Pro Mariner battery charger

[fitz73222]

I recently aquired a 3 bank 5/5/5 Pro Mariner 3 bank charger. I would like to install it in the 22-2 but I have two batteries. Both are 1000 CCA group 31 dual purpose batteries. The previous owner had it charging two batteries with two "legs" connected to one battery assuming 10 amps on that battery and one leg charging the other at 5 amps. Any issues with doing this again? Or is it advisable to "mute" one of the legs and charge two banks in normal 5 amp fashion? My guess is that its not good to have one leg open trying to charge a battery that's not there and would create internal heat in the charging unit. What's the opinon with wiring it this way? Yes, I could install a third battery but two get the job done with ease. What say yee?

[seabob4]

Read this Farley...http://forums.iboats.com/electrical-ele ... 27931.html  Then call PM to verify...

[fitz73222]

Thanks Bob,
Sounds like I'm good to go it the source is valid. What's the thinking on reliability with the Pro Mariner charger?

[seabob4]

Love them.  They were the first to come out with the waterproof charger, Guest followed suit.  I had one issue with a customers charger that was a few years old (out of warranty), dropped a name...they replaced it no charge.  Still have that name, y'know...

[futch13]

Farl, each bank has a separate regulator so if you hook two banks to one battery, chances are they will read each other and not charge other than the maintenance charge...just like hooking two motors to one battery.  The Promariner is the only charger we recommend at the shop.  I've had them on my boats and they worked excellent.  Their warranty is excellent and in the 10+ years of installing them I have only had 1 that needed warranty replacement.

[seabob4]

A little ProMariner/Guest story...

We used to use Guest chargers at Proline.  One day one of our reps comes in, has a brand new ProMariner ProSport 20 (2-bank) in tow.  Totally waterproof, he says.  When one batts charged, takes the charge output from that batt and directs it to the other batt, he says.  OK, we'll see about the waterproof bit.  I grabbed 2 old (but still good) batts, hooked up the charger, dropped the charger in a 5 gallon bucket of water, and plugged it in. Little blue power light comes on, red charging light comes on.  So I walk away.

Come back the next day, green "batteries charged" light is on, check batt voltages, both good.  Unplug it, let it dry out, ended up giving the charger to one of our supervisors.  He still has it in his boat today, that's like 6-7 years ago.

Here's the kicker.  PM undercut Guest's price they were charging us by $30.  Guest came back and matched it to try and keep our business, but our CFO figured they were ripping us off all that time and said the hell with Guest!

[seabob4]

Another little bit of info here about PM chargers.  If you have to extend the leads, the owner's manual says to use a "kit" they sell to do that.  You don't have to, simply use 10GA and you're fine.  No warranty issues if you do that...

[Capt. Bob]

each bank has a separate regulator so if you hook two banks to one battery, chances are they will read each other and not charge other than the maintenance charge.

Interesting and logical if the charger works in that way.  

[seabob4]

PM FAQ #2...http://promariner.com/support/faqs/

[Capt. Bob]

Again, interesting so......

I called the manufacturer and left a question on the physical operation of a smart charger. Let's see if they return my inquiry.

This is stuff I really like.

[seabob4]

Same here, CB.  And to the members reading this thread, if you have any questions regarding your equipment like chargers, electronics, gauges, steering systems, just about anything on your boat short of engines ( ), call the manufacturer!!  Almost all have tech support departments that can pretty much answer any question you might have.  I'm not saying a lot of guys here don't have the same knowledge or info, but to get it from the horse's mouth, well...  

[Capt. Bob]

And that I did.

The tech stated that the third bank needs to "sense" a battery for the charger to function across the board and that the unused leads (3rd bank) needs to be tied in with one of the other two. The bank with the additional lead will not charge differently (according to the tech), receive higher or lower amperage (thus charging quicker or slower) or sense any other abnormality that one might associate with the dual hookup. Again for the entire charger to function correctly, all leads need to be connected to a battery source.

Now I realize this may go against what has been done in the past with some users and I certainly have no experience with this type (multi-bank)
charger. Just repeating what the manufacturer's tech department is saying.

Good luck.

[SaltH2OHokie]

A little ProMariner/Guest story...

We used to use Guest chargers at Proline.  One day one of our reps comes in, has a brand new ProMariner ProSport 20 (2-bank) in tow.  Totally waterproof, he says.  When one batts charged, takes the charge output from that batt and directs it to the other batt, he says.  OK, we'll see about the waterproof bit.  I grabbed 2 old (but still good) batts, hooked up the charger, dropped the charger in a 5 gallon bucket of water, and plugged it in. Little blue power light comes on, red charging light comes on.  So I walk away.

Come back the next day, green "batteries charged" light is on, check batt voltages, both good.  Unplug it, let it dry out, ended up giving the charger to one of our supervisors.  He still has it in his boat today, that's like 6-7 years ago.

Here's the kicker.  PM undercut Guest's price they were charging us by $30.  Guest came back and matched it to try and keep our business, but our CFO figured they were ripping us off all that time and said the hell with Guest!

I work for a "mid-size" commercial general contractor/construction management company.  When Panasonic came to show off their new Toughbook, they were doing their Powerpoint presentation from a Toughbook, sitting on one of our conference room tables, hooked to a projector.  They went through the whole sales pitch about how they'll be great for supers, CQC's, in general folks "on-site" because of how tough they were...drop em from here, kick em, etc.

When the rep finished, our VP over purchasing is holding the laptop, looking it over...still on and projecting...asked the rep: "how high did you say it could drop?"  Answer was given as something like 5' or 6'.  VP immediately holds it up in the air, head-high, and lets it go.

It didn't break anything and kept projecting the slideshow.  Until we went to "tough" tablets on-site, all of our laptops were Panasonic Toughbooks.  

Least that's how the story goes...

[futch13]

And that I did.

The tech stated that the third bank needs to "sense" a battery for the charger to function across the board and that the unused leads (3rd bank) needs to be tied in with one of the other two. The bank with the additional lead will not charge differently (according to the tech), receive higher or lower amperage (thus charging quicker or slower) or sense any other abnormality that one might associate with the dual hookup. Again for the entire charger to function correctly, all leads need to be connected to a battery source.

Now I realize this may go against what has been done in the past with some users and I certainly have no experience with this type (multi-bank)
charger. Just repeating what the manufacturer's tech department is saying.

Good luck.

That is interesting.  I was told to cap off the extra lead...Course that was several years ago and they probably have updated the electronics since then.  Good info CB!!

[Capt. Bob]

And that I did.

The tech stated that the third bank needs to "sense" a battery for the charger to function across the board and that the unused leads (3rd bank) needs to be tied in with one of the other two. The bank with the additional lead will not charge differently (according to the tech), receive higher or lower amperage (thus charging quicker or slower) or sense any other abnormality that one might associate with the dual hookup. Again for the entire charger to function correctly, all leads need to be connected to a battery source.

Now I realize this may go against what has been done in the past with some users and I certainly have no experience with this type (multi-bank)
charger. Just repeating what the manufacturer's tech department is saying.

Good luck.

That is interesting.  I was told to cap off the extra lead...Course that was several years ago and they probably have updated the electronics since then.  Good info CB!!

The best thing about this thread is that Fitz got (IMHO)  good info and we learned something about these chargers. Myself especially.
It's what I enjoy the most about the Forum.