www.iFourWinns.com

One of the two banks on my Guest 2 bank shore charger has quit. Leaving my 2 Group 27 Deep Cycles running in parallel deader than a hammer this weekend.

I could replace the Guest with it's new model 26106 (I believe is the part number), 12 amp, 2 bank ...

OR

I could spend a bit more and get the modular Battery Tender system.

http://batterytender.com/marine/power-pro3-bank-pack.html

Advantages (as I see it):

1) It's modular. One bank goes out, replace the module (less than 5 minutes work) not the entire thing which results in rewiring, etc. This is a biggie for me. I don't like doing the same job twice. Spend extra $$ and fix it for life or at least make it less painful if something goes wrong.

2) I have had nothing but good luck with Battery Tender products.


Disadvantages:

1) Cost. The BT system will cost about $200 more.

2) BT's are 5 amps each as opposed to 12 amps on the Guest, resulting in longer bulk charge times.


Any experience? Good or bad?

Craig C.

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2003 Vista 248, VP 5.0 GXi-C, DP

Try calling Marinco (Guest). The Sea Ray next to me had problems with his and they sent him a new charger even with an expired warranty.
My neighbor still talks about how good the customer service was. Just a thought.

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Lakebum
2006 378 Vista
Nashville, TN
Current
04 Hustler Cheetah
06 Seadoo sportster 150
Past
06 378 vista
328 vista
240 horizon
21' glastron
20' celebrity

I run a Promariner 2 bank 10 amp and I have also been selling them at work for Industrial Scissor Lift applications and no problems. Great product for the money.

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1998 Baja Boss 252 7.4L MPI Bravo 1 (SOLD)
2007 FW H200SS 5.0GXI (Sold)
2004 Chevy Silverado 2500 Crew 6.0L (tow vehicle)
1991 FW 170 Freedom 4.3L (SOLD)

Thanks for the feedback. After some thought (and a call to Marinco) I am going to go with the Battery Tender system. The convenience of the modular design and the good luck I have had with their products in the past are worth the price difference (to me).

Craig C.

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2003 Vista 248, VP 5.0 GXi-C, DP

Deltran is a local central florida company. Everyone swears by their stuff here. I can't think of a single person that ever had one break.

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1981 Columbia 8.7
2015 Yamaha FZR - 87mph - sold
2006 Yamaha GP1300R - sold
2003 Chaparral 215 SSI - sold
2009 Stingray 195CS - sold
2000 Four Winns H180 - sold
1976 O'day Daysailer II - sold
Rick's Four Winns H180 Mods/Upgrade Thread

You might want to look at Promariner. Cost for this model is about $160.00 http://www.boatersland.com/pmr42021.html

This 20 amp charger (there 2 bank system will do the same) will load sharing between all 3 batteries! If the 1st one need 2 amp, the 2nd one 6 and the 3rd 12 amps, this charger will do it.

After 8 weeks of delays / back orders, I cancelled my order with Battery Tender. I ordered a Dual Pro Sportsman 3 bank charger (10 amp per bank).

Got it installed last night. I need to run to WM or HD and get a connector for the power. Right now I have it wired into the panel with wire nuts.

Oh ... and it's made in the USA.





Craig C.

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2003 Vista 248, VP 5.0 GXi-C, DP

For those of you considering a charger, try Charles. Somewhat higher end. I went with the 30A 2000 series. Has battery type setting in back (mine are AGM). This will put max 30A where it is needed. The FW OEM brand was limited to 10A for each bank. If you run the house battery down on the hook and it needs more than 10A, this baby gives the battery a quick charge. However, I had to replace the 3 battery pop-up fuses to allow for 30A, as they kept tripping.

You should also check your chargers have all the ABYC credits and USCG certs. Your express cruiser is a far different environment than a center console or open boat.

The main problem however is that the 2000 series is not properly shielded. Our TV picture was so noisy while the charger was on, it was useless - cable or OTA. Noise went away when charger breaker was opened. I ended up replacing all RG59 coax with RG6 quadshield. Picture much better than with the old charger, so there was still other noise your coax picks up from other sources -maybe even from your neighbors.

If I had to do it over again, I would go with the 5000 series. Charles chargers are not cheap, but for a boating environment, battery issues are something you want to avoid. That is why I also went with Lifeline batteries too.

Make sure you check all your wiring and breakers. When I replaced our 5/5/20 Guest charger with a 40A Xantrex, the wiring requirements were quite different and needed major modifications (replacement) to all three charging runs. Each run now had to be able to handle 40A, instead of the 5A or 20A previously. That meant all the pop-up breakers needed to be changed, and all the 14AWG wire for the charging circuits upgraded to 8AWG.
Just something to think about as you shouldn't just randomly replace your battery charger without taking the rating of the wire runs and breakers into consideration first.

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1969 Chris Craft Commander 47
1999 Four Winns 328 Vista - SOLD

Have you looked into the Odyssey brand AGM battery? Sears sells them under there name. Lifeline has a 1yr replacement & 5 prorated. Odyssey has a 4yr replacement & 100 month (8yrs & 4 months) prorated.

I am a tech by trade, I was thinking of the noise on your TV. Check to see if the A.C. is wired right on the charger. Some chargers want a ground wire to there case. Some how the charger is putting noise into the AC line, this could also be a sign of a cap or diode breaking down. You might want to call there tech support.

The joys of boat ownership. I definitely like that xantrex model we will see if that is the direction I take.