Prosport 20 not charging

[larman]

I bought a used prosport20 3 bank charger. I hooked it all up today but it’s not charging. I have 2 house bank sla batteries 500ah and they are currently at 70 percent capacity. The other battery is my start battery. I’m thinking because my batteries are at 13v it is not putting out a charge? I would like to get my housebank to 100 percent capacity.

 

[C lectric]

What specifically is the charger rating and is the battery rating?

What is the voltage AT the batteries AND at the charger outputs? Maybe you have a wiring problem such as corroded wire ends, battery posts, battery clamps. If there is Voltage drop due to poor crimps, dirty or corroded connections then the charger cannot do its job. All of these MUST be clean with GOOD connections and properly made crimps.

I use either a Dielectric grease or known long term electrical products like NoAlox or Penetrox to do the same and stop the corrosion once it has been cleaned off.

Is the wring between the charger and batteries of sufficient size. If not the charger may be backing off to soon if the voltage is to high to soon.
Check the charger output capacity and then check the wiring capacity and wiring length. Maybe , just maybe, the wire itself is inadequate.

And of course check the charger itself for proper outputs.

 

[av8r]

20A is pretty light charge rate for a 500 ah bank, it may take a while. If you have any house loads like refrigerator or lights or entertainment system that will decrease the available charge also.

 

[Delta Riverat]

Yeah. If your bank was at 50%, you will need at least 18 hours. How long has the it been on?

 

[SteveK]

I bought a used prosport20 3 bank charger. I hooked it all up today but it’s not charging. I have 2 house bank sla batteries 500ah and they are currently at 70 percent capacity. The other battery is my start battery. I’m thinking because my batteries are at 13v it is not putting out a charge? I would like to get my housebank to 100 percent capacity.

Here is a manual
If you hook up just one battery you will charge at 20A, two bats get 10A each, then 3 gets to divide 20.
This unit is not spark resistant. Bottom line, not good for what you need.

 

[larman]

What would you recommend for a charger?

 

[Delta Riverat]

At a nice conservative .1C, that would be a 50A charger.

 

[SteveK]

At a nice conservative .1C, that would be a 50A charger.

I agree as a minimum. But it really depends on speed of recharge the battery can take and the amount of $$ available to make it worthwhile for OP.
If you only use 100Ah and have 2 hours of time to charge them then 50A charger works. But if you only have an hour then you need a 100A charger.
And get a charger that is spark protected.

 

[C lectric]

OOPS, I misread the original post and did not realize the new charger was 20 amps only.
Totally inadequate for the batteries you have unless you have oodles of time including while you are cruising. Dockside may be a different matter if left for several days.
But check what I mentioned as any wiring problems can also cause slow recharging.