Silent battery charger - once and for all

Hi all

A couple of years ago, I replaced the original Westfalia BBB "black buzzing box" charger with a Sterling Power Products ProCharge 10 amp charger:

http://www.sterling-power.com/products-chargers-procharge.htm

The ProCharge 10A seems to do a good job of keeping the two batteries charged (both wet lead acid car batteries, as originally supplied by Westfalia), but it is actively cooled by a 40mm fan, which is quite noisy. Since the thing is under the bed, I often switch it off when I sleep, and find it annoying even when I'm awake. (OK, I admit I'm slightly obsessive about noises like this - over the years I've spent hours and days researching quiet components to build silent but fast PCs which don't sound like an aircraft on take-off).

I've thought about swapping out the fan for a quiet one, but 40mm is a difficult size (too small!) to get a quiet fan giving a decent amount of airflow, and I'd rather not modify the charger for risk of overheating it, etc. - don't want a fire in the van.

So... back to looking for the ultimate charger - a good quality multi-stage charger which is PASSIVELY COOLED - no fan.

The Sterling ProSport PS1212 waterproof looks like it be good - waterproof seems overkill, but at least it means there are no fans. The Sterling website doesn't give much info, but suggests that it should be considered where the waterproof aspect is a priority - implying that there is a downside to it, but not saying what the downside is.

Does anyone have any experience of the Sterling ProSport - positive or negative?

Can anyone recommend a good charger, preferably with first hand experience, which meets these criteria?
- 10A or more output, with 2 independent outputs for starter and leisure batteries
- passively cooled - no fan
- no coil whine or buzz (whine can be a problem with cheap switched-mode units)
- well built, good quality
- small size, to take up minimal space under the back seat

Any help much appreciated, and hopefully this thread will be of use to other folks who just want healthy batteries and peace and quiet.

John









Edited by 86ClubJoker - 23 Nov 12 at 15:22

Adrian,

Thanks for the info and sharing the benefit of your (extensive!) experience.

I don't use my van as often as I'd like, and certainly not as often as you, so the starter battery tends to get discharged. I'd like to have a built-in way of charging the starter battery (say, when the van is laid up for the winter) without driving.

The CTEKs look good. One thing I've wondered about: do they just start charging automatically when you plug them in using the settings you last used, or do you need to press a button to configure them again each time and to start them going?

Also on the CTEK list, there are some boxes which could work in combination with a single-output charger, the alternator, and two batteries, to share the available charging sensibly.

I've gone against the brick-yard grain and not rewired my interior lights. My reckoning is that Westfalia got it right and put the low power drain items against the starter battery, and the higher powered ones against the leisure battery - to share the load, while giving priority to maintaining a charge in the starter battery. I run a power amp from the leisure battery, and the head unit doesn't power any speakers.

This might all seem excessive for an old van, but I want the best for my van, and want to do this right, and only once more.

Cheers

John






Edited by 86ClubJoker - 04 Dec 12 at 22:23

I've been reading about getting rid of the BBB box,  and what people have done on here and Club 80-90 (but as mine is still working it's not a great priority).

Would you be kind enough to let me know which terminal I should be aiming for on the fuse box to switch over the lights/radio to leisure?  I've worked out which fuse does the business but cannot see which wire that relates to round the back of the fuse box!  Thanks.

In the end, I fitted a Sterling Power ProSport 12A 2 output charger, which I'm pleased with so far. It's fitted under the back seat, and saves quite a bit of space compared to the original fitment Westfalia BBB. It does make a faint high-pitched whistle typical of (modern, efficient) switched-mode power supplies, but I can't hear this unless I have an ear up against the charger - a big improvement over the fan-cooled charger I had before. The extruded metal casing of the charger doesn't get hot, just warm, so I would feel OK about packing things in to the space around it.

Edited by 86ClubJoker - 22 May 15 at 12:19