So... turns out my girlfriend and I are going to be living in my van for the summer in her dads yard:h We're renting out the house. Needless to say I'm doing everything in my power to avoid using his house:R Beyond an extension cord anyway..... I built the van a few years back and it was designed to live pretty far off the grid for a trip i took up to AK and down into central America. Im about to be getting her ready for the summer and Ive got a few questions. My lifecycle 6v 300ah batteries are charged by a small solar bank and a 40amp charger that comes off the alternator. This might be a dumb question but ive never dealt with using a converter. Is it possible to plug a 40 amp PD converter charger up to a standard 110v household outlet? I mean i know there are 50 amp and 30 amp hookups and cords but im pretty sure they are for 220v right? Either way im planning to just run an extension cord to the charger and then of course the charger to the batts but figured i should probably make sure its doable before i go ahead and get a charger.Second question..... for now;) When i built the van i wanted to run the stereo off the aux batteries for obvious reasons, dont want to kill the starter batt. while i jam out to awesome music, but i dont think my electrical system has enough power to run the 4 6x9 speakers because the stereo shuts down when i turn it up too high. Is it possible to hook up a switch so i could choose to use the aux batts when im parked and the starting batt when the van is running? Or maybe the 4 6x9 speakers are just too much for the stereo to power and thats why its shutting down... in which case can deep cycle batteries this size power a stereo amp?Thanks mucho for the help, enjoy the ride neighbors

Yes the PD will work fine on regular 120v house plug (NEMA 5-15)30a RV is 120v. 50a RV is standard 240/120 service.I think it is a stereo/amp issue not battery power. Battery will easily give a burst of 1000 watts.If you will be parked for an extended period consider a trik-l-start combiner to also keep the chassis battery charged.Good luck on the adventure. ;)

Hi,My 40 amp PD converter draws a maximum of 723 watts, running "flat out". It prefers the voltage stay above 105. If it is going to be a long extension cord use #12 or even #10 wire.How big is the inverter in the van?

pianotuna wrote:Hi,How big is the inverter in the van? I only have the tiny pocket style inverters, i barely use anything 120v

The converter may keep the voltage high enough on the batteries not to cut out at higher load.30 amp is just a plain old 120v connecting with more amps. 50 amp is 2 different 120s.Jim

Electrical Questions | Good Sam Community

pianotuna
Nomad III
Jul 27, 2013
Hi Tress,

PD with or without Wizard?

With AGM it is best to contact the maker and ask for specific charging instructions.

How much did you pay? (nosy Parker am I)

Tress wrote:
Is it ok to charge agm batteries with this pd chsrger?
Tress
Explorer
Jul 27, 2013
Is it ok to charge agm batteries with this pd chsrger?
Tress
Explorer
Jul 16, 2013
Well ive eaten the bullet, went ahead and ordered 2 new lifeline 300ah 6v's, found a great price on ebay and couldnt pass it up. I figure one way or the other im going to need to get some new batts. Still need to get clear on the entire system but im confident i can at least get the converter charger doing its job and at least for now everything will function for the time being. Ill spend some time this summer getting the charger controller and rest of stuff figured out. Still need advice on my setup so if anyone here can help i really appreciate any suggestions. Either way thanks a lot everyone!!
LittleBill
Explorer
Jul 15, 2013
you need to measure the voltage per battery then total

but if the batterys are at 1 and 2v, they are pretty much toast
Tress
Explorer
Jul 15, 2013
Ohh and just so im clear on this... do i have the connections style right for 6v batts? THey do want to be in series right? And that does mean pos to neg and pos to neg and use one pole from each battery to connect the load?? Is grounding multiple things to one pole an issue? How about multiple terminals on the pos of the batt? I swear i have it all wired up really cleanly but idk perhaps im missing something, i mean besides the possbility that my batts could be dead. Does anyone know anything about these pro mariner charge controllers?
Tress
Explorer
Jul 15, 2013
Hmmmm.... Tempting! DO they work like they say they do???? And are there any recomended models..... Im not seing any for 6v batts either??? Thanks either way though that sounds like it could be worth a shot!
Tress
Explorer
Jul 15, 2013
pianotuna wrote:
Hi Tress,

You might try one of the "pulse" desulfator chargers.

Yes i might:) WHat exactly are they??? I spose ill go google it
pianotuna
Nomad III
Jul 15, 2013
Hi Tress,

You might try one of the "pulse" desulfator chargers.
Tress
Explorer
Jul 15, 2013
i couldn't say for sure but if i had to try i would say around a volt or two, possibly even less, but not sure about the amps part. AM still a little foggy on how to measure that. Besides my Battery monitor. But it sounds like i must have killed them because i would have to say they probably did sit deeply discharged for a long time, even though they didnt have a charge on them.....

So assuming they are dead any suggestions? I suppose i might just bite the bullet and get the same ones again..... they are sweet batts as long as i take care of them. But are there any comparable options that might be a little cheaper?
wolfe10
Explorer
Jul 15, 2013
Tress,

The operative thing here is "batteries sat idle for 3 years".

If they were allowed to deeply discharge and stayed for along period in a deeply discharged state, the is the death of virtually all batteries.

Important: What was the battery voltage when you got them out of storage? That will give you a good indication of their ability to "resurrect"

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