How Best To Charge My Battery

[xzyHollyxyz]

I have a single group 27 battery.
I have a Honda eu1000i generator.
My trailer came with a parallax 7155 converter.
I want to upgrade to a Progressive Dynamics PD9260CV converter.

Will making that upgrade be a more efficient way to charge my single battery? Or is the parallax 7155 good enough? Or option #3, would it be quicker/more efficient to hook the generator directly to the battery?

Early next year, i plan on doing a lot of boondocking.

Thanks for your help.

Regards,
Michelle

[Unyalli]

RJsfishin wrote:
For about the same money, why would you choose a battery charger over a 4 stage converter that is designed to do this job ? A converter is designed,....filtered, etc, for staying inline all the time, a batt charger is not.

Again agreed. I'm thinking about the Progressive Dynamics PD9245C with built in charge wizard.

I believe I would need to monitor a full charge cycle with the Trimetric then set P1, P2, and P3 accordingly then set the solar controller voltages to match so the Trimetric won't get confused.

Jeff

[RJsfishin]

Unyalli wrote:

RJsfishin wrote:
Yes, a converter is nothing more than a glorified battery charger, and hook up is exactly the same.

Agreeing with you. On this subject would it be better to disconnect the built in converter/charger and install a quality battery charger close to the battery?

In my Rockwood the WFCO 8955 power center is located around 15 to 20 foot of 10 gauge wire from my batteries. Disconnecting the built in converter would not remove power from the distribution panel would it? If not I would rather get a good adjustable 3 or 4 stage battery charger and mount it close to the batteries with 6 or 4 gauge wire. What say you?

Jeff

For about the same money, why would you choose a battery charger over a 4 stage converter that is designed to do this job ? A converter is designed,....filtered, etc, for staying inline all the time, a batt charger is not.

[RJsfishin]

BFL13 wrote:
You are allowed to have two. Just install the new one up front and leave the old one as is. Let them run at the same time. The new one will do all the work anyway, with its higher voltage. You could also unplug the 120v cord on the old one so it won't run, but leave its DC wiring alone

I disconnected the AC from my 7345, and installed a wall socket there so I didn't have to cut the cord off the new PD. I could have installed a cord on the 7345 and plugged it back in there too, but I'd rather just have the old converter out of the picture.

[BFL13]

You are allowed to have two. Just install the new one up front and leave the old one as is. Let them run at the same time. The new one will do all the work anyway, with its higher voltage. You could also unplug the 120v cord on the old one so it won't run, but leave its DC wiring alone

[Unyalli]

RJsfishin wrote:
Yes, a converter is nothing more than a glorified battery charger, and hook up is exactly the same.

Agreeing with you. On this subject would it be better to disconnect the built in converter/charger and install a quality battery charger close to the battery?

In my Rockwood the WFCO 8955 power center is located around 15 to 20 foot of 10 gauge wire from my batteries. Disconnecting the built in converter would not remove power from the distribution panel would it? If not I would rather get a good adjustable 3 or 4 stage battery charger and mount it close to the batteries with 6 or 4 gauge wire. What say you?

Jeff

[RJsfishin]

Keep in mind that the PD 9245 is a stand alone deck mount converter charger.
To install it, you will need 3 things,....

1) a place to put it, near the old conv, or the batteries

2) an ac wall plug nearby to plug it into (ext cord ok)

3) Connect the DC output pos & neg either to the battery, or the 12v distribution panel, where the old converter is connected to. (use 6 - 8 ga wire.

Yes, a converter is nothing more than a glorified battery charger, and hook up is exactly the same.

[BFL13]

Our 7355 is under the fridge and up front even with the fridge door. There are acres of room behind it farther back under the fridge, so a deck mount anything could go there as long as you didn't insist on using the old 7355 converter's steel box to hold the new converter. Just nail the new one to the floor and pass the wires up to the DC panel.

[time2roll]

9245 is a bit larger than the 9260. Not sure if it will fit in the slot. Deck mount behind is fine if needed.

[RJsfishin]

Your old converter is probably built into the bottom part of the electrical panel. I doubt the 9245 will fit in there. If you have room alongside somewhere, no problem, just connect the pos & neg cables. If you don't have room for the 9245 stand alone model, you will need to get the same converter in a different model # designed for installing in the bottom of the electric panel.

[Matt_Colie]

Mitch,

You seem to be literate and have an IQ over 80...
What makes you think that the guy who is going to actually do the installation will meet that same criteria??

Get the PD9245 in the house. Open the box and read the instructions. If then you can't figure it out (I doubt that) then look for some assistance.

Installation basically goes like this....
Locate the AC power - shut it off
Disconnect the AC power leads but mark or remember where they go. (It may just be plugged it..)
Disconnect everything (every single thing) from one of the battery posts. It doesn't even matter which one.
Remove the red and black cables from the old converter.
Remove the old converter.
Put the new PD 9245 in its place and connect the pendent. Put the end of the pendent where you can see it.
Connect the red and black cables to the red and black terminals on the new PD.
Put the cables back on the battery carefully. You may get a little spark out of one, but that is to be expected. The pendent should start flashing. This is normal.
Connect the AC power to the PD.
Power up the new converter.
The pendent will change its flashing.
Now, get a cold one and read over the part you read before about what the different flashes mean.
Along the way, get a 1 pint bottle of distilled water to make up what the battery looses.

I have a PD9245 on 2ea GC2s in series (Duh) and I don't add a pint of water in a season on serious camping.

Matt

[BFL13]

Just in case you are a likely target for those selling solar "kits" for outrageous prices because you are not a DIY person, DON'T buy one!!!

Your best bet next year boon-docking with "some solar" is to use a portable panel. Carry it on the bed when on the road and set it out when there. BUT all you need is a "real" panel and a cheap controller for it, and a set of jumper cables for wiring and a couple of DIY #8 pigtails (yes you can!)

Eg a "real" 130w 12v panel that will do great for your situation should be about $150 or less and the controller under $50. Jumper cables (I use a long set which is 30ft of #1 AWG aluminum copper got it on sale for about $35.) so call it $250 for the whole thing. Some places want more than that for a lousy 40w solar job !!! No reason to be one of their victims 😞

But if you have been reading here, you already knew that! 🙂

[xzyHollyxyz]

BFL13 wrote:
Read this and then decide:
http://home.earthlink.net/~whemme/

LOLOL - I believe I'll be having my dealer do the install!! I don't even know what some of those things are...and I certainly don't need to electrocute myself - who'd be there to love on the pooch?

Widowhood sucks.

[BFL13]

Read this and then decide:
http://home.earthlink.net/~whemme/

[xzyHollyxyz]

OP HERE: I just ordered the 9245 and the remote pendant. I'm even going to give it a try at installation myself.

Disconnect the battery and take lots of BEFORE pictures?

Oh, HECK - I just remembered I did not measure the current "box" in the trailer!!! Will it fit, or should I cancel the order (Amazon)??...

DANG.

[mena661]

MEXICOWANDERER wrote:
ARE THERE ANY so-called smart chargers around that are plug-and-play?

None of the converters will. I've tried three different one's (borrowed WFCO 55 amp cause mine wouldn't boost, Paramode 55 amp that actually did 58 amps and IOTA 55 amp that does 53 amps). All required supplemental charging using another unit. They do get close though, close enough to make you think batteries are fully charged and the IOTA and PD's occasional stirring probably removes some sulfation or eventually charges close to full while removing some sulfation. At least that's my theory. I do enjoy the IOTA's occasional 15 minute, 14.7V stirring. It saves me having to do it manually. Maybe some of the higher end programmable inverter/chargers can get there. Don't know. I don't own one to test one out.