T-Pain Is On A Boat: Re: [Electric Boats] marine grade 48Volt charger

Sunday, October 28, 2012

Re: [Electric Boats] marine grade 48Volt charger

Bradley -

To answer your first question - I use the NG3 because it was a reasonably priced 72v charger and I had heard of others (like Capt Mike) using the Zivan chargers in a hybrid mode.

I posted to files to the folder Marama Conversion that show the mounting of the Sterling and the Zivan chargers. The fuse that is visible is between the Zivan and the ASMO motor controller, which in turn passes through to the batteries when combined into a 72v bank.

The second photo in that folder shows the six Northstar batteries that I use for propulsion. There are three banks of 24v and then these three banks are combined or separated using the contactors visible in the photo. The Sterling is then used to charge these 24v banks. The Class T fuse is for the combined 72v bank and is between the batteries and the motor controller. Each battery 24v bank has two terminal fuses - one for the Sterling charger connection (75 amp fuse) and one between the batteries and the contactors (225 amp fuse).

I combine and separate out the 72v system into three 24v banks for two reasons -

1. I am cruising full-time with my 4 year old and like have the smaller banks when the motor is not in use.

2. The three banks are individually maintained by the different channels on the Sterling for better battery care and feeding.

I am currently working with the team at Annapolis Hybrid Marine (Clean E-Marine) to document a case study on my conversion and how I have used the system this past year and 2,500 miles of cruising.

I have had no issues with the Zivan in the marine environment but Capt Mike has more tenure using these in marine environments.

Hope this helps

Bill

--- In electricboats@yahoogroups.com, semicolonsutra <no_reply@...> wrote:
>
> Ah that's interesting. So you run the NG3 with the Generator because of its capacity? I'm just wondering with the NG1 or NG3 that if you have it permanently mounted on board even in a (relatively) dry place that the marine environment will get to it over time (if not all at once) and you'll have a fire on your hands if it is connected up. I can see how in your setup though that would be avoided. Do you have any pictures of how your NG3 is mounted, that you could post to forum? That would be helpful.
>
> Cheers,
>
> Bradley
> --- In electricboats@yahoogroups.com, Bill <bill@> wrote:
> >
> > I run a Zivan NG3 (72v) in hybrid mode like Mike does with his 48v version. I never use it at the dock - instead a use a Sterling PCU2430 charger to charge the three 24v cells individually.
> >
> > My system is 72v but i believe Sterling has a two bank 24v model and the brand has been great for me.
> >
> > My $0.02
> >
> > Bill
> >
> >
> >
> > On Oct 24, 2012, at 7:14 PM, Mike <biankablog@> wrote:
> >
> > > Bradley:
> > >
> > > I've had a Zivan NG-1 mounted in my boat for five years now and it's working like a champ. Of course it's mounted high and in area where it won't get wet and if it does I probably have other things to worry about.:) Just yesterday I ran it full out from about 9 AM to 7 PM while operating in hybrid mode with the Honda 2000 generator while on my current cruise. Then I got to the mooring ran it another three hours to recharge the 48 volt battery bank through the bulk charge cycle. It's proven it's self to me but, yes you do need to keep it out of the weather.
> > >
> > > My second charger that I use after using the Zivan NG-1 for bulk charging is a Dual Pro 4 which finishes the charging of the individual batteries and keeps them in balance. I will also use it primarily when at a dock with AC power to do a complete charge. But, I'm not at a dock that often. So usually it's the Zivan and Dual Pro in combination as I have described.
> > >
> > > Capt. Mike
> > > http://biankablog.blogspot.com
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > From: semicolonsutra <no_reply@yahoogroups.com>
> > > To: electricboats@yahoogroups.com
> > > Sent: Wednesday, October 24, 2012 3:58 AM
> > > Subject: [Electric Boats] marine grade 48Volt charger
> > >
> > >
> > > I need a recommendation on a 48 volt high amp charger that is marine grade. I am running ME0913 with SevCon Gen4 with a single bank 48V 4x12V battery bank. I had the Zivan NG-1 but unfortunately it is just not capable of being used very well in a marine environment as far as I'm concerned. it's a great charger but I have to take it out of the boat after each charge and sail. I believe I'd prefer a single bank 48 volt charger instead of a 4 bank charger 12V charger but am open to conversion with reasonable argument. Does anyone have a good or great suggestion on this front?
> > >
> > > Cheers,
> > >
> > > Bradley
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> >
>