Replace the WFCO with an IOTA w/smart charger

I'm in the same scenario, I left the WFCO, but put breaker to off.
And place the Iota(Whit Smart Charger) as close as possible to battery.
It's plugged via a receptacle close by, but will hardwire it to breaker.
Have yet to decide if using a new breaker or completely disable the wfco and used existing breaker.

I guess I should have said why !!hihi
Because of charging, even if the wfco is "3 stage" the Iota is much better.
It push higher amperage longer, and keep it at a higher voltage which deep cycle is all about.

You do bring up a good point on installing the IOTA as close to the batteries as possible, now I will have to look into this a bit further. I'll check the unit tomorrow and see how much trouble it would be to relocate the converter and breakers closer to the batteries. I was looking to do a swap out and use the existing breakers.
I do agree that the IOTA is a much better and more efficient unit.

Replace the WFCO with the IOTA immediately if not sooner.
If you want a spare get a spare IOTA.

ebay the WFCO.

I have an IOTA-55 mounted in the pass-through and it's a 6' run to the batteries. An AC outlet was already there. The WFCO is on its own breaker and turned off but it's there as a back-up.

The iota will not fit in the wfco space AFAIK.. It has to be mounted behind the converter or separately.

But does your iota have the IQ 4 feature? I dont know if the ones with the 14.2/13.6 phone jack work with the iq4...

Just putting this out there..

I replaced my wfco with the PD unit with charge wizard...

As did I recently. Now I'm happy, and I believe the battery is also.

When I first cut on all power after the "surgical" replacement, the little charge wizard was flashing about every 2-3 seconds. According to PD, this indicated it was charging the last about 10% of battery voltage.

Now, when I go out and look, it's the little light flashes about every 8-9 seconds which means it's not in the maintenance mode. This should be good.

We'll see long term if it's worth the "price of admission".

lawrosa wrote:


I replaced my wfco with the PD unit with charge wizard...

Atlee wrote:
As did I recently. Now I'm happy, and I believe the battery is also.

When I first cut on all power after the "surgical" replacement, the little charge wizard was flashing about every 2-3 seconds. According to PD, this indicated it was charging the last about 10% of battery voltage.

Now, when I go out and look, it's the little light flashes about every 8-9 seconds which means it's not in the maintenance mode. This should be good.

We'll see long term if it's worth the "price of admission".

lawrosa wrote:


I replaced my wfco with the PD unit with charge wizard...

Actually it stays in bulk 14.4 for 4 hours.. Period..either by itself or when you hit the button. Then goes to 13.6 for some 30 hours. then float 13.2.. eq stage 14.4 15 min every 21 hours...

Just be aware the spare IOTA DLS45 you have is a 45AMP 4-stage smart mode unit. Your WFCO is rated at 55AMPS so you are replacing it with a 45AMP unit. If you only have one or two batteries to charge the 45AMP model should be ok...

I like the idea of leaving your WFCO converter/charger in its place and just turn off the 120VAC Breaker for it. Then install the IOTA unit by itself and run a second 120VAC source to it with its own breaker. This way you can still use the WFCO 55AMP model as a backup if needed. Just turn on the 120VAC Breaker to the one you need to use...

This is what I did with my WFCO 8900 series that was using a WF-8945 converter/charger unit. I got the Progressive PD9260C 60AMP Converter/Charger unit and added it stand alone to the dual 12VDC connection closer to my battery bank... The PD9260C has the dual 12VDC output connection so it is in-line now between the WF8945 DC connection and the main battery switch setup...





Roy Ken

mbopp wrote:
I have an IOTA-55 mounted in the pass-through and it's a 6' run to the batteries. An AC outlet was already there. The WFCO is on its own breaker and turned off but it's there as a back-up.

This X2. Leave the WFCO alone and just turn it off, mount the new converter / charger in the front pass through cargo compartment where the run to the battery location is short and voltage drop can be minimized. I've done just this myself with a stand alone CTEK charger. If / when you ever sell your trailer simply remove the newer converter, turn the WFCO back on, and the trailer will be exactly as it originally was.

My own Coachmen has a WFCO 8955 mounted at the far rear of the trailer so even though it's only 22' 6" long the cable run between the converter and the battery has to be at least 25'. My WFCO itself has never achieved a bulk charge voltage of 14.4 volts but that's not entirely the fault of the WFCO alone but also the poor installation by Coachmen using far too much cable of far too small gauge. Simply installing a different converter in the location, even though it may be a better converter, still won't stop excessive voltage drop - mounting it as close to the batteries as possible will.