WFCO Converter Longevity

Advice: Until it breaks,,, DO NOT FIX IT.

When it breakes Progressive Dynamics 4600 may drop in repalce the WFCO electronics (the parts that go bad) allowing you to use the same power center breaker and fuse section.

or you can go whole-Progressive Dynamics... My coach builder did.. I have a Progressive Dynamics Breaker box, and a Fuse panel (Different box) and a Converter (Yet another box) in the strangest place they could put it (Not Progressive Dynamic's fault)

The fuse block has LED's to let me know what fuse I just blew.

You can connect Hoover Dam to a flashlight battery and as long as the VOLTAGE is regulated you are going to have a happy battery.

Lots of confusion about voltage and amperage here on this forum. I try my best to add a paragraph so as to try to keep things clearer when responding.

VOLTAGE CONTROL is MORE crucial that amperage capability. "More" has a definition.

The water analogy works here

PRESSURE is voltage

GALLONS per hour is amperage.

An RV water system would not like 200 PSI.

An RV water tank would not like to be filled at a rate of 500 gallons a minute.

"BOOST" Which idiot came up with that buzzword?

joeshmoe wrote:
I've been reading that these things are pretty much junk, don't last long. How long can I expect to get out of it? What should I upgrade to? For the time being, I'm thinking hooking up a battery tender directly to the battery. Suggestions?

How long? Maybe 1 day or 1 year. They fail so much, I would NEVER have one in my RV. If I had one in my RV, I would remove it and install a stand alone PD or other brand Converter regardless if the WFCO is built in to the power center or stand alone. I cannot trust a WFCO product. Doug

I primarily use solar to charge and maintain my batteries now. Over the last couple years I've noticed that my WFCO is very slow to get going, as in it takes 10 to 15 minutes before it even starts charging after I energize it. Once it's going, it's fine (aside from the boost mode challenge).

Based on how the failure works my guess is that the longevity is based mostly on the number of hours the converter is actually powered up. It's a heat related circuit failure and they seem to last at least a few years for most people. This is different from the "doesn't go into boost mode" issue, which is caused by the design of the converter coupled with the battery size and wiring in the RV. This one affects almost all WFCO users from day one.

joeshmoe wrote:
Another thing I'm a little confused about is deep cycle amp. charging. I was under the impression that these deep cycle batteries are not supposed to never get more than 40-45 amps when being charged with the exception of desulfation mode. This WFCO converter supposedly spits out 55 amps. Isn't that going to eventually fry my batts?

I have two, less than 1 year old, 6V's and I'm beginning to wonder if the WFCO isn't doing it's job. I'm pretty religious about keeping them maintained with water and charged up at all times, and don't discharge them beyond 50% when I do use them. Yesterday, I checked them at rest, they were at 12.5
The best I've seen while on the converter is 13.6. My truck charge line keeps them at no less than 14.2-14.5. What gives?

you found the weak link in the WFCO, the failure to go into bulk mode One, it makes it hard to get a quick charge, Two, without going to 14.5V+ you will never get the batteries fully charged, leading to possible sulfation issues and short batttery life.

Max charging current isn't likely to be an issue, I've hit a pair with 65A for 10 years and they still were going strong

Moved to Tech Forum.

Wayne
Moderator

I have had my Iota DLS-55 (55 Amp Power Converter) for many years. I also have the IQ4 Smart Controller 12/24 Volt. It replaced my WFCO. My battery is a UB121000 100 AH Deep Cycle (Universal). I leave my Iota connected to shore power when in storage, so that puts me well over eight years of contentious running. I also have 130 watts of solar. I have never performed any maintenance on any part of my system.

Wayne

Another thing I'm a little confused about is deep cycle amp. charging. I was under the impression that these deep cycle batteries are not supposed to never get more than 40-45 amps when being charged with the exception of desulfation mode. This WFCO converter supposedly spits out 55 amps. Isn't that going to eventually fry my batts?

I have two, less than 1 year old, 6V's and I'm beginning to wonder if the WFCO isn't doing it's job. I'm pretty religious about keeping them maintained with water and charged up at all times, and don't discharge them beyond 50% when I do use them. Yesterday, I checked them at rest, they were at 12.5
The best I've seen while on the converter is 13.6. My truck charge line keeps them at no less than 14.2-14.5. What gives?

If you mostly plug in to charge, a 45 amp Powermax Boondocker.
If charging from a generator then Progressive Dynamics or IOTA.

Battery Tender brand is fine for plugged in. Get the 5 amp model.