Commotion
Member II
Here I go, telling on myself. I asked for advice on replacing my Xantrex Freedom HF1800 combination charger and inverter on Facebook's Boat Electrical Systems and got an overwhelmingly consistent response. Basically said Xantrex has really gone down hill on lower priced chargers and to avoid them. Most everyone recommended Master Volt and Victron. I thought I would check them both out... EXPENSIVE! I have three Group 31 12V Firefly AGM's (also EXPENSIVE) that are less than two years old and I have to replace my group 31 Lifeline AGM start battery. I still have (and love) my Atomic 4 (Inexpensive) and it does not take much juice to get that running. I am going to install a small AGM start battery. So, I have been talking to acdcmarineinc.com in Torrance and they seem VERY helpful. I just bought a Cotek CX1235 35 amp dual bank charger. Not that expensive... less than $250. So, I am going to install it this weekend. It seems like a feature rich charger. Ramsey, the owner of acdcmarineinc spent a lot of time going over my system. He said the Cotek chargers are built by the guys that founded Mastervolt before it was sold. Gave me a great tour of his shop. I think they have every gauge, switch and boat electrical component a boater might need. I am not going back to combination units... that was advised against when I installed it 9 years ago... I didn't listen then either. The problem isn't that is lasted 9 years, though light use, it is that when the inverter goes, the charger has to go with it. The lower cost Xantrex units are not repairable and just go into the trash.