All -I have a WFCO 8955PEC in my Class C RV. It has a 4kW generator in it I use to charge the batteries when off grid. I have two questions -1. It charges slowly when my 2 12V deep cycle batteries are low (110Ah Each). I may get 15-20amps in them after an hour or so. I have a meter hooked up to one of the DC appliances in the Coach and it *always* says 13.6 when I am hooked to shore power. Does the converter feed one voltage to the house and then charge my batteries at a different voltage (say 14.4? or 13.2 in maintenance while still giving 13.6 to coach), or would it be the same? I have not measured the batteries at different times.2. I am interested in getting a different charger/converter that will do it faster. The converter portion of my WFCO is working fine other than slow charging.. no flickering, and constant 13.6 which makes my lights nice and bright. Would you recommend I swap the converter charger board out with an upgraded unit like a PD or boondocker, or would you recommend I add a standalone, like the PD9260C and put it close to my batteries? I guess I would just leave the WFCO 8955 as is in that setup and run them both, right?Thank you for your help.John

1) Single voltage for everything. RV runs fine from 11 to 15 volts.2) No Boondocker. Either PD or IOTA. Either will fit in the WFCO slot. ebay the WFCO or keep as a spare.3) Consider 200+ watts of solar ;)

You can handle the replacement a number of ways but a new PD pushing higher amps would be an elegant way of doing it. As smkettner advises, solar is a great way to keep batteries charged. It is more accurate and efficient than I can accomplish it with multiple battery chargers.

smkettner wrote:1) Single voltage for everything. RV runs fine from 11 to 15 volts.Thank you for all the fast responses! On your point above, does that mean I am constantly getting 13.6V to my house batteries all the time? Even when they are full? That doesn't seem to make sense - wouldn't that hurt the batteries? I know the converter documentation states it sends 13.6 voltage to the house appliances and lights, I didn't think that meant the battery too!John

Batteries will bulk charge at about 14.8V and taper down to 13.4V for float charging. 13.6V is OK. The charger, house loads and battery are all wired together and have basically the same voltage.From many posts on these boards the WFCO is junk and will not bulk charge your batteries.

CA Traveler wrote:Batteries will bulk charge at about 14.8V and taper down to 13.4V for float charging. 13.6V is OK. The charger, house loads and battery are all wired together and have basically the same voltage.From many posts on these boards the WFCO is junk and will not bulk charge your batteries.Appreciate the feedback and I am certainly planning to replace the WFCO unit. So if I replace my converter board with the direct replacement PD 4655 unit, my voltage to my lights, etc in the house will change from ~14.4 to ~13.6, down to ~13.2 as the charger runs through the stages, correct? Wouldn't that cause the lights to change brightness?Apologies if I am being really dense.. I have just not experienced a change in voltage to the house lights, etc except when I unplug - and I can tell a big difference between 13.6 and ~12.6 on battery alone.John

Converter Questions - Replacement and want to charge faster

CA_Traveler
Explorer III
Feb 11, 2016
For anyone considering changing the charger: first mark all of the wires and then take a number of pictures capturing all of the detail.

I've got pictures of most of my rig when not if they are needed.
tenbear
Explorer
Feb 11, 2016
When I replaced my old converter with a PD9260, I also changed the #8 converter to battery wire with #4. It is about 17' and made a big difference.
jcrhea
Explorer
Feb 10, 2016
Thank you for all the responses! I have decided to go with a replacement for the WFCO converter - PD 4655. If I see low amps or issues with voltage after installation I will upgrade the wire. Right now it appears it is 8 guage and about 10 ft long.

Looking at youtube videos, seems it shouldn't take more than a couple hours to swap out converter and DC fuse board.

I am going to look into solar as well. Seems there are tons of options there. Just starting my research.. so much to learn!

John
Snowman9000
Explorer
Feb 09, 2016
I connected my wfco with short fat cables. It helped but it was still pathetic. I swapped to a PD. This is my third PD. They work beautifully. Do it. I also have solar, but that's another story.
MEXICOWANDERER
Explorer
Feb 09, 2016
I've had a WFCO 55, operating for 2-years into an AGM. 13.2 float is an impossible dream. Forget it even exists.

When the battery is cycled, 14.4 volts appears for a few seconds upon startup. Even though the Lifeline is at 50% or thereabouts. Cable? You gots to be joking.

I used the original cables from WFCO. Short, with soldered battery-end leads. The WFCO is powered off line voltage which too is monitored.

Every one of them (WFCOs) are dopplegangers to Hungarian movie actresses. They're all freakin' insane, and therefore there is no "norm".

I read somewhere above that a "smart converter model" charges at 14.8 volts? Oh yeah? For how many seconds? Ten? Thirty?
mbopp
Explorer
Feb 07, 2016
I kept my WFCO but put it on its own breaker so I can turn it on or off. But I then added an IOTA 55A deck-mount converter to the ceiling of the pass-through. It's a 3' run to the two G29 batteries. AC power was tapped off one of the bedroom outlets and run to a switched outlet in the pass-through.
wa8yxm
Explorer III
Feb 07, 2016
WFCO is noted for not going into BULK mode.. this is the most common failure mode. This is not to say that is what is happening, More testing than I care to describe is needed (Hydrometer, and voltage tests)

Progressive Dynamics 9280 or in this case 4680 would charge faster but MIGHT be too fast if you have a single pair of GC-2.
N8GS
Explorer
Feb 07, 2016
Typically the charger is too far from the batteries and factory wire was sized for legal amps, not voltage drop. I installed an IOTA 90 amp unit at the battery bank (600 Ah). 1 foot of #2 wire to junction block then 3 feet of 2/0 to the batteries. All battery interconnections are also 2/0. I kept the WFCO for backup. Also 470 watts of MPPT solar.
This was all on my Cougar 290 and will be moved to the Reflection 337RLS that I bought last spring.
pianotuna
Nomad III
Feb 07, 2016
Solar and either an Iota or a PD converter. Any reports on the new PD?
NinerBikes
Explorer
Feb 07, 2016
I'd change type of batteries from something flooded lead acid to something AGM that can take a lot of amps while recharging, and that doesn't have a lot of internal resistance built into the battery design.