required to work at its maximum for 24 hours at high ambient temperatures. We use 40°c as our working ambient while the rest claim 20°c or less.

All the Sterling battery charger/power packs have the following standard features:

• constant current charging with full output capability after charge on power pack mode.
• automatic boost charge reset on event of charger output being exceeded by boat consumption.
• charger maximum charge voltage adjustment between 14.4 and 14.8 volts for gel (and sealed batteries) or conventional and traction batteries.
• equalising or absorption time control adjustable via DIP switches depending on battery bank size.
• high input voltage range 180-26O volts and 40-400 Hz frequency range offering maximum performance with poor input power supply.
• fan cooling (except 12 volt 10 amp) with 50°C fan on and 45°C fan off. 70° C high temperature trip. This ensures continuous performance with ambient up to 50°c.
• linear output. Because these units are switch mode the output is pure dc and not half wave rectified dc (conventional transformer chargers) which, due to 50 Hz pulsing, damages the batteries.

Battery Charger Size recommended:

• Leisure craft: 10% total amp hour battery capacity on board
• Live aboard: as above + maximum consumption

Small (International Range) - 12v 10 & 20amp, 24v 15 amp

This Charger has proved to be one of the most successful on the market due to its price, extremely small footprint, and performance. This 3 output unit has multi input voltage (80V-300V) multi input frequency (40Hz-400Hz) is ideal for the 15-30 ft boat range.

• 4 step battery charging
• Programmable for gel, open lead acid, sealed, maintenance free batteries and battery bank sizes
• Automatic 110 / 230 volt crossover
• Power pack functions
• 3 isolated outputs (2 outputs on 12v 10 amp)
• Low cost, high performance
• New 3 stage R.F.I. filter for even lower radio interference
• Twin fan cooling for maximum performance in hot ambient temperatures ( 20 amp unit )
• 24kt gold plated output terminals

specification

Pro Digital Mains Charger

The new DIGITAL ranges of battery chargers are the latest High Tech up grade on the standard international chargers. All the power benefits of the standard system are retained but the control, safety and information aspects have been upgraded considerably. . Digital control ensures more accurate control, more battery information type storage in the software, more real time calculations to be done to ensure the best charge, more information is also available in the control chip which can then be displayed on the new optional remote control and information panel - part ref. CEDRC.

features

specification