How to turn off PD 4055 charger...

Bedlam wrote:
If your charger/converter uses a regular wall plug, just plug a small switched power strip in between it and the TC outlet. You will be able to use the switch on the strip to enable or disable the charger/converter. There are fancier and cleaner ways to do this, but his may suffice for your use and cost little to nothing if you have a spare strip available.

I looked, no plug, it is piggy backed into an existing breaker.

towpro wrote:
Egarant, it sounds like yours was "generator ready" if that is the case, that switch is probably already wired back to generator compartment. why not just put the invert in that compartment?

I thought about that when I first purchased the inverter, but the cable run to the batteries was too long from the generator compartment. Too much current loss.

If your charger/converter uses a regular wall plug, just plug a small switched power strip in between it and the TC outlet. You will be able to use the switch on the strip to enable or disable the charger/converter. There are fancier and cleaner ways to do this, but his may suffice for your use and cost little to nothing if you have a spare strip available.

Egarant, it sounds like yours was "generator ready" if that is the case, that switch is probably already wired back to generator compartment. why not just put the invert in that compartment?

I just discovered that I also have a PD Automatic Relay Switch that is installed to switch AC power between the generator and shore power.

Since I don't have a generator, I am going to disconnect the generator leads to the switch and replace them with the output of the inverter. I spoke to Progressive Dynamics, and they said that the switch is in the passive position when shore power is connected and uses about 5 watts to operate the switch when the generator is on.

So they suggest that I swap the connections so that when the inverter is on it is not drawing the additional 5 watts to operate the switch, leave that to the shore power side.

Of course they don't really recommend that set up, they would rather see a sub-panel connected to the inverter, but I just don't have the room for that.

I jus have to remember to kill the converter side when I turn on the inverter and vice versa.

I'll let know how that turns out!

hedge wrote:
Another reason to shut it off is if you are trying to run your a/c and your generator doesn't have quite enough to support the a/c and the charger at the same time. This was my original reason for turning it off. I now turn it off and usually leave it off because my solar charge controller charges the batteries so don't need the converter charging them.

Another excellent reason, with most solar charge controllers you can manually set the exact Bulk, Absorption and Float values for your batteries.

In another post I described how I already stopped the 12 volt power feed from the trucks alternator from charging the batteries.

Another reason to shut it off is if you are trying to run your a/c and your generator doesn't have quite enough to support the a/c and the charger at the same time. This was my original reason for turning it off. I now turn it off and usually leave it off because my solar charge controller charges the batteries so don't need the converter charging them.

My converter/charger plugs in to an outlet under the stairs, so I just unplug mine. Just wondered.

jimh425 wrote:
egarant, btw, why are you wanting to turn off the charger?

I want to plug in my shore power cord into my 2000 watt pure sine wave so I have power from the inverter sent to all the TC's receptacles. I dont' want the charger to be operative during that time.

I do not have room for any kind of transfer switch.

In a nutshell the easiest way, FOR ME, is to run a very short 10 gauge extension cord with a 30 amp adaptor on the end, one end plugged into the inverter, shore power into the other end.

Old-Biscuit wrote:

egarant wrote:
kill the charger.

AND the 'converter'

Tis all the same. Converter is the charger. Charger is the converter.

It (the PD unit) stops "charging" when the batteries are full, and then provides necessary DC to run any DC loads that are turn on when plugged in to power or running a gen, then it's a "converter".

Mine was plugged in to an outlet under the step. I unplugged it 6 years ago and haven't plugged it back in.