Battery Charging

[flyfishing48]

My 5th wheel has a pair of 6 volt batteries and a 3 stage inverter/charger.
If I am boondocking and hook up a generator for and hour or so in the morning, would I be better off pluging in a battery charger to recharge the batteries or just let the 3 stage charger do its thing?

[wa8yxm]

If the 3 stage charge is large enough and if it is working properly then pluggin it in for several hours is the best choice, From half full to full takes 4-6 hours Most of that is the last 10 percent.

[beemerphile1]

flyfishing48 wrote:
I'll provide more info.
I have a WFCO Ultra III Decmount Converter. I haven't looked at the converter yet so I don't know the exact model number....

We don't know the model number either.

First you said inverter/charger and now you are writing about a converter.

You also haven't told us what battery charger you are comparing with.

With the information you have provided there is no way anyone can answer your question. I'm sure you will get lots of guesses though.

Give the brand and model of the two charging devices and we can tell you which is likely to charge faster. That comparison is impossible without solid info.

Kind of like asking which is the faster car, a red one or a green one. :B

[doughere]

mena661 wrote:

mbopp wrote:
Depends on the converter and the wiring between it and the batteries. If it's a WFCO converter you're better off with a separate charger. If you have a Progressive Dynamics or IOTA converter and heavy gauge wiring to the battery, go with the on-board converter.

X2

X3

Some three stage converters are fine, some not so good.

A good converter close to the battery with heavy wire will do a great job; good converter with too much or too small wire between it and the battery won't do a good job due to wiring losses. A good charger (which will be three stage) tied directly to the battery can do a great job.

You need to get 14.4 Volts at the battery at full charge current to do the job.

Doug

[flyfishing48]

I'll provide more info.
I have a WFCO Ultra III Decmount Converter. I haven't looked at the converter yet so I don't know the exact model number. But the manual says that it's output is as follows:

Absorption Mode is 13.6Vdc
Bulk mode is 14.4Vdc
float Mode is 13.2 Vdc

i have no experience with this converter as yet. I will in a few months. My previous fifth wheel had the converter inside the distribution center. This one is a stand alone model and I haven't looked at it yet.

[2oldman]

Use the Ic. Why would you want to use a charger instead?

[byronlj]

I guess the previous posters didn't read your post very well. The 3 stage charger you have built into the inverter will work better than any battery charger. Unless, it doesn't have much output. You didn't say. The bulk charge on mine is 130amps and brings my batteries up to 90% very quickly.

Sorry about my answer bashing others for not reading the op. Now the original poster says he has a converter instead of inverter/charger.
Dave

[time2roll]

You need 40+ amps AND 14.4+ volts on the battery.
Try each and see what you get.

Or post model numbers for best answers.

[mena661]

mbopp wrote:
Depends on the converter and the wiring between it and the batteries. If it's a WFCO converter you're better off with a separate charger. If you have a Progressive Dynamics or IOTA converter and heavy gauge wiring to the battery, go with the on-board converter.

X2

[mbopp]

Depends on the converter and the wiring between it and the batteries. If it's a WFCO converter you're better off with a separate charger. If you have a Progressive Dynamics or IOTA converter and heavy gauge wiring to the battery, go with the on-board converter.