Guest Chargers

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Park

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Boat is a 2011 C Dory with a 20 amp Guest Charger. I'm assuming it's original to the boat. Anyone know anything about them? Doesn't seem to be charging my starter or house batteries. Plan on tearing into it tomorrow. May not be the charger but something else. If replacing, what would you recommend as a replacement. Thanks[/img]
 
I have had the factory guest charger fail. I went with Mastervolt or Victron. A fan cooled battery charger is best when the charger is protected from the weather. NOCO Genius also makes good marine chargers, and my last 25 had one of those.

Promariner Pronautic and Blue Seas are excellent, but perhaps overkill...Both have been used in C Dorys.
 
If you decide you need a new charger, avoid any with an internal fan (a good indicator is a grill on the housing that lets air into the interior). I started by using these because they were less expensive, but they all failed within a year. After a lot of research and reading the fine print when I could find it, it turns out these units are only rated to a 80-85% humidity. Here in the Pacific Northwest we often have higher humidity, especially in the winter. The humidity permeates even into the cabin and I found that these chargers will fail even when put into the cabin.
 
I've been using Victron I don't mount them any more because I use them for other things besides them. I like the Bluetooth in them cause I can monitor them from my phone and don't have to climb into the boat. It uses the same app as the battery monitor. I just put an Anderson plug on the batteries.
 
avoid any with an internal fan (a good indicator is a grill on the housing that lets air into the interior). I started by using these because they were less expensive, but they all failed within a year.
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Again, I will disagree with Mr. Hruby. I have used both Mastervolt and Victron with fans and they hold up better than my experience with non faned boats. Our heat conditions in Florida are far more brutal than those in Washington and BC. The humidity is often in the high numbers, I felt it was more frequently significant in Florida--having boated in PNW for at least 5 seasons, including 5 trips to AK. Many of those without fans are made for outside use, such as in bass boats.
 
FWIW, I put a Mastervolt charger in my 25 right after purchasing the boat. It only lasted 3 seasons, and then started working intermittently. I finally gave up on it, and purchased a new one, same model, last year. Tom may have a point... I did pull it apart before trashing it, and didn't see any corrosion or anything, so not sure why it stopped. It may have been the fan, as I don't think I heard that running anymore, the few times it did turn on. I also had put the same model Mastervolt in my earlier 22, and it lasted well over 6 or 7 years... Colby
 
Just curious, are the Guest chargers not considered good replacement chargers when the originally installed chargers go bad? I still have the original guest charger in my boat and its a 2007 model. I may be having a problem with mine as both green lights are on as well a a red light that never seems to go off. Thinking of replacing it but not sure what the best option may be.
 
Schuster":2ajldelv said:
Just curious, are the Guest chargers not considered good replacement chargers when the originally installed chargers go bad? I still have the original guest charger in my boat and its a 2007 model. I may be having a problem with mine as both green lights are on as well a a red light that never seems to go off. Thinking of replacing it but not sure what the best option may be.
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Personally I believe that there are a number of better chargers. Some have more perameters, some have more rugged components, some are made for continous duty etc.

To each his own, and it depends on usage, needs for charging, and money--better chargers cost considerably more.
 
I agree with Bob saying there are better chargers than Guest & also agree they will cost more. For me the original Guest charger lasted 15 years & its replacement another Quest, now going on 10 years. With my more simple system that is good enough for me. Your choice on what’s good enough for you.

Jay
 
I may be having a problem with mine as both green lights are on as well a a red light that never seems to go off.
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Hi Dave,
If the red and green light on, that means it's finishing a charge. This from the manual:

When both the green and the red LED’s are on, it is charging at the
"Finishing" rate. (stage 2). During this second charging stage, the charger
holds the battery voltage at approximately 14.3 VDC, and then gradually
reduces the amount of current (Amps) it delivers to the battery. By doing this,
the battery is able to “absorb” the last 10% of charge as quickly as possible
without becoming overheated.
If both lights stay on longer than 24 hours, refer to Problem 2 in the
troubleshooting section in this manual.

This is problem 2. Didn't format real well here, but the first set of numbers is the problem and the second set is the fix.

The red and
green LED’s stay
on for more than
24 Hrs.
1. On-board DC systems are
drawing enough current to
prevent the charger from
switching into the Float or
Ready State.
2. One or more defective or
damaged cells.
3. Extremely low AC voltage at
the battery charger.
1. Turn off all DC equipment while
charging.
2. Load test the batteries and
replace if necessary.
3. Apply a higher AC voltage
source or reduce the length of
the extension cord.
4. Check battery manufacturer’s
specs on battery charging.

It's possible your charger is good, but the batteries are bad. Colby
 
Bob, It seems that the two of us have had a radically different experience with chargers. Here is my situation:
I keep, and have kept, my boats on a trailer. In the winter we can get several days with temperatures around freezing and the boat hull and equipment equilibrate to these temperatures. However, a wet, and warm, front can move in within 4-5 hours that raises the temperature by 25 degrees and the humidity to 100%. These are currently called atmospheric rivers, but we used to call them the Pineapple Express. As a result, the entire boat and everything in the cabin becomes covered in condensation since its temperature has not warmed up to the ambient. I had lost 5 chargers with internal fans before I found the problem. It was the condensation inside the unit.

As a result, I also now spray a conformal coating on all my electronics. Luckily the RV park where I store my boat now has "shore" power, so I can run a dehumidifier as well.
 
Thanks Colby for the reply. I read the same manual and replaced both the house batteries this spring and last year replaced the starting battery. So I'll rule out the batteries and look at the charger. I've quit using it for now as the engine has been quite good at charging. I'll have to do some checks with my multimeter to see what charge rates are being put into the batteries when the charger is on. One thing I will say is that I discovered a wire that was separated at a crimp coupling that I cleaned up and reconnected and the red light problem started after that point. So I've got some investigation to do to solve this problem before making any big moves.
 
Jay, thanks for your incite. I tend to agree with your logic on replacement. Mine has been good for many years and definitely has done the job. I tend to agree at this point not to change things up too much and stick with what has worked for years.
 
Bob, were your boats in the PNW mostly kept in the water? If so, that would have avoided the extreme environment change of going from below freezing to warm and high humidity.

I can see where much more condensation would occur if the frozen surfaces were then bathed in warm, moist air. The PNW Special! If a boat is on a trailer, it's hard to avoid unless inside storage is available.

Richard
 
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