Guest charger not for use while pulling a draw??

[Ralph163]

I had to replace the old Guest 2722-B charger on my 2006 Grady Marlin. So I replaced it with a Guest 2740A 4 bank charger. When I would return to the boat, I noticed the house batteries were dead, the charger was in a standby mode and not charging. I called Guest and told them the charger wasn't charging and that the only draw I had was 5 amps from my fridge. I was told this charger was not designed to have a draw pulled while in operation. I never heard of that, I have always pulled a draw from every charger I ever had. I kinda thought that was the point. So while at dock the batteries would be charged and maintained, especially if there is something pulling a 12v draw (like a bilge pump, etc) They recommended a Pronautic saying that that is designed to pull a draw. They said the 2740 was more designed for bass boats. I was very surprised.

 

[Hookup1]

I run bait tank pumps and refrigerator overnight on the dock with my Promariner ProSportHD 20. 3-bank charger.

 

[Ralph163]

So I spoke to another tech for confirmation. The Guest ChargePro chargers are specifically NOT designed to handle a steady draw (like a fridge) they CAN handle an intermittent draw (like a bilge pump). In other words, they are NOT meant to act as a power supply, that will throw them into a fault. They said I need the ProNautic.

Good to know when buying a charger. Make sure it's designed to be used with a continuous draw, if that's what your purpose will require. Was a $450 mistake on my end. I had not known there was a difference

 

[DennisG01]

That's interesting. I never would have thought that, either. It's very interesting that they recommended another brand, too!

I have tons of experience with the ProNautic series of chargers as, in addition to personal experience, one of the boat lines at our shop uses them. They are great chargers and generally speaking, very reliable, too. You won't go wrong with one of those.

 

[Ralph163]

It's the same parent company. lol

The way I understand it now is, wet (waterproof) chargers are not made for a steady draw. They are meant to charge, not act as a power supply. Some refer to them as "bass boat chargers". Being waterproof, they can be left in the open deck and do not have an internal fan. "Dry Chargers" (like the ProNautic) can also act as a power supply for a constant house load (like a fridge) while docked. They have internal fans and need to be mounted in an encolsed area, not exposed to the elements ( a bilge is fine)

A user on another board explained it well..
"Many wet mount chargers do not work as a power supply like you are trying to use it. They watch for how long it takes to bring a battery to full charge, and after a set number of hours go to standby mode if the battery remains not fully charged (because a refrigerator is drawing it down as an example). Noco, Guest, Promariner prosport- for certain all behave this way by design. Nothing new here."

 

[Hookup1]

So I spoke to another tech for confirmation. The Guest ChargePro chargers are specifically NOT designed to handle a steady draw (like a fridge) they CAN handle an intermittent draw (like a bilge pump). In other words, they are NOT meant to act as a power supply, that will throw them into a fault. They said I need the ProNautic.

Good to know when buying a charger. Make sure it's designed to be used with a continuous draw, if that's what your purpose will require. Was a $450 mistake on my end. I had not known there was a difference

Refrigerators are intermittent draw. Bait pumps are not. Not sure if that was a BS answer from them or not.

Switch to ProMarinier HD...$200

Consider the Noco multi-bank chargers as well.