Ctek or Sterling

[Trotter]

Thinking of fitting a B2B to Demi. ATM I have 2 x 135ah maintenance free, wet batteries, 270ah in total. B2B’s. The two market leaders are Ctek and Sterling. Is one better than the other. Is one easier to fit . Can anyone on here advise me to which one to consider. Demi for those who not know is a Adria Twin pcv motorhome , based on the Ducato 100.

 

[Trotter]

To add. I already have a mppt for the solar so will not need to duplicate this

 

[nabsim]

Ask Tezza Del ?

 

[Trotter]

Great idea ? Tezza, anybody home???

 

[edina]

I've used Sterling stuff on boats for years, so fitted a 30a B2B on my current van. It was not working when I installed it so I returned it to Sterling (at my expense), it came back still not working. I returned it again ( at my expense) after lengthy conversations with young Charles, and they got it working. It worked ok for a few months and then would only work intermittently - I replaced it with a Ring unit and have had no problems since.

 

[nabsim]

You wouldn’t recommend the Sargeant stuff then Chris

 

[wildebus]

Have a look at the Redarc unit. very robust and compact. available as 25A and 40A versions. I've installed borh and use the 40A version in my own Camperbus.

 

[guerdeval]

I'd recommend Seargant, you can speak to them on the phone and they're British!

 

[The laird]

So rae,does this mean your happy with your ring

 

[Okta]

Very pleased with my Votronic 1212-45 B2B. Perhaps not the cheapest but Votronic have a solid reputation.

 

[Trotter]

So rae,does this mean your happy with your ring

Behave!

 

[PeteS]

Ive always used a Battery Master from Van Bitz has worked a trat for me for the last 10 years

 

[Deleted member 3072]

Ctek here put it in and forget it! Though not cheap!! Don’t ask me how it works I don’t do the (dark art)

 

[wildebus]

Ive always used a Battery Master from Van Bitz has worked a trat for me for the last 10 years

How does that charge the Leisure Battery when driving?


(just to keep the thread on-topic)

 

[ActiveCampers]

Ctek D250s.
Yes, its a duplicate MPPT controller.
Yes, its expensive.
But, as above, install, forget, and know it works optimally. Really can't fault it.
If batteries flat-ish, its perfect, and maintains/controls b2b charge accurately - the NASA BM1 we have shows charge voltage/current and it can be seen doing exactly what it should
the new version also deals with smart alternators if needed (the old one didn't like them)

I'd happily always use these, simplify wiring and just work to be honest!

 

[Trotter]

Re ctek d250.
Job almost completed. Everything looks good, leisure battery getting a healthy charge. I’ll take the van for a run tomorrow and check numbers before and after. Then it’s a case of tidying up the wiring. I admit to being a messy beggar. I’ve got a separate solar system, so I’ll not put this through the ctek until after the Spanish trip. Belt n braces. Pretty chuffed really,doing it myself. With thanks to Wildebeast and that Nabs bloke for advice and encouragement.