Installing a PD 9280 and have questions

McKenziek wrote:
I like the idea of keeping the old converter hooked up and installing the 9280 close to the 6V pairs. Is there any reason why both cant be used to charge at the same time? How would you wire this?

Roy shows a wiring diagram above. You can invent your own to suit. You can run both to charge the batteries. Limitation will be your generator rating. My Honda 3000 can run up to 130a worth of ( non-PF corrected )chargers before it pops its breaker.

I like the idea of keeping the old converter hooked up and installing the 9280 close to the 6V pairs. Is there any reason why both cant be used to charge at the same time? How would you wire this?

SCClockDr wrote:
If however there is a large inverter involved then the converter will attempt to satisfy both the battery charge & the inverter draw.

I would think you would turn the converter off if running the inverter.

Yes, to enjoy the full benefit of the 80 amps available you need more than just 6 awg wire. The 6 will work to some degree but your going to have big voltage drops.

This is what I did with my DUAL TERMINALs when installing my
PD9260C with my WF-8945 setup left in place.



The beauty here I can use either the WF8945 45AMP unit or the
PD9260C 60AMP unit but just flipping the circuit breaker for
each unit. A great backup plan-B idea. I only use one or the other...

The PD9260C in my case got relocated as close to the battery bank
main switch as I could get it and still be inside my trailer. I used
4AWG cables running from the WF8945 to one side of the DUAL CONNECTOR
of the DPD9260C. Then I continued on the battery bank with the other
side of the DUAL CONNECTOR.

This is floorplan diagram showing where the two converters are
installed in my trailer setup... I am currently using the three GP24
batteries verses what is shown in the diagram.


Worked out great for me...

Roy Ken

Be aware the max/hi output of the converter will only be utilized in the early phase of the charging event. In under an hour the charging current should be under 50.

If however there is a large inverter involved then the converter will attempt to satisfy both the battery charge & the inverter draw. That will likely cause the converter to put out max current. So the converter should be wired accordingly.

Our unit sports 4 6VDC interstates & a PD-9260 it is connected to the batteries with 2AWG on 1 set of lugs and 2 400 Watt inverters are connected to the other set of lugs with 6AWG each.

I would redo the inverter wiring if I were to install a 1000/1500 inverter though.

ISTR the 9280 needs a 20a breaker (vs 15a) protected circuit with 12 vs 14 wire for input. So as a replacement for a 55 amp converter, more mods are needed on the input side.

You can keep both converters as another option--could come in handy at times.

Output side wiring depends on distance to battery bank. To get 80 amps (most seem to do a bit under that with PD design) you will want at least shorter #4 AWG. A forum member, Fisherguy, reported on his 9280 installation a couple years ago and got decent charging with 7 ft of #4 ISTR

Your choice how to do the battery bank to keep wiring to a minimum. You can discharge and recharge the two 6s and the two 12s as a bank of four together while camping, but to recharge them fully at home, you will need to separate the 6s and 12s for the last bit of charging to 100% for their different charging specs. So arrange for an easy disconnect in their connecting links.

You can exploit the twin DC output terminals a number of ways. One thing is you can mount the 80 amper next to your inverter, link them with short wire, and run one set of fat wire from them to the battery bank. (vs two sets of fat wire to the battery bank)

When I went from a Magnetek 7345 to a PD9260 I increased the wire size from #8 to #4, partly to lessen the voltage drop but also because the new converter is capable of 60A charging current.

With your battery bank you could be seeing 80A charging current and #6 wire will have a substantial voltage drop, depending on the length of the wire. I would increase the wire to #4, or more. I don't recommend parallel #6 wires since if one comes loose or breaks all the current flows thru one wire which may be overloaded.

As an aside, it is not recommended to have batteries of different types in parallel.