WFCO WF8955 complete garbage?

rbpru wrote:
Yup, as mentioned the reason for the WFCO charger is the same reason they do not use military grade bullet resistant tires, shock absorbers, high strength axels, disc brakes, four season insulation etc. etc. The market will not pay for them nor in most cases do they need them.

Those few that do indeed need these features, usually only need them after they have developed that need through their evolving camping style.

It is nice to know that the options are available when you decide which of them you need but there is no use paying for something you do not need.

The ORV Black Rock series does have 4 season insulation, shocks, off-road frame & axles, etc. But it also has this forum proclaimed evil WFCO WF8955PEC.

I'm really getting confused by this discussion as I can't tell if the "problems " are due to the charge controller quality, or due to manufacturer stupidity, or due to forum talk that disproportionately focuses on a few failures.

As an experiment I wired a near dead group 24 battery to the buss bar, less than 2 feet of cable. It never went into bulk mode, and it didn't give out much more than the 11 amps it gave out with the stock install which is about 20 feet of #6. Maybe my unit was defective, but I am not the only one that no matter how hard we tried it never went into like a bulk mode. If you are getting 65 amps, out of a 55 amp unit, then you are doing very well and treasure that unit but most people don't want to go to the effort like you did with making a box and moving the unit around to compensate for a bad design and they may not duplicate your results.

Glancing through your link you must have a large battery bank, 400 plus ah, how large and what type of batteries?

I guess I would agree with most of the posts when my 8955 was installed in its original location, about 25 wire feet from the batteries and wired with 8 gage wire. I moved it about three feet from the batteries and tied it into the 1/0 battery cables. It now goes into boost (14.4V) and puts out 65 amps. Link

For those that think it doesn't go to float, it does. But only after 48 hours of no power usage. If you are using the system at all it will remain at 13.7V. If in actual storage it will eventually go down to 13.2.

RobWNY wrote:
There has to be a huge profit margin for them.

Of course. Warren Buffet didn't invest in Forest River 'cause he enjoys seeing folks camp, he did it only because it returns a respectable return on his investment. :R

It's like everything else installed in a camper. It works but isn't the best and not very good in many cases. If manufacturers put the best stuff in campers, they would sell very few campers. No one could afford them. Imagine shopping for a camper and seeing the price tag doubled.

It reminds me of when we bought our camper. Small dealership and the owner, who I know personally said to me..."They're all junk. Every last one of them and If you knew how these things were made, you would never sleep in one". That tells you a lot about what manufactures put in them. There has to be a huge profit margin for them.

Yup, as mentioned the reason for the WFCO charger is the same reason they do not use military grade bullet resistant tires, shock absorbers, high strength axels, disc brakes, four season insulation etc. etc. The market will not pay for them nor in most cases do they need them.

Those few that do indeed need these features, usually only need them after they have developed that need through their evolving camping style.

It is nice to know that the options are available when you decide which of them you need but there is no use paying for something you do not need.

totaldla wrote:
Ok, so it sounds like the WF8955 is pretty bad for those boondocking.

Do folks ask the manufacturers to swap them out ahead of time? IE, can you order a trailer with a differdnt converter?

We're talking mass production and you want custom modifications? :R If you want a different converter you'll have to change it yourself or have your dealer do it for you. That won't necessarily solve the issue entirely though as most trailer manufacturers stick the converter wherever it's convenient, regardless of how far the run to the battery location may be, and use lighter than ideal cable gauge, most often 6 gauge. If you're really serious about this you also need to match the battery type and AH rating to the charger as some require higher bulk charging voltages than others, some require temperature compensated charging which most converters don't offer. This isn't simply a matter of picking some converter other than a WFCO and calling it good. :R

Ok, so it sounds like the WF8955 is pretty bad for those boondocking.

Do folks ask the manufacturers to swap them out ahead of time? IE, can you order a trailer with a differdnt converter?

Big Love wrote:
I have two TTs that came with WFCO converters. Neither one could get into 14.4 volts for fast charging of a depleted battery and neither one got into 13.2 trickle charge mode once fully charged. They both only provided 13.6 volts constantly. This is not ideal for battery life and could eventually lead to premature battery failure.

A presumption not borne out by my own experience. My current flooded Interstate G27 will be 9 yrs old in May, has been used on 3 different trailers each of which had a WFCO converter, the first and current being 8955s. We mostly camp on electric sites, only draw down the battery any significant amount on occasion if we happen to lose campsite shore power for one reason or another. The voltage monitor I use always displays in the 13.6 to 13.7 volt range when the converter is powered, never more, never less, yet this battery still maintains a full charge. It wasn't until last fall when I had the opportunity to buy a CTEK portable charger at a great price that I turned the WFCO off and began using the CTEK which does do an honest 14.4 volt bulk charge, a proper absorption charge, and a proper trickle charge. Over the winter I've been using it in the workshop to maintain this battery and fully charged, once surface charge has fully depleted, it's rest voltage consistently sits @ 12.82 volts. Clearly these WFCOs in my case did not lead to "premature battery failure". ;)