Espar Bunk heater parts availability

[DubbleD]

Yes

Gawd I love how you keep everything so clear and concise!

 

[8978]

This is what you want from Xantrex | Power Inverter, Inverter Charger, Battery Charger Manufacturer Get home, plug it in and walk away. Everything maintained 100%

 

[8978]

Just a few more tips about this inverter/charger. When your in a place that has shore power like Jubitz you can plug in. If your APU has a generator you can plug the 110 volt outlet from the generator into the inverter/charger. It's all automatic. You can be watching TV, have the APU kick on because the batteries need charging and the TV won't even blink. This unit costs around $1,150 for a 2,000 watt. It's also a 100amp battery charger that's programmed to run in stages. It doesn't go all out unless it's needed. As the batteries come up to charge it goes from like 100 amps to 75 to 50 to 25 to 10 to trickle then stop. Charging a battery at 100 amp non stop until it's charged is not good. You need to ramp down just like the alternator in your truck does.

 

[Duck]

No. Can't be a battery charger. It will boil your batteries and also probably not keep up with the Espar, fridge running and anything else. The charger would have to be pretty big and they don't give up, they keep charging non stop until your batteries are butter. The ideal, THE ULTIMATE solution is a pure sinewave inverter with shore power. When you get home you plug it into 110 volt outlet. The inverter is automatically taken off line and uses and conditions the power from your house. It also charges your batteries and when they are charged, it stops charging. These are what boats and yachts use.

What part of "automatic" did you miss?

An automatic charger tapers off to a trickle. It will boil the batteries eventually (after about a week with no load on the batteries) but not if the bunk heater and fridge are running. The charger tapers off to charge at less than the draw of those things. With them running, it won't taper off all the way, and will become a power supply for them, increasing its output while the fridge is on, decreasing when it's not.

The problem is finding a charger that is actually "automatic" in real life, not just on it's label.

I gave two Exide brand chargers. 2/15/50. It also has a 10 amp, 6 volt setting. In the 2 or 15 amp settings it's automatic but the 2 amp will only taper off to about half an amp. It won't hurt a bank of 4 batteries to feed them 175 milliamps for a few days.
The 15 amp setting will taper off to about 3-4 amps. With the fridge and espar heater on, you're drawing enough power the charger won't overcharge.

I've used one of those chargers on Van Wyk trucks every weekend for years & never cooked any batteries.

Some "automatic" chargers are nothing more than a heavy duty 12 volt power supply with no computer chips in it that detect state of charge & taper down. Those ones will cook your batteries. I have no idea how the manufacturers get away with that without being sued for false advertising.