Should I Change My WFCO Converter?
Opinions have often been expressed, both on this and other RV forums, that most stock RV converters are inadequate to properly charge and maintain batteries and are often of poor quality. It is frequ...
Forum Discussion
jrnymn7 wrote:
You mustn't confuse the converters role with the charger's role. And the wfco only tanks when charging because of its low Vabs setting. If its Vabs setting was at 14.8v, it wouldn't matter if it never went into boost. In fact, the batteries would determine whether it should be in cc or cv mode.
I agree, keep the wfco and add a charger. But what charger? I think a 55 amp would best suit those two 6's; worse case scenario being you needed to do a 50-90 within a two hour time frame. But 40 ampers are much more readily available, and considerably less money. But they're mostly crap. So, that leaves the VEC. But they're about $150, so there may be some other 40-50 amp options in that price range. I'll look around. Not that I don't like the VEC, I'd just like to see you get some more amps for your money.
Although my understanding and knowledge of electricity is very limited I do understand that a pure converter converts 110 - 120 volt current to 12 volts and do understand what a charger basically does. But most if not all RV converters have a charger as part of the unit also.
For monetary reasons I would like to keep that WFCO for use as a converter and add a charger as you suggest, but have the same difficulty you describe, "But what charger?" So far I have not been able to find one that will output 15.5 volts with amperage of around 55 or more at an affordable price. Megawatt makes one that will do 15.5 and costs only $60 but it's only 38 amps. Since about half of my time camping I'm off the grid and have to recharge with a generator I doubt that anything around 38 volts is adequate, but could well be wrong. I can't find the volts output on the B&D VEC1093DBD on their website, but again it's only a 40 amp charger.
Having never done it I don't know how the combination of a converter and charger works. Would I use the converter when plugged into shore power or have the generator running and periodically turn the converter off and turn on the charger? How are the two units wired?
I've owned two RVs in the past but this is a new area for me. If you can find an adjustable voltage charger that will do 15.5 volts or more and amps over 50 or so, please let me know. I really appreciate your help.
Mike
