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Ctec battery charger


El Perro Negro

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My month old adventures into the world of narrowboats and continuous cruising has been temporarily put on hold as I have had to enter in to a marina for a couple of months. (Health issue) Now I have shore power available and not just my engine, my query is regarding this CTEC multi X's 7000 gizmo. Boat electrics, and my knowledge are basic, no dials, meters etc. Only 2 x 240v sockets. Will this CTEC 7000 plugged in to it's seperate socket keep the leisure and starter batteries topped up? Can you leave it plugged in all the time, as it indicates on some websites I've been looking at?

I've just switched it on and is now showing 2 amber lights one is, 14.4 volts  and the other, battery 3/4 full. I am assuming it is 'hard wired' into the batteries somehow as I hadn't been able to trace the wires yet. The  previous owner had the boat in a marina 24/7. Any advice from you knowledgeable guys and gals would put my mind to rest. Thanks

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I notice this specifies a max size battery bank of 225 Ah.

Does anyone know if it can also be used on, say, 440 Ah bank - albeit taking longer for its cycles.

Would this damage either the charger or the batteries?

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3 hours ago, WotEver said:

Ctek are very popular chargers with caravanners and classic car owners as reliable battery maintainers. It should do you fine. 

I used a CTEK charger for my last couple of Jaguar's, both of which had similar sized batteries to a boat - and I highly recommend it. I turned it on in the autumn and left it charging until spring, during which time it not only monitored / charged but also cycled the battery as it saw fit. I no longer have a Jaguar but I do still have the CTEK :captain:

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8 hours ago, Rebotco said:

I notice this specifies a max size battery bank of 225 Ah.

Does anyone know if it can also be used on, say, 440 Ah bank - albeit taking longer for its cycles.

Would this damage either the charger or the batteries?

Yes it can, yes it would, no it wouldn't.  :)

 

Edited by WotEver
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Thanks to all replies. Seems it's a good bit of kit but....After leaving it on all night it's still showing the same lights. After exploring the 'mode' button it seems to cycle round.

1, standby no battery symbol.

2, 14.4v  it seems to check state and flips to 3/4 battery symbol.

3, 14.7v  again checks status and settles on 3/4 battery symbol.

4, 13.6v(supply) and the battery full symbol. 

5, 16v(boost) and the batter full/boost light. 

On the instruction download I can't seem to find anything about the 'mode' button and what ' mode' to leave it on. Any advice would soon be welcome. Thanks

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11 hours ago, El Perro Negro said:

I am assuming it is 'hard wired' into the batteries somehow as I hadn't been able to trace the wires yet.

 

12 minutes ago, El Perro Negro said:

Any advice would soon be welcome. Thanks

 

Where boats are concerned, it is wise never top assume ANYTHING.

 

You seem to have doubts about whether it is working, so the first step is make sure it really is connected to the batts.

 

 

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3 hours ago, WotEver said:

Yes it can, yes it would, no it wouldn't.  :)

 

Thank you.

Any idea why the manufacturers state a max battery capacity of 225Ah if it can also cope with 440Ah battery bank?

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probably because they want you to spend more money on a bigger charger.

 

it will perform, but maybe there is an industry code of practice that says it has to be able to fully charge a battery in 24 hrs, or summat like that.

Edited by Murflynn
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1 hour ago, Rebotco said:

Thank you.

Any idea why the manufacturers state a max battery capacity of 225Ah if it can also cope with 440Ah battery bank?

Probably because if a 440Ah bank was substantially discharged it would take longer than 24hrs to recharge. Keeping a bank topped up requires much less power than charging it up from 50%. 

 

Also, it’s quite possible that a deeply discharged 440Ah bank would appear to the charger to be faulty. It would see a high current demand and assume that the bank is broken. 

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