Are these 12v parallel batteries wired incorrectly?

Any disconnect switch needs to be installed in the path between the panels and the controller. Doing otherwise may let out the magic blue smoke.

The solar turns off each and every night. I believe you are overthinking this.

If you have enough solar wattage then you don't need the wfco to be replaced.

What solar controller do you have? Solar charge controllers tend to be much more sophisticated than converters.

My solar controller has a temperature probe on the battery bank. When I had flooded jars it was rare for me to need to add distilled water. But checking them laying down in the snow was not much fun.

The solar controller allowed me to garner 9 years of service from Walmart Marine batteries. When they did fail I replaced them with used telecom surplus acid AGM units. (no more laying in the snow).

If you plan on a good inverter, many of those have a temperature probe as well. I've seen my charge voltage hit 15.4 (I limit it to no higher than that).

wopachop wrote:
I was disconnecting the solar at the batteries until you guys on here told me thats a mistake and the manual says it too. I didnt know that and was happy to learn.

Always best to disconnect the panels from the controller first. Disconnect controller from the battery second.

At 100F, your spec 14.7v at 77F is now 14.39v and the float 13.6 is now 13.29.

The storage voltage of the converter is 13.2, which would work, but since you are using the camper, it will stay at 13.6, and not drop to storage voltage. Batteries will lose water at least staying at 13.6 at 100F.

IMO, disconnect the solar, disconnect the batts (by removing wire from post, not with the disconnect switch that does not disconnect everything), and spot check the batts with your hydrometer. That will tell you when to recharge them again (solar probably better for that ).

The fewer connections in a circuit the fewer points that can fault. The addition of connections at a point of accelerated corrosion aggravates this formula terribly. If an RV battery has the capability of using an automotive type battery post to clamp squeeze terminal I would use it. There are import auto clamps made from tinned copper that are ideal for this.

Lets set up a hypothetical situation. Pretend youre about to park at a campground for 2 months and be on shore power. Outside summer temps will be 100F and your batteries are stored up on the tongue in regular plastic boxes.

Also the RV has solar but not needed since on shore power.

Should you allow the solar controller to raise voltage every single day? Or would it be better to actually cycle the batteries twice a month?

From what ive learned on the trojan sites is that you dont want months of inactivity and also dont want full time 13.5v. Thats why i was thinking about a disconnect switch on my solor panel positive wire so i can easily turn it off and on even during daylight hours.

I was disconnecting the solar at the batteries until you guys on here told me thats a mistake and the manual says it too. I didnt know that and was happy to learn.

You must have one of these first before you can do anything sensible about your batteries. Not optional---an absolute must have.

https://www.canadiantire.ca/en/pdp/motomaster-battery-hydrometer-0113010p.html

As for charging equipment, you can meet all possible needs with this converter/charger that has adjustable voltage. That means you can do the charging profiles recommended for your batteries no matter what they call for.

You can't do that with an ordinary converter or charger. The user manual (see link) explains how to operate it. You have to fiddle with a small screwdriver and a flashlight to set the voltage pot with a voltmeter attached. No big deal, but it is not a hands off gizmo--you have to be willing to put some time and effort into it. :)

The 60 amp size will do for a pair of 6s and will run on a 2000w gen. Higher amp sizes won't, needing more gen.

https://powermaxconverters.com/product/pm3-12v-series/

Very common for the 'multistage' WFCO to just charge at a fixed 13.6 volt trickle charge. Mostly OK for just plugged in.

I would turn the converter off and just use the solar full time. Actually this is what I have been doing since I installed solar. If solar does not keep up and your battery is sagging close to 12.0 or 12.2 then turn the WFCO on 24 hours for a boost.

There are better converters if you are inclined to spend the money. Well worth it if you expect a fast charge from a generator.

I do want to evaluate my charging. Bought two 6v from costco in Feb. Plan was to invest in a better solar charger before installing on the trailer. I skimmed around the trojan pages and watched their series of videos on youtube. Its the one with the lady who goes over charging and testing.

It left me thinking that for my situation of being on shore power mostly why the heck would i want to charge them everyday? With summer coming i thought about storing the batteries in the garage and manually charging them. Or another plan was use foam board to insulate my battery boxes a bit. Goal is to keep temps down. No need to roast my batteries as they sit there unused.

Now im leaning more towards keeping my original solar controller and hooking up a disconnect switch. A couple times a month i could flip to battery power and drain them down to say 80%. Then flip on the solar for a day or two.

But doing that is not the big powerful amp charge i want for 6v flooded right? I tried to measure my converter yesterday. I turned on lights for about an hour to drain the batteries a little. Was only a 6.5a load.

Then i plugged in the trailer and my wyco (?) converter put out 17amps i think. Somewhere around 14-17a i cant remember now. I had the monitor hooked up and the charger never went to 14+ volts.

Is that because the charger sucks, or because i didnt discharge enough and the charger went more for a float charge?

My solar would show 14.4v every morning. I swear once or twice i saw it show 14.8v. Which i learned is what i want for flooded charge. I do have a manual charger that i could make do an equalization charge if i decide to keep my cheapo solar controller as my main charge source.

Below is a graph. Yesterday i charged the 6v using a harbor freight charger in the garage. THe second part of the graph is my 12v batteries being charged by the converter.

That is a lot of spaghetti.
You are ok but it would help to move your ground coming from the rig to the negative terminal on the other battery.