converters bad idea?

[Gargamel]

Just curious as to what some of the electrical knowledge people on the site would think of the info in this link....
http://www.amplepower.com/apps/converter/

[64thunderbolt]

I have a Boondocker 4 stage and all is well in my toyhauler with 2 GC2's

[RJsfishin]

BS, it was not a bad idea until there was something better !

But we do know that the junk Mag converters were still installed in new RVs as much as 10 years after the 3 stage conv/chargers were out (as late as 2004) and proven to be fabulous.
Why,...I guess because there were boatloads left over and the RV MFGs could buy them really cheap. And even the single stage 13.8v converters were being sold by CW long after 3 stage converters were out, and advertised as the latest technology. I know a guy bought one to replace his mag in his 2002 MH, only to find out a few months later that the 3 stage had been out for years already, and that he had actually bought a very slow charging converter.

[stevenal]

The link and diagram are a very close match to the OEM Magnetek that came with my camper. Like the author, I was surprised by the very bad idea at play. At work I use stationary DC systems with float chargers that function to keep the batteries charged while supplying DC loads. When the AC source is removed, the DC load is uninterrupted as the battery takes over. With my Magnetek, the loads all blinked as the relay transferred. Further investigation revealed the very large AC ripple present on the DC load bus because the filtering ability of the battery was isolated away on the wrong side of the relay. Add in the lossy power resistor on the output, and I saw good reason to upgrade. Maybe the article is about last century stuff, but a lot of it is still out there. Even in the last century, this was a bad idea.

[wa8yxm]

RJsfishin wrote:
The only place a smart charger outshines, is you don't have to guess at the volts and amps that is going into the batteries.

Depends on the converter: I have two in this RV.. The PDI Intella Power 9180 with wizard, the flashing lamp on the wizard indicates the output voltage by the rate of flash.

The Prosine 2.0 Inverter/converter... Has a lovely 2 line Digital display. Shows DC volts and amps (And direction) and battery temperature
and AC volts and amps (output)

OR I can choose to show just one set of variables

AC input voltage and amps
AC output voltage and amps
Battery (As above)

all at the push of some buttons.. I re-set default to AC/DC normally.

[RJsfishin]

Too bad the ignorant writer dint know that todays converters are no different (except more amps) than todays smart chargers, even hook up the same way.
The only place a smart charger outshines, is you don't have to guess at the volts and amps that is going into the batteries. But as cheap as volt/ammeters are nowdays, it don't matter. I got voltmeters all over the place !

[wa8yxm]

If you read posts by me you will see when it comes to converters I tend to preach a theme

IF you have a magnetek 6300 UPGRADE

If you have a Progressive Dynamics Intellapower 9200 with optional dongle or 9180 with optional Wizard THERE IS NO UPGRADE.

What does that have to do with this thread.

The converter the ignorant ignoramus who wrote that article is the Magnetek 6300 he described it very well, and as I said if you have one UPGRADE.

Modern 3-stage plus converters do not have two different converters and a relay in the box

They have one big converter, and a voltage sensor and a current sensor and some control electronics.

If they sense a low battery they increase their output to rapidly bring the battery up to near full (80-90 percent) During this time charge rate will taper some,, then they switch to a slightly lower voltage to continue to fill up the last few percent,, Still monitoring both voltage and current when they sense the battery full they drop to a "Float" mode, where hopefully NO current flows in the battery. The PLUS part: Some monitor temperature and adjust voltages to make sure they are precisely full, Some will pop in a short "Equalization" charge after a period of time which also seems to improve battery life. Some have other special features, Some combine special features.

But well.. Friend of mine, author of a song or two I've sung, recorded and E-mailed back to her,,, (She likes my voice, I like her lyrics) just got a new phone,, Samsung Galaxy S-5. Today's multi-stage converters are as to that Magnetek the article reviewed, as her phone is to... Well Look up a Military communications device PRC-6. About the same comparison.

[Ron3rd]

kellertx5er wrote:
That diagram looks nothing like how my converter works, and I have a "lousy no-good unreliable piece-of-!@#$%!" WFCO unit.

Funny that five years down the road it still charges the battery and runs the lights, furnace, jacks, slides, refrigerator, vent fans, radio ....

I had a Parallax converter in my old trailer (the brand everybody says is junk and probably is) that worked fine for 10 years until i sold the trailer. Kept it plugged in 24/7 and always charged the batteries just fine. We'll see how my junk WFCO holds up in my new trailer.

[Ron3rd]

That's the dumbest thing I've seen in the last week.

[Gargamel]

same with mine. it's a magnetek 3200 series, which from what I've seen on the internet, it's obsolete and very old. Still works just fine.

[kellertx5er]

That diagram looks nothing like how my converter works, and I have a "lousy no-good unreliable piece-of-!@#$%!" WFCO unit.

Funny that five years down the road it still charges the battery and runs the lights, furnace, jacks, slides, refrigerator, vent fans, radio ....

[Chris_Bryant]

Other than the fact that their explanation of how the old style linear converters work is wrong (or at least a bit misleading), the conclusions are correct. They just are not correct for anything built this century.
Linear converters were designed when the only electronics in an RV were the radio and the battery operated black and white TV (if you were a high roller). They power lights just fine, and did an adequate job with the battery, when the job was to charge overnight to be ready for the next day of travel. It's just that modern units are *far* better at battery management.

[Z71_4x4]

Dutch_12078 wrote:
I'm thinking they don't have a clue about how modern intelligent converters work.

I think they do... on the website: "RV Converter has to be removed and replaced with a Smart Charger".

I've read about a few of the old converters that had some real problems and I almost spent the $$ to replace an antique in my previous toy hauler (okay, not quite antique but it wasn't "smart").

Glad I've got a PD9260 now, and if it ever goes out I'll replace with a PD9280.

[Gargamel]

Lol thanks donno. Apparently I'm too computer stupid to properly post a link. I'm not sure how old the info at this link is. They may be talking about the old non-intelligent converters.

[donn0128]

clicky