Shipwright 30 Charger?

[Cooler]

Slip neighbor has a Shipwright 30 battery charger and loves it! I can't find any info for this model. Anyone familiar with this unit? He is suggesting I install the same model, and assures me it does have smart charger technology. The charger features a meter in lieu of phase lights. I am perplexed I can not find anything on the net for this product! er

[Midnightsun]

Hmmm, from what I could find they date back 40 years ago. Old and obsolete not to mention they are most likely the old ferroresonant design which has been greatly improved for by being able to handle more than just flooded batteries. Read this. https://act-chargers.com/wp-content/upl ... erview.pdf

[Cooler]

Thanks Hans. We were at storage building, and his charger top off his batteries way faster than mine. That meter displayed 13.6V charging, but then backed off to 2-3V after just 30 min. He had 3 batt., I have 2. My Pro Mariner charger is really weak and needs replace. The Shipwright unit did not look old, but it did have a very slight hum noise. The article says simple, dependable, durable, which are characteristics I like. I don't need to keep the charger on full time at the dock, at that rate, I can just turn on/off each time I am there. I value your opinion. What do you think? I never keep batteries longer than 3 years, but if this charger keeps them effective longer, I'm OK with that. Just FYI - I use Interstate SRM29's.

[bud37]

Cooler, if that unit of his has a hum and analog gage on the front, then it is an old style ferroresonant charger, maybe a model from charles or newmar. They work but by no means like the current day smart chargers.
If you have any intent down the road to have battery banks for staying out then you need a good charger, maybe 50 amps if your wiring will support it....do it once right, I dont think you will regret it ....What do you think Hans?...

Actually his batteries could be in good shape .....therefore the needle drops rather quickly...

[Midnightsun]

Source of the post Cooler, if that unit of his has a hum and analog gage on the front, then it is an old style ferroresonant charger, maybe a model from charles or newmar. They work but by no means like the current day smart chargers.
If you have any intent down the road to have battery banks for staying out then you need a good charger, maybe 50 amps if your wiring will support it....do it once right, I dont think you will regret it ....What do you think Hans?...

Actually his batteries could be in good shape .....therefore the needle drops rather quickly...

Could not have said it better.

[Cooler]

Thanks guys! Really appreciate you taking the time. His batteries were 3 or 4 years old, the standard brand for Batteries Plus franchise units. Specs were similar to mine in terms of CCA / MCA. My main concern is I do not want to cause my 1 season Interstates to degrade any faster than normal. Don't want to boil the batts if that old technology will contribute to that. I did google Charles batteries, the unit appears to resemble that manufacturer physically. Charles issued a statement that they are not producing marine chargers any longer due to competitive restrictions and I assume price points. I don't plan on any long anchorages, but that quick recovery surprised me. Maybe the real issue here is how crappy my charger is performing. Thanks again! er

[Cooler]

Electrical stuff really perplexes me! er

[Cooler]

Last call for any owners running a Shipwright 30 battery charger. Thoughts? er

[tomschauer]

Go with a new smart charger. You cant make a comparison about how long it takes to top off two different sets of batteries, like comparing apples to grapefruits.

The newer chargers may take longer to do a final top off and float charge, because they dropout put on a more variable curve, this helps keep your batteries healthy longer and less chance of cooking them with the temp sensors included with most newer chargers.

[mjk1040]

Not a big fan of Interstate batteries, going on 5th season with Walmart brand, now mind you I make sure they are fully charged after haul out and I charge again before launch. Charger is on all the time when at the dock too. No idea what brand charger, I assume its the original when the boat was built in 1998.