Problems with Boondocker 60 amp converter

Landyacht, we are talking apples and can openers. First of all no Meanwell 500 on the face of the earth is going to cost $120, never mind half of that which is the Megawatt. I've had the 400 Megawatt at 46-amps for (I believe) 5+ hours on a solar voltaic battery bank (8, 8-D batteries) and it never burped. now that both are ensconced in the BORG, I had it connected to a Peterbilt last Saturday that has 8 Group 31 batteries and the charger sat at 94 amperes as indicated by both ammeters and the timer shut-off after 4 hours.

Sorry, no magic smoke. If I want power, I have the 400-amp Belden 24-volt, which I have had tweaked for 455-amps numerous times.

Your purported contest between a Meanwell RSVP 500, and sixty dollar Megawatt has me perplexed. I thought the subject was about chargers used to SUPPLEMENT what "Smart" Chargers could not do when used with a boondocking generator. When the smart charger puts on it's Dunce Hat the power supply takes over and finishes the job.

Some reading-comprehension challenged, interpret this as my recommending a power supply over a smart charger. Nothing can be further from reality. They also chortle and say the power supplies are battery fryers or boilers. Jeezo never let them in the kitchen! Your steak will coming out looking like a charcoal briquet, and pasta a quivering glop of stickem.

So keep your RSVP. it's way out of my price league. No, I didn't even know (or care) the RSVP (yes it's a joke) existed. If I want RAW POWER, I connect the BORG and tandem 90+ amps. Or split them voltage and time wise and have the PERFECT 2-stage charger for my AGM, or dial it back and have almost a thousand watts of 10.8 volt power for LED's, or anything else.

In a ------g match, let's fire up the Belden and Lombardini, Quicksilver, the Trace and my military 120 amp power supply. 450+385+400+120(trace), and 120 military chargers. 1,355 amps at 24 volts, power = 2,710 ampere at 12 volts. This does not include the BORG or eight other power supplies of mine.

Big deal, this helps no one but me. The object is to try and help folks who have problems fully charging batteries with a smart charger. My choice value wise remains the Mega. With a 22-dollar DROK 600-watt booster, 10-amps EXACTLY or five, or any other ultra-precise AMPERAGE at 16.00 volts can be used to equalize anything up to a pair of golf car batteries. No smart charger on the face of the earth can do this.

liborko wrote:
A good quality charger:

Truecharge 40A

TrueCharge 40A

Only issue might have with these is that I understand the fan runs continuous.

This is not about bragging. It is simply about letting people know there is better way to charge batteries and better way to spend money.

"Seems to me that members of this "Battery frying club" just want to discuss and argue all the junk converter/chargers on the market instead of investing in really good chargers"


Such as my Belden? it's only worth $21,000 at today's prices.

Like I wrote earlier, some people can screw up a solid steel ball with a feather duster. For them, an automatic-undercharger is a no-brainer. guaranteed to not come anywhere close to fully charging a battery when generator charging never mind 'frying' them. Wotta hoot.

I've owned many vehicles that cranked for less than three seconds, even when first starting the engine in the morning. The engine was operated long enough to replenish the power extracted, the alternator provided plenty of amperage to allow for -never- using the battery even in traffic. When no air-conditioner is used, temperatures remain incredibly moderate (0c to 25c), a good quality battery can last decades. Before nearly-new 130 dollar Energizer Maxx decomposed, my Tode had the original factory battery, for 12-years and new cars are not noted for being equipped with top of the line batteries. The car also had factory tires, had factory Champion Spark plugs until last year (TWENTY YEARS) and still has the original radiator hoses and heater hoses.

Big Deal. This is utterly useless bragging. In Igloo Falls, Minnesota, or Chandler Arizona, the car would have been lucky to go four years on these parts. Bitter cold -operations- are hard on batteries while scorching hot conditions are murder incorporated. So comparisons and especially bragging, are futile.

A good quality charger:

Truecharge 40A

TrueCharge 40A

A good programmable charger is in the 500$ range.

I have 40 amps available for 127$+8$ for the 10 turn potentiometer, delivered, at any voltage I choose with a MeanWell, and changing the voltage is easy as twisting a dial, it does not require a computer or pressing a series of buttons a dozen times.

The big 3 converters are in the 150 to 200$ range, so stepping upto a 500$ programmable charger is a big step, especially when one is trying to convince themselves that their group29 wally world battery is 'just fine' in deep cycle service and makes them all the wiser for having saved a few bucks on the cheapest battery they could find. Such a person is never going to spend 500$ on a 40 amp 3 stage charger when they can get 60 amp in a 3/4 stage converter/charger for 170$. Such a person is also unlikely to admit their battery's capacity was compromised early to a point it effectively limited their electrical consumption. Much better to just keep whispering 'just fine, it will be just fine' in a soothing voice and then make claims of 8 to 12 year battery life whilst actually returning batteries under warranty every year.

What one is willing to spend on battery recharging is a huge factor. No way in Heck would I spend 500$ on 40 amps when I can have them for 130$, and total control over the charge profile for different batteries different temperatures, and different times in which I have to attain full charge..

And as far a battery longevity claims on the internet, they are as worthless as MPG claims on the internet. Certainly Not everybody's claimed are fudged and have 50% added to them, but that will not stop the occasional person from proclaiming their greatness and wiseness implying any other route chosen reveals only a mouth breathing knuckle dragger worthy of all the contempt they can muster when sitting behind their keyboard.

The Op of this thread has chosen a manual adjustable voltage charger to replace an improperly functioning 'automatic' 3 stage charger, why does this so offend the set it and forget it 3/4 stage chest thumping crowd?

OP, The adjustable voltage Powermax's are nice because they have the potentiometer already installed. They do not require the jewelers screwdriver and a light touch of a AV powersupply, or requires disassemble to remove the tiny V trim pot and replace it with wires to a 10 turn finger twist potentiometer.

Also at 75 amps, the PMs are power factor corrected, meaning they use less AC juice than a same amperage charger that is Not PF corrected.

I'd have no qualms about an adjustable voltage powermax over a Meanwell or Megawatt. In my particular RV, I enjoy the significantly smaller size of the MeaNwell, even with my added fans and heatsinks.

LOL every time I read these 7 miles long treads about battery charging.
Seems to me that members of this "Battery frying club" just want to discuss and argue all the junk converter/chargers on the market instead of investing in really good chargers made by Xantrex. Xantrex (former Statpower) figured out three stage automatic charging in eighties. Compare that with all of these newcomers I never heard of (and I sport white hair).
In 2015 I replaced 14 years old original starting battery. Not because it was dead but because I was embarrassed driving around with 14 years old battery. Charged and maintained by Xantrex Prosine 2.0. For all my other charging I use Xantrex TrueCharge 40+.
If you want a true plug-and-forget charging, get rid of junk and replace with Xantrex charger or inverter charger. 10 years ago I paid $220 for one gel cell 6V battery and I have four of them. What is $500 for a quality charger compared to that?

DieselBurps wrote:
Would the adjustable voltage 75 amp Powermax charges accomplish the same thing as Megawatt or Meanwell? They are a little more pricey but as far as I can tell do the same thing but would put more amps in back into the batteries and faster.

You are welcome to buy one, test it thoroughly, find out, and report back to us if it does or doesn't.

I won't make blanket statements about brands of power supply units, or whether a MegaWatt or a Meanwell is better. I was probably the first one here to buy the MegaWatt and report, albeit not scientifically, that it flat out just works. It top charged my T-1275. I had an old school battery charger from Sears that I used to equalize charge my T-1275, so being limited to 15.56 or 15.6V was not a problem, for me, in my case.

I have since switched to a 150AH surplus Telecom AGM battery, that I got for a great price, so now 14.4V is the maximum voltage required for my current electrical needs. The MegaWatt does fine for this. It has not once even hinted of smelling funny or getting that dangerous blue smoke aroma that signals death is imminent. It just works as designed.

Pay your money, take your pick, if you have 6V batteries, set at 14.8v, perhaps a little higher if it's cold out, and a little lower if really hot out, say over 85 or 90F. Run them until your RC watt meter decreases the amperage take rate to about 1/15th to 1/20th the ampere hour output of your batteries. Then go top charge with solar panels. If you have 210 amp hours of battery at 12V, if your MegaWatt is charging at 14.8V and 10-14 amps of output, time to shut the generator off. It's done bulk charging, it's in a state of slow charging to top charge, no need to waste a bunch of gasoline to get so little an amount of results getting the battery top charged, let solar do the slow work.

Would the adjustable voltage 75 amp Powermax charges accomplish the same thing as Megawatt or Meanwell? They are a little more pricey but as far as I can tell do the same thing but would put more amps in back into the batteries and faster.

DieselBurps wrote:
Thanks landyacht318,

Can I leave the meanwell connected to the batteries? So all I have to do is plug into genny and start charging?

I think I am going with the meanwell rsp 750-15

I do not leave my Meanwell rsp-500-15 Hooked to the battery when not in use. I do however disconnect from 115vAC without first unhooking the meanwell. If the AC source is lost, something makes a click in side the unit, I assume the overvoltage protections. It clicks again when plugged back in and outputs everything it can until the preset voltage is neared.

As I have the GTpower watt meter hooked to the DC output, and the Additional fans, whenever it is plugged in, the fans run and the wattmeter display is lit up.

I use 45 amp anderson powerpoles.

If you get the Meanwell rsp=750-15 I'd recommend stepping up to a 75 amp Anderson powerpole at the minimum, or use a lever type 75 amp circuit breaker to open the circuit when not in use:

http://www.amazon.com/Philmore-Connect-Disconnect-Connectors-49-340/dp/B0104MVK4S/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1455419825&sr=8-2&keywords=75+amp+anderson+power+pole

http://www.amazon.com/Cooper-Bussmann-CB185-80-High-Amp-Breaker/dp/B001PTBVLW/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1455420090&sr=8-1&keywords=80+amp+circuit+breaker+bussman

As far as the MEanwell Vs the Megawatt, we need to know what we are comparing.

I have not held a megawatt in my hands. Neither have i held a Meanwell SE-350-15 in my hands. This se-350-15, 350 watt Meanwell Has constant current limiting on Overload, which is a necessity when charging depleted batteries. Constant current limiting on overload keeps the magic smoke inside. It also prevents the unit rolling back current for self protection, and it is better than those power supplies that shut off until overload is removed.

It most closely resembles the Megawatt in appearance. If Mex is comparing this Meanwell Se-350-15 to the Megawatt, then the Megawatt might very well be heavier, built better and superior. But if he is comparing the Megawatt to the RSP series and declaring the Megawatt superior, Well I call BS on that, as as far as I know he has never even seen and RSp series, much less tested one or weighed one, and as an avowed 'cheapest bastard on the planet', he will always find the lesser $$ of two products more appealing on paper, until proven otherwise..

The MEgawatt part numbers are s-350-12 or s-400-12 so there is apparently confusion as to who makes what with Meanwell part numbers being so similar with an SE-350-15 as an option

The only other Meanwell power supplies useful for 12v battery charging are the HEP series, and the RSP series.

My RSP-500-15 is good for 40 amps at any voltage between 13.12v and 19.23v, My wattmeter regularly displaying over 600 watts output on a power supply rated for 500 watts.

I assume the rsp-750 would be able to output 60 amps maxed out, but I have not held one of those in my grubby paws either

As far as max voltage, well 15.3v to 15.5v is not the same as 16 volts. I could not get the screwy 31 to respond to a 15.3v, or a 15.5v or even a 15.7v EQ charge, but 16 volts that SG finally started climbing and ultimately with regular 16v eq charges every 14 to 18 deep cycles, that battery was cycled hard, recharged hard, often and back to back, and recharged both at high alternator/Meanwell rates as well as slow solar only rates, to high voltages and achieved nearly 500 cycles before removal from rv.

It still is being cycled. But shallower, less often, and has not shorted a cell yet. I got 47 AH from it the last discharge and voltage levelled of at 11.87 after resting for a day.

Mex often refers to his power supplies as being top chargers, to hold absorption voltage when generator running to get past the 80% charge rate at which many converters/chargers decide to drop voltage and thus charge rate.

I do not use a generator, but I do use my Meanwell as a 40 amp bulk charger, an absorption charger, an Equalization charger, and a float charger, and a portable charger. I use it to hold 13.6 to 13.8 volts on my AGM battery while I continue to use as much DC power as I want while it holds the battery at the voltage I have chosen.
It can do it all. I can unthread 3 short screws attach some alligator clamps, and put it on my neighbors batteries, count how many amp hours it took before amps tapered to 2% at 14.4v and make a judgement as to health and state of charge when I put the charger on it. I don't bother with specific gravity readings on their batteries unless they want to know more or display suspiciousness as to my claims. But often their confused look is nothing more than an abject ignorance of battery charging and Lead acid battery maintenance

Automatic, NO, wind up timer, not that either, pages of colorful marketing proclaiming its battery charging prowess, well my Meanwell falls short there too. But I will put its 40 amps up against any 50 or 55 amp charger in an otherwise equal test, and will put money on my Meanwell getting the specific gravity maxed out first, and then being able to float the battery at the ideal voltage for the temperature.

As far as my RSP-500-15 vs the 40 amp mEgawatt, I don't know. Ninerbikes reported amps tapering on his megawatt s-350-12 while battery voltage had not yet approached Absorption voltage on his previous T-1275 battery. This Might indicate foldback type current limiting rather than constant current limiting of the MeanWell SE/RSP/HEP series power supplies or perhaps it was just voltage drop on the DC output, in combination with a sulfated abused battery.

So I am trying not to be biased for the Meanwell and it's obvious inherent superiority, but failing.

If the 40 amp megawatt is superior to my Meanwell RSp=500-15, well I say prove it. I've got the tools and desire to test and measure and report my results, and have done so multiple times.

How's that Borg charger progress report coming Mex? Has it actually charged a battery yet?

--<>__
Cough cough.

I've also got hundreds and hundreds of hours of the MEanwell plugged in and floating since I got it.
Right now it is making 6.73 amps holding my Northstar AGM battery at 13.7 at 62.4 degrees F, while powering this laptop, Tv, lights and my compressor fridge.