Replace the WFCO with an IOTA w/smart charger

[4aSong]

I am contemplating replacing the WFCO Converter/Charger model WF-9855 in our 2011 Lance model 1985.
In storage in my shop is an IOTA DLS45 with smart charger that I purchased new and only used it for maybe 1 year, this would be installed in place of the WFCO or should I just keep the WFCO in place until it fails and then install the IOTA.
All inputs on going forth with this would be appreciated.
Thanks a bunch. Mike

[time2roll]

BurbMan wrote:
The IOTA is also a good unit and should work fine. Sound Guy is correct, you either need to mount the unit close to the batteries OR increase the wire size to the batteries, otherwise you won't realize any benefits over the WFCO unit.

I think the OP would see a huge improvement just dropping in the IOTA to replace the WFCO in the existing position. Yes some voltage drop in the wires. However 14.2 to 14.6 even a distance away will be far better than 13.6 volts.

Pulling new wire is not always practical in an RV.

[BurbMan]

Usually one night on the batteries has me at 75-80% the next morning after some late-night TV. I'll top them off with the genny in the morning so I can get thru the day and the next night without dropping below 50%. I usually have to "force" the PD into boost mode with the button to get the charging done quickly, because based on SOC it wants to charge at 13.6. I know the PD automatically goes into "desulfate" mode periodically at 14.6.

Yes this is a perfect case for solar, especially since most of our boondocking is done on the beach with no trees in sight. Unfortunately it keeps getting bumped to the bottom by things like new awning, brakes, tires, new floor after water damage, etc etc... *sigh* someday....

[lawrosa]

If they made an iota that fit in the weco space I may have bought that one.

When bulk charging once it reaches the high trigger of 14.6 it then it will revert to 14.2 absorb mode. 15 minutes after this trigger. Or after 4 hours if it never reaches that trigger.

Once in absorb it will stay there for up to 8 hours. Then revert to float. Im sure there is an amp trigger that gets it to float mode. Doesnt say but can be any #. 17 amps? 10 amps? IDK

Float mode is a bit high I would think no? 13.6? The PD unit does 13.2 but does a 21 hour equalize. This sounds better. The iota does equalize every 7 days.

Also surprising is the low trigger.If voltage drops below 12.8 the unit reverts to bulk.

So when dry camping I assume you can be assured that the iota will go into bulk when plugging into generator.

But in reality the iota is not really a 14.8 charger is it. It would seem a 14.6 because of this trigger and whatever 15 minutes later gets you.

I wonder how well it puts out the amps..

I do know the WFCO would be a great unit if they only had the darn button!!!!!!!

So does the PD win? Just keep pushing the button? Ill have to do some testing on the PD this sommer. I know even with the upgraded wire Im still only seeing 45 amps.

IOTA specs..

https://www.iotaengineering.com/pplib/IQ4manual.pdf

Battery
Voltage
12V

BULK
14.8V

ABSORPTION
14.2V

FLOAT
13.6V

LOW
TRIGGER
12.8V

HIGH
TRIGGER
14.6V

OVER VOLTAGE
FAULT
15.2V

[ORbiker]

BurbMan wrote:
The Progressive Dynamics PD 4655MBA is a drop-in replacement for the WFCO charger/converter. This enables you to keep the breaker box and fuse panel intact and just swap out the electronics. You also get the charge wizard with pendant remote.

My WFCO was also about 25' of wire away from the batteries, so I simply upgraded the (+) wire to the batteries from #8 to #2. The frame is the return path so I only needed to upgrade the (-) from the converter to the frame. I didn't want to take the room from my front storage compartment for a second unit, so for me this was a better way to go.

Now when I'm boondocking, I can use the charge wizard remote to put the charger into 14.4v boost mode and get the batteries back to 100% in 2 hrs or so of generator run time.

I did the conversion on my Citation camper years ago. The batteries lasted a lot longer.

http://www.bestconverter.com/4600-series-Upgrade-Kits_c_133.htmlLINK to upgrade kit

[SoundGuy]

afidel wrote:
Sounds like the perfect use case for solar, for the same money as a new converter you could buy a few hundred watts of solar and reduce your generator usage by a massive amount (if not eliminate it most years).

When the sun shines and you're not on a full shade campsite. :W

[afidel]

BurbMan wrote:
There is a ton of reading on this over in the Tech Issues forum, I did a lot of research before going the route that I did. The WFCO is supposed to be a 3 stage charger, but the testing done by more than a few folks revealed that the WFCO almost never goes into "boost" mode at 14.4v. Maybe the newer WFCOs perform differently.

When we go to the beach we boondock for a week at a time and gen hours are limited, so recharging is important. I found with the WFCO that the batteries would never quite fully charge...every day I lost a little capacity until I left at the end of the week and they were at 30%.

The IOTA is also a good unit and should work fine. Sound Guy is correct, you either need to mount the unit close to the batteries OR increase the wire size to the batteries, otherwise you won't realize any benefits over the WFCO unit.

Sounds like the perfect use case for solar, for the same money as a new converter you could buy a few hundred watts of solar and reduce your generator usage by a massive amount (if not eliminate it most years).

[RasMouSein]

I have a 2017 Travel Trailer whit new version WFCO, and upgraded the wire to #4awg, both positive and negative.
The wfco will never show what this pic shows from my Iota with IQ-4.


It shows 14.6v 🙂 happy battery 🙂

[BurbMan]

There is a ton of reading on this over in the Tech Issues forum, I did a lot of research before going the route that I did. The WFCO is supposed to be a 3 stage charger, but the testing done by more than a few folks revealed that the WFCO almost never goes into "boost" mode at 14.4v. Maybe the newer WFCOs perform differently.

When we go to the beach we boondock for a week at a time and gen hours are limited, so recharging is important. I found with the WFCO that the batteries would never quite fully charge...every day I lost a little capacity until I left at the end of the week and they were at 30%.

The IOTA is also a good unit and should work fine. Sound Guy is correct, you either need to mount the unit close to the batteries OR increase the wire size to the batteries, otherwise you won't realize any benefits over the WFCO unit.

[scrubjaysnest]

Our current RV has the WFCO8955 and while it works better then any we have had in the past it's still poor. I have seen 14.1 volts at 21 amps for about 30 minutes. I carry a pair of smart chargers and use one of them when there isn't enough solar. Like 3 days of clouds and rain or 10 minutes of sun and full shade the rest of the day.

All that said use the Iota and keep the WFCO as a back up in a crunch.

[rbpru]

I bought a dandy Black and Decker battery charger to replace the 50 year old battery charger my dad bought when I was in high school.

I thought about getting another B&D for my TT, then I realized that the original WFCO charger had provided all the battery power I ever needed. This include one winter when I decided to leave the TT plugged in rather than bring the battery into the house.

It is a three stage charger and it works, It is plugged in all summer between trip, it does not boil dry battery, what ever the charge level is has been sufficient for our needs. On those few time when we have boonedocked and run the battery down it has recovered sufficiently after a few hours of being plugged in.

In the end I decided not to fix what was working. I will just wait until the 2010 vintage charger model breaks down like everyone says it will.

Good Luck

[mbopp]

4aSong wrote:
Thanks to all for your inputs. I like the recommendations on adding the IOTA in addition to the WFCO thereby giving a backup should it be needed and one other advantage mentioned when you sell the RV you can remove the IOTA and switch back to the WFCO.

Actually, I've had the IOTA in 3 trailers now.

[SoundGuy]

4aSong wrote:
I like the recommendations on adding the IOTA in addition to the WFCO thereby giving a backup should it be needed and one other advantage mentioned when you sell the RV you can remove the IOTA and switch back to the WFCO.

You could also take BurbMan's recommendation but unless you also upgrade the wire gauge from the converter to the battery you won't achieve the same results as he did. Frankly, I doubt many who would be willing to upgrade the converter section would also go so far as to upgrade the wiring, in which case this would only be a half solution. Simply turning the WFCO off and installing a charger / converter close the the battery sidesteps this issue entirely.

[4aSong]

Thanks to all for your inputs. I like the recommendations on adding the IOTA in addition to the WFCO thereby giving a backup should it be needed and one other advantage mentioned when you sell the RV you can remove the IOTA and switch back to the WFCO.

[BurbMan]

The Progressive Dynamics PD 4655MBA is a drop-in replacement for the WFCO charger/converter. This enables you to keep the breaker box and fuse panel intact and just swap out the electronics. You also get the charge wizard with pendant remote.

My WFCO was also about 25' of wire away from the batteries, so I simply upgraded the (+) wire to the batteries from #8 to #2. The frame is the return path so I only needed to upgrade the (-) from the converter to the frame. I didn't want to take the room from my front storage compartment for a second unit, so for me this was a better way to go.

Now when I'm boondocking, I can use the charge wizard remote to put the charger into 14.4v boost mode and get the batteries back to 100% in 2 hrs or so of generator run time.