50 replies to this topic

[PEAGREEN]

]Hi, have just received an e-mail from the Supercharger generator people who tell me that they will be producing a petrol/LPG version in a couple of weeks. Makes it a bit more interesting.

Keith

[Arthur Brown]

For boat purposes this product is seriously flawed. It's petrol and it's limited to 50A

Realistically a small diesel engine supplying 100A would be just as easy and much more boater friendly. Having it properly automated and silenced would be even better. One reasonable diesel could run two 175 alternators.

[Eeyore]

Having had a look at the web site (god..... it's slow)

There is so much that alarms me about this.

How can you compare it to a Honda EU 20? The 12v output on the Honda isn't for battery charging, it's for low powered 12v appliances

What 240 standard charger is used as a comparison?

There is so much useful information they could give that they haven't

"If used in conjunction with an inverter (which converts 12 volt dc battery power to 240 volt ac) the SUPERCHARGER can quickly replace battery power in minutes NOT hours enabling the inverter to supply all your power requirements"

What the heck does that mean????!!!!

Lots of weasel words and no hard facts as far as I can see.

It's a lot of money for a cheapo Chinese engine and an A127 alternator

It gets better!
They now advertise this in "Towpath" and even have a review.
The technical detail in the ad makes very little sense, but is still in pretty colours like thier website

[onionbargee]

This was sold in Austalia, but was withdrawn because of a 40 % fail rate, looked good though. They also sell a 70 A petrol charger, sidewinder.com.au

[tubby]

I have used the 50amp supercharger for 4 months now and all I can say it does what they claim and most certainly does not run at 7000rp and it is quiet about 60db.... when batteries are below eleven volts the unit puts out almost 50amps and then reduces as the battery charges.... in my opinion it works just like my vehicle..my honda generator instruction book tells me that the 12v out put is for battery charging but takes hours ..this charges as fast as an alternator should .my advise is dont knock it till you have tried it !!!!!

[Arthur Brown]

Realistically a small diesel engine supplying 100A would be just as easy and much more boater friendly. Having it properly automated and silenced would be even better. One reasonable diesel could run two 175 alternators.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/KUBOTA-MARINE-DIESEL-ENGINED-GENERATOR-12v?item=290702792946

Another flawed lot from ebay BUT if you have the alternators then it may make a DC PSU for someone it may even drive a boat too!

[blodger]

I have used the 50amp supercharger for 4 months now and all I can say it does what they claim and most certainly does not run at 7000rp and it is quiet about 60db.... when batteries are below eleven volts the unit puts out almost 50amps and then reduces as the battery charges.... in my opinion it works just like my vehicle..my honda generator instruction book tells me that the 12v out put is for battery charging but takes hours ..this charges as fast as an alternator should .my advise is dont knock it till you have tried it !!!!!

It is always good to hear from a satisfied customer as without cynicism prevails. I have seen less pricey 80/100.00 12v alternator adaptions to former mains generators for sale on EBay and wonder how profficient they are

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/KUBOTA-MARINE-DIESEL-ENGINED-GENERATOR-12v?item=290702792946

Another flawed lot from ebay BUT if you have the alternators then it may make a DC PSU for someone it may even drive a boat too!

I think they have pitched the price a bit high!

[Arthur Brown]

Yes that would be a fair price IF the alternators were there.

[tubby]

Overpriced for an engine and alternator combo IMHO; the neatness is not worth it

what price would you pay for a gx engine ...a 50amp alternator....60amp ammeter, 60amp switch... a coupling unit... and a machined ally casting to hold the engine and alternator firmly inline (plus all the other nuts bolts , cables ,etc etc) then add your time and vat..now advertize it, and sell it to someone with a 12months guarantee ????.(and of course I assume they need to make a profit to pay some wages etc ).. doing a rough estimate I recon that the price they charge is great value!! Would you really have confidence in purchasing a lawnmower engine coupled to an alternator by a piece of tubing and pulleys on an open angle iron frame.???,...make one out of second hand parts...ok, and you will get something thats cheap..but try and sell it!!!!In passing, the australian unit was being sold in uk at £760.00 when I was considering buying one.

[blodger]

what price would you pay for a gx engine ...a 50amp alternator....60amp ammeter, 60amp switch... a coupling unit... and a machined ally casting to hold the engine and alternator firmly inline (plus all the other nuts bolts , cables ,etc etc) then add your time and vat..now advertize it, and sell it to someone with a 12months guarantee ????.(and of course I assume they need to make a profit to pay some wages etc ).. doing a rough estimate I recon that the price they charge is great value!! Would you really have confidence in purchasing a lawnmower engine coupled to an alternator by a piece of tubing and pulleys on an open angle iron frame.???,...make one out of second hand parts...ok, and you will get something thats cheap..but try and sell it!!!!In passing, the australian unit was being sold in uk at £760.00 when I was considering buying one.

I speak as someone who has assembled a couple of lawnmower generators using B&S vertical shaft engines and several lawnmower dynamos using Suffolk Punch/Colts with a foray into diesel with a Lister AA1 running two C40 dynamos and by chance I have a couple of MOD 24v battery chargers (sometimes on Ebay for 499) where I am looking at modding one when time permits.
I do think that there is much benefit in running a small engine directly producing dc than having your standard ac genny rinning a charger for dc when it is the latter you use and to maintain 12v batts.
I have put the 500 you have happily paid into a variety of stuff that I would sooner have and from which others have since benefitted. Others I know are looking to similar 'experiments'. Each to their own.
I may one day have one of the inverter generators rather than the emergency two stroke I have. I will watch Ebay for secondhand versions of your charger but I probably will not be bidding above 100

[Tony Brooks]

It gets better!
They now advertise this in "Towpath" and even have a review.
The technical detail in the ad makes very little sense, but is still in pretty colours like thier website

Then technical details are at the best misleading and at the worst lies - as are the comparisons. Bit like comparing chalk and cheese. Only an idiot or in an emergency situation would one try to charge batteries from a Honda generator's DC output because it is acknowledged as only being unregulated low power.

As long as the buyer understands what they are getting and does not believe their claim re time to recharge (although their units are incorrect) then it is an interesting and probably useful device.

However I have made a formal complaint to the advertising standards people about the add on the grounds it is untrue and confusing. I doubt they will do anything about it because my experience with a complaint against a GI advert which they admitted was untrue was not upheld because "it was unlikely to mislead". So you can tell lies and confuse in adds as long as some bod in advertising standards is persuaded by some means the add will not mislead the customer.

If anyone else feels qualified to pass judgement and feels the add is as I describe it perhaps they too should lodge a complaint. Its simple and can be dome on-line.

[tubby]

Then technical details are at the best misleading and at the worst lies - as are the comparisons. Bit like comparing chalk and cheese. Only an idiot or in an emergency situation would one try to charge batteries from a Honda generator's DC output because it is acknowledged as only being unregulated low power.

As long as the buyer understands what they are getting and does not believe their claim re time to recharge (although their units are incorrect) then it is an interesting and probably useful device.

However I have made a formal complaint to the advertising standards people about the add on the grounds it is untrue and confusing. I doubt they will do anything about it because my experience with a complaint against a GI advert which they admitted was untrue was not upheld because "it was unlikely to mislead". So you can tell lies and confuse in adds as long as some bod in advertising standards is persuaded by some means the add will not mislead the customer.

If anyone else feels qualified to pass judgement and feels the add is as I describe it perhaps they too should lodge a complaint. Its simple and can be dome on-line.

I note your comments but I can assure you that the supercharger that I have purchased does what they claim !!!

[Tony Brooks]

I note your comments but I can assure you that the supercharger that I have purchased does what they claim !!!

If that is your opinion then fine BUT do a bit of research and find out how much more electricity you have to put back into the battery to replace what was taken out. You will find a variety of sources quote between 10% and 40% more with an odd one quoting 50%. This means the simplistic calculation underlying the advert can not be true - that is if we substitute the units quoted in the add for the correct units.

Also go back through the battery and charging threads to see the consistency in which the fact that on constant voltage charging (what we tend to do on out boats and what that device definitely does)it is easy to get to 80% of fully charged in a relatively short time, the other 20% takes far, far longer, often quoted as over 10 hours because the charge is at such a low rate. This in itself makes the advert misleading.

If you honestly believe that it will replace the discharge in the sort of time frame stated in the add than perhaps you should start to put money by for the new battery bank you will need earlier than otherwise because of sulphation.

You may care to note that when I emailed them to ask for the calculations that justified their claim they declined to produce them and admitted it would not do exactly what the add appeared to claim.

If they claimed that it saved engine wear, would only get the batteries to 80% or thereabouts of fully charged in the the sort of time quoted (and I even doubt that would be true), that it has a higher regulated volatge than many (but not all boat systems, and dropped the misleading comparisons then the product may well have a place. Especially if you did not want to go to the expense of a mains generator and multi-stage charger but as it stands even a fundamental understanding of batteries and charging indicates that advert is not to be taken at face value.

In my view it is a prime example of letting the marketing department override engineers and basic physics to bamboozle potential customers.

I would be very interested to see the method, readings and calculations that have lead you to assert as you do.

[blodger]

I would be very interested to see the method, readings and calculations that have lead you to assert as you do.
I think Tony has explained the hype around this particular charger very well.

Presumably your satisfaction arises from the charger doing a better job than how you charged batteries previously which I and others would be interested in and, to better guage the charger, etc

[Tony Brooks]

Having just checked a certain profile and bearing in mind the past "marketing" by a certain novel propeller manufacturer I am forced to ponder just how independent one of the contributors to this topic is.

It is not nice when experience makes one so suspicious but that is the world we live in today.

I note that we await something more than assertions in respect of the function of the device in question.

[WotEver]

... and it is quiet about 60db....

How did you measure that?

Tony

[jelunga]

Then technical details are at the best misleading and at the worst lies - as are the comparisons. Bit like comparing chalk and cheese. Only an idiot or in an emergency situation would one try to charge batteries from a Honda generator's DC output because it is acknowledged as only being unregulated low power.

As long as the buyer understands what they are getting and does not believe their claim re time to recharge (although their units are incorrect) then it is an interesting and probably useful device.

However I have made a formal complaint to the advertising standards people about the add on the grounds it is untrue and confusing. I doubt they will do anything about it because my experience with a complaint against a GI advert which they admitted was untrue was not upheld because "it was unlikely to mislead". So you can tell lies and confuse in adds as long as some bod in advertising standards is persuaded by some means the add will not mislead the customer.

If anyone else feels qualified to pass judgement and feels the add is as I describe it perhaps they too should lodge a complaint. Its simple and can be dome on-line.

Totally agree Tony. Their web site is inaccurate and misleading and assume that if you have a 70 ah battery that is half discharged then you only need 35 ah to recharge it, or that is the inpression given.
What is the URL for making a conplaint? Is it to ASA or Trading Standards?

[Robbo]

I have used the 50amp supercharger for 4 months now and all I can say it does what they claim and most certainly does not run at 7000rp and it is quiet about 60db.... when batteries are below eleven volts the unit puts out almost 50amps and then reduces as the battery charges.... in my opinion it works just like my vehicle..my honda generator instruction book tells me that the 12v out put is for battery charging but takes hours ..this charges as fast as an alternator should .my advise is dont knock it till you have tried it !!!!!

Sorry but new to CWDF users with a first post to comment on a item that's getting dished and give it a rave review are not worth there salt.

[Tony Brooks]

Totally agree Tony. Their web site is inaccurate and misleading and assume that if you have a 70 ah battery that is half discharged then you only need 35 ah to recharge it, or that is the inpression given.
What is the URL for making a conplaint? Is it to ASA or Trading Standards?

ASA - http://www.asa.org.uk/

As is so often the case their complaint form gives little opportunity to make a copy for ones records.

[Tony Brooks]

I have used the 50amp supercharger for 4 months now and all I can say it does what they claim and most certainly does not run at 7000rp and it is quiet about 60db.... when batteries are below eleven volts the unit puts out almost 50amps and then reduces as the battery charges.... in my opinion it works just like my vehicle..my honda generator instruction book tells me that the 12v out put is for battery charging but takes hours ..this charges as fast as an alternator should .my advise is dont knock it till you have tried it !!!!!

Just noticed the emboldend text in a quote well below this quote.

No one has suggested that it does not charge as well as a vehicle or boat alternator and in view of the higher charging volatge may well do slightly better. That is not the problem. The problem is the claims an comparisons made in the advert.

Honda are open about the limitations of their unregulated 12V output for battery charging so anyone with a modicum of sense would use the Honda to drive a mains battery charger which will probably do better than a simple volatge regulated charging source.

The problem is the advert is misleading and nonsense re the units. They can not substantiate the claims made and I very much doubt that you can otherwise you would have provide the proof.

If you want an independent means of charging a battery then (ignoring the petrol thing) it is a cost effective way forward and far cheaper than a Honda plus charger and it will do as good a job at charging your batteries as any other 50 amp alternator. I think we all agree on that, but that is not what the advert claims.