Upgrade old Magnatek converter or replace?

Please keep in mind....

I can use obsolete or upgraded converters in Mexico. Boost to 36 volts for LED chips.

Civic NON PROFIT WORK

Bus stops/ Cross walks. Children's play areas. Beach lighting.

mexbungalows@gmail.com

It ain't doing any good gathering dust in your garage :)

Lots of great info here. Thanks for all the great replies. It really is great reading and utilizing the wealth of knowledge on the forum.

Be advised that any converter/charger change out over 45 amps, cannot be powered by a 1,000 watt Honda generator, w/o dropping to a lower gear on the wizard for a few minutes. In many cases, a 55 amp will not charge any faster than a 45 amp anyway.

"They comes
and they goes"

Enjoy everyone and everything while you can.

You have to pick and choose on everyone's posts. I like to think I am helpful, but I have had my share of bloopers.

Looking at that old thread. That was 5.5 years ago! Seems like yesterday. Egads, we are all doomed. Oh well. I wonder what happened to Salvo anyway. We had a strange relationship here, where I had to pick and choose carefully whether anything he said applied to me at all.

In this case he was sure my actual real life measurements were bogus, when they weren't. OTOH he was very helpful with such things as getting the voltage drops between points along a "path" to reduce your R between converter and battery. He was right about what to do about my thermistor problem too, against some others' advisories as it turned out in the end. I would say on balance that I got a lot of benefit from his participation here.

Bobbo wrote:

BFL13 wrote:
IMO Bobbo will like his 4455 if he gets the TempAssure module for it.

I would have to drop the enclosed bottom off of my new trailer to run the wire to the batteries. I am not willing to do that to a trailer that I haven't even taken possession of yet. I will be installing the PD4655V as soon as the trailer is delivered. I already have the PD4655V.

It is all about RVing and being comfortable knowing what you have works for you, so Bobbo is right. Use the PD you are comfortable with and trust, and pass the 4455 along to somebody else.

As I was trying to say earlier, you don't have to take your trailer apart. EG, on ours the OEM converter is under the fridge, so if I were to put the Paramode in there, I could just dangle the sensor wire out the fridge side vent to capture ambient temp vs the heated temp inside the rig where the converter goes.

(Does require a small hole in the wood floor -behind the fridge where you can get at it from the outside side vent- the fridge sits on, above the Power Centre compartment underneath)

Even if you leave the temp comp where the converter is you are no worse off except in extreme temps. You still get the extra boost having the TempAssure.

BFL13 wrote:
IMO Bobbo will like his 4455 if he gets the TempAssure module for it.

I would have to drop the enclosed bottom off of my new trailer to run the wire to the batteries. I am not willing to do that to a trailer that I haven't even taken possession of yet. I will be installing the PD4655V as soon as the trailer is delivered. I already have the PD4655V.

time2roll wrote:
Parallax TempAssure adjusted voltages are a bit low in all conditions for expecting a fast charge from a generator. Voltage sag is also poor at full load. Fine if mostly plugged in. Otherwise PD and IOTA are better with no compensation.
JMHO

Despite the voltage being in the low 14s, the Paramode does quite well as seen in my ugly graph here (scroll down) I did have to fatten the DC wires to get full amps 60.x (rated 55) AND it held constant amps properly, which a PD fails to do --but that does not bother some folks it seems :)

IMO Bobbo will like his 4455 if he gets the TempAssure module for it.

http://forums.trailerlife.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/thread/tid/24655789/srt/pa/pging/1/page/6.cfm

Bobbo wrote:
If the 8355 comes with TempAssure already installed, I will return the PD4655V. If it is not already installed, I would have a bear of a time getting the temperature sensor to the battery. The converter/charger is on the wrong side of the trailer, and halfway down the length. On top of that, the belly of the trailer is enclosed, so I can't just go through the floor and fasten it under the trailer.

I haven't heard back from Randy yet, but I emailed Airstream to ask if their unit had the TempAssure. This is their response.

Airstream wrote:
Hello,
The Parallax system we run does not have the optional TempAssure feature. We still find that it is a more than capable system. If you have any additional questions about this system or any other system in your new Airstream feel free to email me and I will be happy to assist you. Congratulations on your purchase and welcome to the Airstream Family. Have a great weekend.