Conv/charger

thanks for the input

My PD converter is absolutely silent - have to stick a piece of paper into the fan blades to tell they were spinning.

IMO, the fan will never run in any "quality" (properly mounted) converter unless it's surrounding temperature gets 90 to 100 degrees,
If the fan is already coming on at 60 to 70 degrees, what do you suppose its going to do at 80 to 90 degrees,......go up in smoke one day ?? Right.
Of course, this is assuming that it has been properly installed w/ adequate ventilation. But same difference, a quality converter should be able to operate w/ minimal ventilation, and the fan will take care of it from there.

Thanks for the info. Mine seems to work but I'm a light sleeper and when the blower kicks up it wakes me. Trying to cure that issue. My Rvision trailer didn't do that or maybe I didn't notice it. This one seems to cycle up & down every few min. I have all summer to remedy this so I'm collecting info from you pros.

15 to 20 amps per battery is fine IMO. You don't gain much by going 30 to 40+.

Also PowerMax drops voltage as soon as it hits 14.6 volts as opposed to holding at 14.4 for four hours. The effect is the bigger the rating the lower the state of charge when it kicks down.

BFL13 has done some testing and you know he always is pushing max amps. I think in his case it was kicking down at about 72% charge. With a smaller unit the % will be higher when it steps down. 40% to 90% is still about 3 hours no matter what you shake at the batteries.

I tend to recommend the PowerMax as it appears to be easy direct bolt in and according to posts it is very reliable. IOTA or PD would also be excellent choices. Go big (60+ amps) on the PD as amps tend to sag as voltage rises. Maybe 45 to 55 amps with IOTA as it also kicks down 15 minutes after reaching 14.6 volts. Although IOTA drops to 14.2(not bad) as opposed to 13.6(slow) for the Boondocker.

Dangit they all seem to have issues.

I replaced my malfunctioning 55a WFCO with a Xantrex XADC-40 so it would run on a 1000w generator if needed. Worked fine but it did not really fit in the slot.

Eventually replaced with 35a WFCO MBA and that has worked fine. Preferred it to fit in the slot and no boondocker available at the time. Have not used the WFCO since installing solar.

That is my story, I am sticking to it. :B Other opinions are valid too. This works for me.
For the record I have 4x GC2 Costco specials.

smkettner wrote:
If voltage is jumping 14.4/13.6/13.2 up and down the converter is shot.

Easiest is probably the bolt in PowerMax Boondocker main board assembly. Three year warranty.
I would just get 35 amp, 45max.

http://www.bestconverter.com/WFCO-Powermax-Main-Board-Replacement_c_196.html

http://www.powermaxconverters.com/xx.html

why go so small? I only drycamp and stay 4/5 days. Wouldn't I be better with a 55/65A ?

Our old HTT only had a single-stage converter and for dry camping / charging off a generator I needed something better. I bought an IOTA-55 w/IQ4 and used it as a stand-alone battery charger.
Fast forward to the new TT. I mounted the IOTA to the ceiling in the front pass-through after running a switched 110V line to it (tapped off a bedroom outlet.) This left me with a 3' cable run to the batteries. I also put the factory WFCO converter on its own breaker so I can turn it on or off.
So, I can run off the IOTA or WFCO. Or throw the battery disconnect switch and use the WFCO for the trailer 12V circuits and let the IOTA charge the battery.
Overkill? Maybe. It gets tested next week with 5 days of dry camping.

If voltage is jumping 14.4/13.6/13.2 up and down the converter is shot.

Easiest is probably the bolt in PowerMax Boondocker main board assembly. Three year warranty.
I would just get 35 amp, 45max.

http://www.bestconverter.com/WFCO-Powermax-Main-Board-Replacement_c_196.html

http://www.powermaxconverters.com/xx.html

When I said very little load I ment the furnace & fridge panel only. No lights etc. I suppose it's just doing it's job. It was in the 30's when I experienced this and the heat was running quite a bit.

Thanks everyone.

I would not call the furnace a "very little load". The furnace blower is probably the largest DC load in the RV. It pulls the battery down and the converter kicks in to re-charge. Sounds like normal operation to me.