Recommendation please: 15-30 amp, portable, universal, auto ranging charger

[outwestbound]

Hi.

I'm ok with spending money for good stuff. I'm looking for a more practical alternative to installing a Sterling Power Pro Charge Ultra on my rig, mostly because I'm running out of space.

Is there a good portable charger that's universal/global, in that it accepts 100 to 270v, 40-80Hz. I'm looking for anything in the 15 to 30 amp range that I can use with a typical 50' power cord to reach out to shore power. I don't want to plug my rig's mains into shore power, so this portable charger would be in between the power source and the rig. I'm in the US and would use this charger for South America, Europe and Australia.

Thanks.

 

[john61ct]

My reco is that Sterling, maybe put in a Pelican box to make it "portable". CTEK is a little more compact, but does not allow user - custom setpoints, just canned choices.

 

[outwestbound]

My reco is that Sterling, maybe put in a Pelican box to make it "portable". CTEK is a little more compact, but does not allow user - custom setpoints, just canned choices.

Yes, I'm having trouble finding anything comparable to the Sterling. I have the specs and a diagram to install the Sterling. I'd need to install some sockets to bring in the shore power and AC breakers. It's not that terrible, but if I could find a portable, it would be easier since I'm running out space.

 

[john61ct]

ProMariner Pronautic P series, same unit basically but then you don't get support from Charles

 

[outwestbound]

This is something a friend of mine Don sent me. They seem to be $200.

 

[outwestbound]

Here's another "Mean Well" called HEP 600C. This is suppose to be designed to take a beating; weather, vibration, etc. It's a 35A AC to DC charger with NO FAN, which may be nice if you have a spot where it can breath. I don't know anything about it, but it's global and will accept any power or hertz it can find. It's about $245. They are made in Taiwan.

Anybody know anything about these units?

 

[john61ct]

Mean Well is famous, great value for a PSU, if you don't actually need a battery charger.

HLG series is silent, fanless, potted weatherproof, isolated output and can be series'd and paralleled for more voltage or more current.

Adjustable voltage and current ("A" at the end HLG-xxx-xxA)

HLG-600 biggest size

 

[outwestbound]

Mean Well is famous, great value for a PSU, if you don't actually need a battery charger.

HLG series is silent, fanless, potted weatherproof, isolated output and can be series'd and paralleled for more voltage or more current.

Adjustable voltage and current ("A" at the end HLG-xxx-xxA)

HLG-600 biggest size

Interesting. I see MW provides mostly constant power PSUs, but they do offer a charger line for AGM, lead acid, etc. The two I posted above are 3 state chargers, not power supplies. But the ones above aren't fully programable and with an external temperature compensation sensor. The ENC 360 seems to be what I'm looking for. It's 24 amps, fully programable and has an external temperature (NTC) sensor. It's only $100, but you have to buy a $70 programmer in order to customize your profile. I'm thinking of putting this in a ventilated box with some AC universal voltage breakers if I get it.

 

[john61ct]

Is the bank lead or LFP?

 

[john61ct]

In thousands of DC power threads across five years in dozens of forums, I've never heard anyone recommend Mean Well for staging chargers.

Only PSUs.

Note they are au fond a cheap-Chinese company, just ten times more reputable than the usual horribly-poor quality lying scamming outfits dominating 90% of that market.

So do not imagine by going Mean Well you are getting anywhere near Sterling/Promariner quality on the "smart regulation" side.

I would at least try to find out how adjustable their algorithm is for Absorb Hold Time, to ensure avoiding overcharging or premature infloatulation when loads are running concurrently with the charge cycle.

And make sure to take those into account, only amps left over from servicing those loads will be available for acceptance by the target bank(s).

Finally, if you're planning on making a case anyway, Sterling's "portability" is the same.

How much smaller are the Mean Wells?

 

[outwestbound]

Is the bank lead or LFP?

My bank is lead Crown AGM. I'm not decided. The Mean Well are cheap for sure. I'm under no illusion on comparability with Sterling. I'm evaluating the "el cheapo" alternative to Sterling on the AC/DC source. The Mean Well ENC 360 (about $100 at Mouser Electronics) is a 12 volt, auto ranging, 24 amp charger. It claims to be fully programmable on charging (requiring an addition programming device for $60) and has an external temperature sensor and compensation. It claims to transition from bulk to absorption when amps are reduced to 10% of the bulk rate.

Delivered and with the programmer, it's $55 + 100 + 20 = $175. I'd do the Blue Sea AC breakers the same, so I ignore that in my comparison. Mean Well is a desk top unit that I was going to put into a plastic box with some Blue Sea breakers. This unit is air cooled and 7.6" x 7" x 1.8" - it's small. The form factor is cheap as dirt; no display, the terminals are crap. It's what you'd expect for the money.

I keep coming back to the Sterling Ultra AC/DC 30 amp model. This amperage seems to make more sense when I consider other loads. The Ultra 30 amp model is on eBay is $323 delivered, so about $150 more for Sterling.

I'd be short signed to go with the Mean Well it appears. If I did Mean Well, I'd probably need a spare unit, so the delta is reduced to only $50.

I'm seeing the light

 

[john61ct]

Yes, difference is the price of a couple meals out.

Note with loads running that 10% of Bulk amps may never be reached, and may even be too early when it is.

I can't find their detailed tech specs data sheet for those Crowns ATM, but they should likely transition to Float

(not from Bulk / CV to Absorb / CC, that transition is not regulated by the charger)

when amps accepted by the bank tapers to 0.005C, or half an amp per 100Ah capacity.

But very few chargers actually measure that via a BM / shunt at the bank terminal.

If Sterling falls a bit short of that, just re-cycle power and it will give another hit of Absorb for a user-adjusted minimum AHT period.

Hitting that point at least every other cycle - along with not dropping SoC too low too often - will give optimum longevity.

Particularly important for AGM.

 

[john61ct]

Side topic, but FYI

If you can't go FLA next bank, stick to

Lifeline
Odyssey
Northstar
or maybe Firefly Oasis

for AGM in deep cycling use cases.

Deka or Sonnenschein GEL also a good SLA choice for longevity, but even fussier than AGM in their care specs, easily damaged by overcharging.

 

[outwestbound]

Side topic, but FYI

If you can't go FLA next bank, stick to

Lifeline
Odyssey
Northstar
or maybe Firefly Oasis

for AGM in deep cycling use cases.

Deka or Sonnenschein GEL also a good SLA choice for longevity, but even fussier than AGM in their care specs, easily damaged by overcharging.

Point well taken. I'm a lifeline guy, but got more amp hours due only to form factor, since I was limited to a little "in-stair" batt compartment. At the time, I didn't realize Crown's AGM's weren't up to snuff. I'll probably butcher these Crowns - maybe get 375 cycles or so, then I'm gonna get a couple Battle Born 100Ah lithium batts and cram'em in there.

 

[outwestbound]

Yes, difference is the price of a couple meals out.

Note with loads running that 10% of Bulk amps may never be reached, and may even be too early when it is.

I can't find their detailed tech specs data sheet for those Crowns ATM, but they should likely transition to Float

(not from Bulk / CV to Absorb / CC, that transition is not regulated by the charger)

when amps accepted by the bank tapers to 0.005C, or half an amp per 100Ah capacity.

But very few chargers actually measure that via a BM / shunt at the bank terminal.

If Sterling falls a bit short of that, just re-cycle power and it will give another hit of Absorb for a user-adjusted minimum AHT period.

Hitting that point at least every other cycle - along with not dropping SoC too low too often - will give optimum longevity.

Particularly important for AGM.

I understand and appreciate your help. This was my first "by myself" solar install. I missed a point in the manual for the Blue Sky 3000i MPPT controller. IF the user buys the optional display, and uses a shunt of course, the 3000i will transition into absorption based on amps. Otherwise, it's just a set, arbitrary time. So of course, I didn't install a display because it's not needed with this little controller. This is one of the reasons I'm going to cough up for the Sterling; namely, that I have "something" that can get the bank to 100% without tossing many gallons of fuel into my generator. But of course, the Sterling DCDC unit's ability to get them to 100% is only if I drive a very long time, which isn't all that common. I do an 8 hour drive maybe once a week.

Since I have a nice shunt for my Trimetric 2030 meter, I'm considering buying the display (which would set off to the side not really be used) so I can get the enhanced feature of measuring amps to determine bulk-to-absorption. Given that I'll be always loading the thing, as you point out, and cycling to 60% SOC at least every day, I wonder if this feature would be negated by my use.

Would you add the display? Or, just punt and set the 3000i for like absorption = 5 hours and see how it works out?