ProMariner Charger Inverter problem

One of the issues with overloading is in the event of a power failure at night or during the day while away for a while. If you have heat on and the water heater , if there is a power failure the inverter automatically comes on and does what it can to keep up... This could be happening with out any one knowing if the power is restored before you return or wake up . This can be overloading the inverter unintentionally .. I have also been at marinias where they have a 30 amp receptical and only 20 amp breakers... Using your normal loads can result in blowing the breaker and the inverter takes over.. Because it is an instant transfer it does not get the start up loads and will run a fair bit of load. In my case two heaters and the charger.
I'm thinking this could be the cause of some failures that you may not be aware of.
I will change to the pure sine once this one fails again .
 
Irish Mist,
If I am not mistaken if the pro-mariner rocker switch is in the up position for shore power/charger it should not switch to inverter automatically. The inverter without the charger is the down position. I believe this is provided that the wiring is done correctly.
 
No , on mine if the power is interrupted it automatically starts working if it's up in the shore power mode.. Perhaps it came wired wrong .. But that always how it's been.. If there is no load it just flashes no power.. When out at sea I need to put in down to inverter to use inverter , up if we are using the generator.. Switching it up from the off position if no shore power does nothing . But as I said if it is under load and the power goes off it automatically starts inverting... I should check the manual .. Maybe it is wired wrong
 
Given the sensitivity of modern electronics , why would a "square" sine wave inverter be supplied ? I can speculate, but perhaps it just cost less at the time. I do hope Ranger is having a conversation with Pro Mariner on this subject. Ranger and/or Pro Mariner should consider offering an upgrade at a reasonable cost to any owner that might be interested.

I know most equipment on the boat comes with a 1 or 2 year warranty, but owners expect the working parts to last for longer than that... and in most cases the pumps , electronics etc last for years. Given the sophistication and cost of some items (inverters) such warranty periods should be longer. The boat manufacturers should ask for longer warranties and the product manufacturers should provide it.
 
It is more difficult to create a better and better approximation of a true sine wave so a manufacturer charges more for that. There is more digital electronics in order to accomplish that so perhaps that is why the circuit in the PS model appears to be better protected for a high amperage load.
 
Still no reply fro ProMariner. Perhaps when Andrew returns he. Will have better response than Ivan or myself.
 
Andrew to the rescue again. ProMariner is shipping me a new replacement unit that I will install when it shows up. Will post my success hopefully next week. Hope my batteries were not damaged.

Corey
 
Thanks to Andrew calling again to ProMariner, they finally shipped a replacement unit and I successfully installed it. Does anyone know whether AGM1 or AGM2 is the better setting on this charger for factory installed AGM batteries?
 
On my Promariner charger with the factory installed "UB" AGM batteries I use Profile 2.
 
Obviously we're late to this thread, but we're the new owners of a 2011 R-27 with a ProMariner 1500QS charger/inverter. Here in the Pacific Northwest, we like to leave a small electric heater on low in the cabin and a small electric air dryer in the head during the winter. As others have noted, however, if we lose shore power while away from the boat, the load automatically transfers to the inverter (which it did a few days ago during a power outage) risking ruining our batteries. Has anyone retrofitted a 3-way switch to bypass this problem? We'd like to be able to use shore power to charge batteries and keep the boat dry, and only turn on the inverter when we are on the boat and need it for something, like grinding fresh coffee in the morning. That's the way it has always worked on our sailboat.
 
We avoid this problem by not connecting the shore power thru the boat connection. R25SC on trailer in Anacortes). Batteries charged from solar units on cabin top. Cabin fan/ heater powered by extension cord run up thru open space under aft 'railing' then thru engine compartment and out of fuel turnoff valve locker door (using flat cord).
 
Our Pro Mariner failed last spring when we used the microwave to cook two hot dogs for my granddaughter. We were getting a week verse polarity light when on shore power. Turned out that the inverter welded the green safety to the neutral and instead of opening the connection when the inverted was turn off they stayed connected. Installed a Magnum MS 200 Pure sine wave inverter/charger to replace the Pro Mariner.

According to the ABYC Technician, who put in the new inverter, the boat was suppose to be wired so that only those AC devices that the inverter could handle were available when the it is turned. The boat was wired so that the incoming AC went directly to the inverter and then back to the rotary AC, Generator and Off switch. Rewired the incoming AC to the switch and added a separate neutral buss with just the AC outlets and the microwave. For some reason, had to do with the boat wiring, it worked but got a very faint reverse polarity light when the shore power was turned on. So rewired it the way it was originally wired with the AC going to the inverted first then to the switch. Will try and trouble shoot it this spring.

So we still have to manage the inverted so that only the loads it can handle are turned on. Our protocol is to first turn off all AC rocker switches and when the inverted is turned on to switch back on the AC outlets and the microwave.

The Magnum is capable of switching the inverter on when shore power is lost, but that option is disabled.

Jim Demerest
210 R 29 Chessie
 
This is an old thread but found it while searching for an answer to the question posed below (emphasis mine):

coreychamness":1u18h541 said:
Thanks to Andrew calling again to ProMariner, they finally shipped a replacement unit and I successfully installed it. Does anyone know whether AGM1 or AGM2 is the better setting on this charger for factory installed AGM batteries?
Click to expand...

Osprey":1u18h541 said:
On my Promariner charger with the factory installed "UB" AGM batteries I use Profile 2.
Click to expand...

I was poking around my Promariner Charger today and saw that it was set to AGM1 and wondering what the difference is between the two settings.

Found a manual here (https://www.promariner.com/en/library: though not 100% sure it's the same unit) which shows that the AGM1 setting has lower voltage numbers than the AGM2 setting. Boost charge is 14.1 vs 14.6 for AGM1 vs AGM2 and Float Charge Voltage is 13.4 vs 13.7 for AGM1 vs AGM2. Are these voltage thresholds for the charger to kick in? Then the AGM1 setting allows more discharge before charging?

Hoping for someone more knowledgeable than me to chime in on which setting would be preferable for the UB121100 batteries that are on our C30. Thanks!



Does anyone else have any more insights?
 
Jim and Jackie":1digq3g9 said:
According to the ABYC Technician, who put in the new inverter, the boat was suppose to be wired so that only those AC devices that the inverter could handle were available when the it is turned. The boat was wired so that the incoming AC went directly to the inverter and then back to the rotary AC, Generator and Off switch. Rewired the incoming AC to the switch and added a separate neutral buss with just the AC outlets and the microwave. For some reason, had to do with the boat wiring, it worked but got a very faint reverse polarity light when the shore power was turned on. So rewired it the way it was originally wired with the AC going to the inverted first then to the switch. Will try and trouble shoot it this spring.
Click to expand...

I'm not sure your ABYC Technician was entirely right. Ranger may have made a mistake on your boat when wiring. It should of had Half the panel (outlets and microwave) only on the inverter. A jumper lead needs to be added to allow power to the rest of the panel. I purchased my C26 without an inverter/charger and took delivery with a charger. (reason) I wanted a 2000w pure sine wave instead of the factory installed modified sine wave. The inverter I installed was a 1220 Kisea with a switching relay for shore power/on off. I didn't want to use this option because I wanted all 120V circuits to be usable with the inverter and plan to power manage. The 2000W inverter is enough to use one stove top burner, AC fan on recycle. When I installed the inverter I wired the complete AC panel to be active. ( possible someone did that to your boat).
Neutral bus. This is very important that it is wired properly. Any source of power neutral and ground are connected at the source, shore power, Generator, inverter. Separate at the panel. The important function of the auto switching relay in the inverter is to open the neutral and hot . When you are not using this inverter feature you must make sure that when you turn the rotary switch from inverter to shore power the neutral and hot disconnect. This can be done by wiring it through the rotary switch. the same needs to be done with the generator. There are enough terminals in the rotary switch to do this. When wired through the rotary switch properly the hot and neutral go open for each circuit shore power, generator, inverter. and the neutral bus is used for the service selected on the rotary switch.

By adding a additional neutral terminal bus to the outlets and microwave you would have to completely isolate the outlet and microwave from the rest of the 120V system and would only be able to use them with the inverter. If you don't do that you will get a reverse polarity light. This could present a dangerous situation. The neutral from the shore power will have a path though the outlet to the added neutral bus to the inverter to ground. I'm not an electrician so there may be some incorrect explanations posted here. But I believe the idea to be correct.
 
My promariner 1500QS failed the end of last summer. My disappointing adventures with the manufacturer are listed in another thread on this forum. In my case it was the transfer switch function that failed. No joy with Promariner in getting it fixed. Instead I am going with a separate charger and inverter setup. I currently am keeping the batteries charged with a charger on the deck plugged directly into shore power. Like the Promariner it chargers the house bank and relies on the ACR's to connect the start and house batteries.
I plan to install the Kisae 1220 three bank charger with a separate automatic switch to disable the ACR;s while charging. The charger will go in the cave on the side by the opening. A 2000w pure sine inverter will be installed later on in the location of the now defunct Promariner. I see two benefits from this solution. There will be some warm air blown into the cave area from the fans in the charger and when the inverter is installed there will be some extra space in the port cockpit locker for storage. I plan to leave the ac power panel wire as is with only the microwave and outlets powered by the inverter. Added benefit is the separate charger and inverter cost about 2/3rds of a new Promariner 2000ps.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

  • Tugnuts.com is the community hub for Ranger Tug, Cutwater, and Solara owners. Since its inception in 2008, the Tugnuts forum has grown into an active and thriving community of more than 9,000 members. It serves as both a meeting place for the best boating community online, and an invaluable archive of information.

  • User menu
Back
Top