Manual Powermax Boondocker
Hows that rascal working out. My buddy wants full controlof charging and I told him about it but he hangs out on FB. Said Randy has them but special order until Apr. Hey its almost Apr and we shoul...
Forum Discussion
Mine still works. I had a thread about its features a while ago but then Randy had a delay so I have been waiting. No point trying to explain something nobody can check out for themselves.
Early this month I did post a few "lessons learned" so far- repeated below:
One thing with the adjustable voltage charger is that to make an adjustment accurately, you have to disconnect from battery so the "converter voltage" is a pure reading.
Once it starts charging, "converter voltage" is something just ahead of battery voltage while both climb, so you don't know what you set the knob at till its gets to that high a voltage and stays there.
I have been thinking, if you were going to hard wire it like a converter (except the top has to be exposed so you can read the little voltmeter on top while working the knob) that you could do a bench test mod with a marker before installing it.
Mark on the top casing around the knob (it has a pointer on it) with little marks and write some voltages like 13, 13.5, 14, 14.5, and 15. Now even when the voltmeter is showing the "impure" voltage with the battery connected, you could set the knob to the converter voltage you want to be the Absorption voltage or Float voltage, whatever the situation
The "PMBC", also says it has a variable voltage option, but the photo does not show any knob on it
http://www.boatandrvaccessories.com/powermax-pmbc-100--12-volt-100-amp-converter-charger-with-cables.html
I am dubious about whether it has those features or not. Randy shows another version of the "showroom charger" It is very confusing. I am hoping that it will all get sorted out and be clear once Randy gets set up. A product manual with some details would be nice!
Mine is a 100amper and seems to be a combination of the regular PM3 and the showroom type. I made up my own cables for using it as a portable.
Mine has the knob, a voltmeter, an on/off switch, and a handle on top. Otherwise, it is the same as a regular 100amper AFAIK.
So we are waiting for Randy to come out with the new thing and some info on it too :)
Here is how I rigged up a strain relief for the heavy cables I used (probably overdid it there, but I had a set of heavy jumper cables doing nothing so I cut off one end and used that. I used the chassis ground lug as the support as shown. I also put some red tape by the pos terminal to help me keep things straight :(
Early this month I did post a few "lessons learned" so far- repeated below:
One thing with the adjustable voltage charger is that to make an adjustment accurately, you have to disconnect from battery so the "converter voltage" is a pure reading.
Once it starts charging, "converter voltage" is something just ahead of battery voltage while both climb, so you don't know what you set the knob at till its gets to that high a voltage and stays there.
I have been thinking, if you were going to hard wire it like a converter (except the top has to be exposed so you can read the little voltmeter on top while working the knob) that you could do a bench test mod with a marker before installing it.
Mark on the top casing around the knob (it has a pointer on it) with little marks and write some voltages like 13, 13.5, 14, 14.5, and 15. Now even when the voltmeter is showing the "impure" voltage with the battery connected, you could set the knob to the converter voltage you want to be the Absorption voltage or Float voltage, whatever the situation
The "PMBC", also says it has a variable voltage option, but the photo does not show any knob on it
http://www.boatandrvaccessories.com/powermax-pmbc-100--12-volt-100-amp-converter-charger-with-cables.html
I am dubious about whether it has those features or not. Randy shows another version of the "showroom charger" It is very confusing. I am hoping that it will all get sorted out and be clear once Randy gets set up. A product manual with some details would be nice!
Mine is a 100amper and seems to be a combination of the regular PM3 and the showroom type. I made up my own cables for using it as a portable.
Mine has the knob, a voltmeter, an on/off switch, and a handle on top. Otherwise, it is the same as a regular 100amper AFAIK.
So we are waiting for Randy to come out with the new thing and some info on it too :)
Here is how I rigged up a strain relief for the heavy cables I used (probably overdid it there, but I had a set of heavy jumper cables doing nothing so I cut off one end and used that. I used the chassis ground lug as the support as shown. I also put some red tape by the pos terminal to help me keep things straight :(
