Battery charger recommendations

[alex sfakianos]

I bought a Meanwell 1200 12V battery charger about a year ago. It was used on my boat with a Honda EU2200 generator when solar gain was not enough to keep the 560AH batteries charged. It didn't get used all that much, perhaps once a month or so on average. It has just stopped charging. I've checked fuses and connections and all seem ok, so just bad luck I suppose. Given where I am and the delays in shipping and customs it's not going to work to send it to be repaired.

All I have now is my Victron IP65 back up charger and at 20A output, I have to run the generator for a looooong time to get the pack charged.

Can anyone recommend a durable and reliable charger with a 12V output in the 70-120A range? Ideally a moderately waterproof model.

[Dave McCampbell]

We are currently in SE Asia on our boat.  We rarely use our ineffective Sterling shore charger, so if it ever stopped working it would not be a big loss.  Two recommendations:  1  Buy more solar.  You can never have too much solar, and it is the most efficient LFP charging method.  2  If you are overseas and a shore charger is important to you, ask on the local FB Groups for a reliable electronics repair shop.  Unlike in the US, it's amazing what they can fix for very little money.  

[Dacian Todea (electrodacus)]

Meanwell is a decently good brand.  Not sure what model do you have but have you checked the remote ON/OFF connection ? If water got inside then it could be damaged because of that.

[alex sfakianos]

Thanks for the replies. The model I have is an MPB 1200-12. 

Yesterday I had the generator running and the charger on, while I tried the on/off switch again. I happened to jiggle the AC cord where it goes into the charger and the generator picked up RPM's and it started charging. It ran and charged fine for a couple of hours. I haven't had a chance to open it and see what's wrong, but it looks like it may be as simple as a bad AC connector on the back of the Meanwell. Hopefully it's a simple mechanical repair. 

 If I had anywhere to put more PV panels I would have done so. I'd love to be independent of the generator, but I'm out of space unless I build an exotic multi-layered sliding or folding system for when I'm at anchor.  And with the other issues I'm having to address, that won't be anytime soon.