Josh -
You wouldn't want it. Actually, it's a 2000-R, and also controls the
voltage regulator for my alternator. Only *some* of the functions seem
to be out-to-lunch, but it still seems to handle one very important
function well: limiting the output of the alternator. I have a 120A
alternator, but set it to max 80A output to avoid running the alternator
flat out. (It gets hot enough at 80A, and at 50 percent depletion my
house bank can only accept 80A for a short time.) Most of the
monitoring functions, though, are demonstrating anomalous behavior. For
example, it'll show that my starting battery has -189 Amp Hours
(impossible) while the actual voltage on the battery is 12.6V i.e. full
charge. And the house bank will be at -40AH and then suddenly show a
full tank, while the batteries are still accepting 20A and the charger
is already in float mode. Like I said, the intelligent circuits got fried.
I've had it for 12 years now, and know what normal behavior is.
Actually, this charger was the first thing I bought when I bought the
boat, because the old charger was a "Consta-Volt" from the 1970's. It
was on the recommendation of some dock 'experts,' and the concept of an
entirely integrated charger/inverter/voltage regulator system sounded
really cool. Note that I have totally changed my philosophy about
integrated systems. All my instruments are stand-alone and networked
via NMEA, so that if one component fails I can swap in a replacement
without messing with anything else. (Except for NMEA <VBG>) I've been
watching my Heart Freedom for years, knowing that if it fails I'll have
to deal with a new charger, new inverter, and possibly a new voltage
regulator. Fortunately I figured that out before rewiring the AC side
of the boat, and pulled wire and breakers for entirely separate
charger/inverter systems. But a PITA is still a PITA. And, to be
honest, I don't really need an inverter; in four years of non-stop
cruising I've probably used it four times to run the vacuum cleaner.
I'm totally 12V.
Thanks for the input about Master-Volt. I'll start researching.
Regarding the pulse chargers, I had thought that the big advantage is
that they didn't just recover sulfated batteries, but avoided sulfation
in the first place. But again, I'm not an expert. It's important to
note that I routinely run my batteries down, and when necessary run the
Honda 2000 to generate AC to run the battery charger. (Yes, I should
have put a wind generator on the boat.)
Wal
Josh Muckley wrote:
Let me know if you decide you want to take me up on disposing of your link
2000.
--
s/v Stella Blue
www.wbryant.com
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