Sterling Plumbing 110V/230VOLTS User Manual

Pro - digital only, Time, 4 step curves for battery chargers

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ENSURE ALL NEGS ARE COMMON

ENGINE START
BATTERY

DOMESTIC SYSTEM

BATTERY CHARGER

INSTALLATION OF STERLING BATTERY CHARGER

acid/traction batteries for standard marine use, as there ability to top up the liquid level

Position the charger in a cool dry well ventilated space, ensuring a reasonable airflow

increases there charge rate and life expectancy and we strongly recommend you stay

around the charger. Do not install in a cupboard or sealed compartment.

away from gel or A.G.M.as there charge rate is very limited.
This charger has many new features including the ability to compute the battery size
and state, so it is no longer necessary to program that information into the unit (as per

Install as close to the batteries as possible, preferably within 2 metres of the batteries.

the previous model).

The further away from the batteries you have to put the unit, increase the cable

Connect the cables as per the diagram, ensure that all terminals are used, ie in the event

thickness to compensate for voltage drops in the line. The cable diameter should be

of only one battery being charged, connect the surplus positive output to the other used

16mm squared for the 12v30a and the 24v 25a and 25mm squared for the 12v 40a and

output, i.e. both outputs are on the same battery. This ensures correct regulation; failure

12v 50 a.

to do this would reduce the charging performance slightly.

Before switching on the charger it is important to set up the battery type, please choose
a battery type from above. The highest charge rate (and voltage) will be the open lead
acid (set to a 14.8 volts on high charger) then gel (set at 14 .4 volts) then advanced glass
matt (set at 14.1 volts).

If the battery type requires to

be reprogrammed, then select the appropriate setting on the dip switch and ensure the
charger is switched off then on again for the settings to take effect (this is because the
internal software chip requires a re-boot to install the new settings). The settings have
not taken effect if the L.E.D has not changed to the correct colour. In the event of
different types of batteries then the lowest battery voltage type must be selected, never
charge a battery on a higher setting than it should, Sterling recommends open lead

This unit is fitted with an automatic 110/230 volt crossover as such the following
voltage may be used (90-125 or 190-260 volts at any frequency (40-400 Hz))

Always connect the cables to the charger first then run them to the batteries, never
connect to the batteries and run to the charger.
Warning, the charger case is earthed as per international regulations, on most boats the
A/C earth is connected to the bonding system and then to the negative of the battery,
this means that the case could be negative. If you touch the positive battery cables to
the case then you can set up a dead short to the battery negative via the earth cable and
melt the earth cable, this could start a fire. To avoid this, ensure the battery connectors
on the output studs do not touch the charger case, use insulated output connectors, it is
also recommended by A.B.Y.C. regulations that all the charger outputs have a fuse
connected. We recommend the Sterling gold range GMFB 4848, which offers a 4-bank
fuse block, which can be fused from 20-80 amps.

( the agm and gel voltage tends to vary with company to

company, so check which voltage your batteries require )

15
14.5
14
13.5
13
12.5
12
11.5
11
10.5

CHARGER VOLTS 14.4 V
GEL/SEALED BATTERIES

CHARGE CURRENT

H
A
R

E
R

U
R
R
E
N

H
A
R

E
R

U
R
R
E
N

100

TIME

EXTRA CHARGE FOR COVENTIONAL
OR TRACTION BATTERIES AT 14.8 VOLTS

L
T
S

FOR 24 VOLTS
X 2

FLOAT 13.5 V

FULL CURRENT AVAILABLE ON FLOAT FOR
ON BOARD SUPPLY IN POWER PACK MODE

ADJUSTABLE TIME DEPENDING ON
BATTERY BANK SIZE

4 STEP CURVES FOR BATTERY CHARGERS

STEP 1 = CONSTANT CURRENT CHARGE STEP 2 = ABSORPTION CHARGE AT 14.4/14.8 V
STEP 3 = CONSTANT VOLTAGE AT 13.5 VOLTS STEP 4 = LOW VOLTAGE RESET TO STEP1

BATTERY TYPE

SELECTOR

SWITCHES

FUSED

COMMON NEGATIVE

Any other
battery bank

BATTERY TYPE

OVER VOLTS TRIP

HIGH CHARGER TEMP

HIGH BATTERY TEMP

CONSTANT CURRENT

TIME CONTROL ON

FLOAT/POWERPACK

green/red/yellow

yellow

red

orange

green

BATTERY TYPE

SWITCH SETTINGS

NON SEALED
LEAD ACID OR
TRACTION
L.E.D. YELLOW

GEL OR
SEALED
LEAD ACID
L.E.D.GREEN

L.E.D RED

A.G.M.

FIT BATTERY TEMPERATURE

THERMAL SENSOR TO ANY BATTERY

TERMINAL, THE RED AND BLACK

WIRES ON THE SENSOR ARE NOT

POLARITY AWARE, IE EITHER WIRE IN

EITHER SOCKET

Sterling gold
fuse block
GMFB 4848

light

sequence

on start up

BATTERY TYPE

OVER VOLTS TRIP

HIGH CHARGER TEMP

HIGH BATTERY TEMP

CONSTANT CURRENT

TIME CONTROL ON

FLOAT/POWERPACK

green/red/yellow

yellow

red

orange

green

What information the L.E.D. display is giving you

:this L.E.D. is a 3 coloured L.E.D. which means it has 2 colours inside it (red and green). Either colour is used

separately or when both are on they look yellow. It is very important to ensure that the L.E.D. colour displayed conforms to your battery
type, if you have a mixture of lead acid and gel then the setting must be for the gel (the worst case, i.e. the gel can only handle 14.4 volts
but the lead acid can go to 14.8. so it is important not to exceed 14.4). This L.E.D. should be set as per the dipswitch instructions above.

this L.E.D. indicates that the charger has tripped out due to either the chargers own regulator has failed, or an

external source is over charging (such as a solar cell, or wind generator, or engine alternator) and the charger thinks it has failed.
High charger temp: This shows that the charger has tripped because the heat sink is to hot, check if the fans are working. The unit will
restart when the heat sink reduces in temp.

The charger has switched off because it has picked up a battery temperature in excess of 50 deg C, investigate

your batteries immediately, and check the water levels. There is a serious problem, do not restart the charger until a fault has been found.
On reset monitor the temperature either from the remote or by simply keeping an eye on the batteries for the first few days.

(This L.E.D. can look red but is in fact orange) this shows the unit is on constant current mode on start up,

and should remain on until the high charge cycle is complete (between 1 - 8 hrs max).
Time Control ( yellow ): This L.E.D. comes on between 6 minutes (minimum) and about 1 hr max, this indicates that the chargers timer
has started and the count down will be displayed on the remote control (if used). This timer light will remain on with the above orange
L.E.D until the end of the high charge cycle, when they both will go off and the lower green will come on.

This means its all over as far as the fast charging is concerned, however the unit is now in power pack mode,

and will remain at about 13.5 volts float and supply your system any power it required up to its maximum power.

Battery type, (Tri colored )

Float/Power pack (Green).

Over-volts Trip. (Red):

High Battery temp (Red):

Constant current. ( Orange):

Battery Charger

Controller

Sterling power products

on/off

1
2
3
4

light

alarm

50%

100%

Select

Power

High battery temp
High heat sink temp

hold

25%

High battery volts
Low voltage

14.4 v timer
40 a 134 min

The remote control is optional

with this charger, the benifits

of which are explained on the other

page

Page 5

Digital software control
3 isolated outputs
Automatic 110/230 volt selector

3 stage R.F.I filter:

Power pack mode
Multiple input frequency from 40-400 hz

Thermostatically controlled fan cooling

4 step constant current charging curves

3 Battery type charging curve selector
Automatic battery bank size and state sensing
Automatic High charger time calculated every time
Automatic 7 day de - sulphation cycle
3 stage R.F.I .filter

Auto power reduction in event of high temperature
7 led output display information panel
24 kt gold plated output terminal post

Auto Power reduction in event of high temperature.

Remote control socket
Sturdy construction

24kt gold plated output terminal posts:

Small foot print, low profile

Remote switch on/off
Manual power reduction selector
Auto memory power lock on setting
Delay start up to enable power setting change
2 line 16 bit L.C.D. display screen
High charge rate timer countdown
Auto cycle all information with manual screen lock
Displays all alarm functions
Display, volts amps temperatures etc
Surface mounted or recessed box

Digital software control

Remote control socket:

Sturdy construction:

Small footprint:

Remote switch on/off:

Manual power reduction selector:

3 isolated outputs:

Automatic 110/230 volt selector:

Auto memory power lock on setting:

Multiple input frequencies from 40-400 Hz:

Thermostatically controlled fan cooling:

Delay start up to enable power setting change:

High ambient temperature rated:

3 battery type charging curve selector:

2 line 16 bit L.C.D. display screen:

Auto cycle all information with manual screen lock:

Automatic battery bank size and state:

Automatic High Charge timer calculated every time:

Surface mount or recess box:

Automatic 7 day de-sulphation cycle:

Yes
Yes
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Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes

Yes

Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
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Yes

Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
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Yes

Battery temperature sensing and compensation:

High ambient temperature rated

3 battery temperature sensors:

Independent unlimited high battery temp trip circuit:

Battery temperature sensing and compensation

High battery voltage trip:

3 battery temperature sensors

Independent unlimited high battery temp trip circuit

High battery temperature trip:

High battery voltage trip

High battery temperature trip

High heat sink temperature trip

High heat sink temp trip:

Negative fused externally (A.B.Y.C. Requirement)
Reverse polarity protected

Over load protected

Short circuit protected

7 led output display information panel:

Negative Fused externally (A.B.Y.C requirement):

Reverse polarity protected:

Overload protected:

Short circuit protected:

Impressive information displayed:

Example, a boat could be moored all year and never leave the pontoon, or a stand by generator with the
charger on all the time. In these cases the de-sulphation cycle would only happen once and the batteries
would eventually sulphate causing premature destruction. However the Sterling software has a 7 day
timer which in the event of inactivity will automatically run a de-sulphation cycle keeping your plates
clean.

In order to meet C.E. requirements for Radio Frequency Interference a three-stage filter is used to ensure
that not only is the standard reached but also that we fall well above the standard legally required.

The Sterling Digital comes complete with a battery temperature sensor, which is automatically set to one
of the temperature compensation set by your battery type selector switch.

The larger battery charger range comes complete with 3 temperature

sensors, which monitor and display and react to the 3 different battery banks, including 3 high temp trips

This unit has a trip circuit which can be

connected to any trip device such as temperature trips or any trip which results in an open circuit. The
problem is that a charger could be attached to 10 batteries but only monitoring 3, however if you wish
you can put a standard temperature trip on every battery and link them together into a common trip
circuit, if any of these batteries exceed a pre determined value the charger will switch off.

Things do go wrong no matter how hard we try so in the event of the regulator control failing, then any
voltage above what the software is expecting will shut the battery charger down and display the fault.

It always amazes me how many companies sense battery temperature and compensate the charger
voltage against temperature, but in the extreme event of total battery failure and the battery is going to
boil the battery charger will not switch off the charger. The Sterling processor not only senses the
temperature but will shut down the charger in event of total failure and display the fault condition.

In the event of extreme temperature or cooling fan failure the battery charger will switch off at 70 deg C

Because it is best to get as much power as possible at high temperature, in extreme high temperature or
cooling fan failure, if the heat sink reaches 65 deg C then the output current of the unit will be
systematically reduced to prevent the high temperature trip being activated at 70 deg C, its better getting
something than nothing.

High charger rate, timer activated, battery type (3 colours),

Float mode, high battery temp trip, over voltage trip,

Over a period of time brass corrodes in salt air making poor connectors, we have all seen the green paste

Extra features offered with the remote optional , a optional

that forms around battery terminals etc. All Sterling connection posts are solid brass and are 24kt gold

extra with the medium chargers and standard with the large

plated to eliminate this for life.

Because the largest market for our products is in the USA, it is important to conform to European and
USA standards. This is a requirement for the USA A.B.Y.C boat building code of practice, as a result
some electricians were receiving electric shocks because they thought they were on the D/C negative
system when they were on the 110V A/C system (guaranteed to waken you up first thing in the morning)
.as a result international regulation bodies are attempting to change the colour of the D/C negative
cables (which have been black) to yellow, this is already the case in the U.S.A. for A.B.Y.C. and is under
review in the U.K. The negative cable in the new digital range comes as yellow and a gold fuse is
supplied.

The supplied fuse blocks offers a good reverse polarity protection system.

As stated the unit cannot be overloaded.

As stated the cant can be short-circuited with no adverse results.

There are 2 ways to control electronic processing, Analogue (hardware control) and Digital (soft
ware control). Hardware control is where the voltage sensing and processing are all done via

The unit has the ability to be connected to a digital L.C.D. information and control panel.

transistors and electronic hardware. This is fine as long as the information to be processed is kept
simple. However an Advanced Regulator may look simple (and most of them are) but when all

The unit is made from extruded aluminium and extremely sturdy, with extra thick 2.4 mm printed circuit

the different battery types, bank sizes, and safety parameters are installed, the unit would become board.
almost impossible to make and set up. Sterling leads the field in this type of controller but has
found that when upgrading from our previous model, it required so many extra features to keep

A modern requirement even on the largest boats is the requirement for a small foot print size, check our

up with new battery types and alternator types etc, which makes a hard ware version impossible

size out.

to make.
Digital control (software): This uses computer lines of code, digitally burned into a memory

Extra features when connected to the Digital remote control

processor in the Advanced Regulator. This means that very complex information and
mathematical processes can be processed, which would be impossible for the hardware system to

Self-explanatory (I hope).

do. It is the next generation of control and more and more you will see the term digital control
appearing on different products. Digital control offers so many extra features at no extra cost

Some marinas offer only limited shore power; as a result high power battery chargers will not work. It

(see below) and accuracy beyond the ability of the analogue version.

therefore becomes necessary to reduce the out power of the charger to enable it to operate from the
shore power. This remote offers the ability to select 100%, 50% or 25% power to deal with the lowest

The charger has 3 outputs enabling 3 different battery banks to be monitored and charged at the

shore power supplies. Its best to have some power than none, this feature is also good if an onboard

same time.

generator is used, i.e. you may want say a 100 amp charger for the onboard generator to charge the
batteries fast but the local berth cannot support such a large charger. In this case the charger could be

The in built system enables the charger to be automatically used on a wide voltage range from

reduced to 25 amps when returned to the marina berth.

80-300 volts A/C. This covers all the possibilities encountered on any marine in the world.

If reduced power is selected the software remembers the setting so in the event of removing the shore

Self-explanatory, the unit is able to work on all worldwide A/C input frequencies.

power the charger will start up on the reduced setting next time.

The digital software monitors the unit temperature and controls the fans; this reduces any

In the event of a boat entering a marina and only a low power supply is available, if the last time the

unnecessary fan noise from the charger and prolongs the fans life for many years.

charger was used then the charger would start up on high power and trip the shore supply. To overcome
this problem when the charger is started, the software counts down 30 seconds before automatically

Many boat builders expect the chargers to work at full power continuously at 40 deg ambient,

starting the charger on the last setting. This gives the operator ample time to reduce the power if

few chargers in the world meet this specification - we do.

required on the remote control.

There is more than one battery type; most chargers do not offer different programs for different

As described above a large information screen is use which as an on/off switch for the background light.

battery types. Failure to offer an option will result in either overcharging some battery types and
sulphating others. The Sterling offers charging curves for open lead acid batteries, traction

Due to the large amount of information being displayed, it is not possible to fit it all on the screen. As a

batteries, sealed batteries, gel batteries and A.G.M batteries.

result the screen automatically scrolls through the screens. However you may wish to monitor one
screen in particular, in this case simply push the lock button to lock that screen on.

No need to program in the battery bank size as the digital software can work that out itself.

The L.C.D. display and control gives the following information, charger amps, charger volts, time

Most chargers have a fixed high charger timer, which works regardless of battery size and state

remaining on equalizing charger, battery type selected, battery temperature, charger temperature, plus all

or even load on the boat. The digital processor is able to discern the battery bank size, what state

alarm and other control functions.

it is in and even take into consideration the power used by the boat. It then calculates the ideal
equalizing charger time; this will be different every time and will be from 1-6 hrs

The clever remote control box design means the box can either be surface mounted on a bulkhead or

The good thing about a constant current charger is that it de-sulphates the battery plates ensuring

flush mounted

maximum life from the batteries. However, this only works if the charger is switched on/off
regularly (i.e. every time you disconnect and reconnect the charger the plates are subjected to a
de-sulphation cycle). The problem is some boats or standby equipment may be rarely used, for

STERLING

CHECK LIST

is a performance feature and

a safety feature

QUICK

Check these functions against out competitors

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Blue

PRO - DIGITAL only

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