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Converter upgrade?


Iflyfish

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11 hours ago, markwilliam1 said:

Also Maineah, I read the specks on the PowerPulse and it appears is is Not a batter charger. Seems it's to be used in conjunction with one. I'm thinking about purchasing one to use with my Battery Tender to prevent sulfur build-up. Way cheaper than buying a new converter and hiring someone to install it. What's your thoughts? 

OK you can not use them at the same time, You will have competing charging systems one reading the others voltage all of the modern chargers are pulse chargers called PWM, (pulse width modulation) they charge by time, the greater the load the longer they stay on it's not like a clock they charge at the same rate but control by the amount of time they stay on this is something you can not see it is short bursts but the longer they stay on the greater the charge. It would be a good thing for long term storage but only plug it in not the camper or your converter/charger will be on confusing the issue and it will win because of the higher charge voltage and you'll end up with a battery with no water. The little things do not have a high charge rate so it will not be good for say overnight recharge they just don't have enough current. The bottom line they are fine for storage the original RV charger is not because it is poorly regulated and low current. A dead give away is the wire size it can not handle a lot of current. I am an advocate of modern chargers it is one of the best upgrades to an old RV it does it all charges, de-sulfates, and provides all kinds of DC power and it can be left on long term.

OK I reread the entire thing about the device it shunts the excessive voltage to ground it's a glorified voltage regulator doing what the old charger can not. Bottom line I'm still not impressed here is why the origional charger sucks they do not have much current output for charging it does not improve that it just keeps the battery from overcharging long term. If you are using the camper a good bit it won't help you much. For less than $20 you can buy a battery maintainer that will basically do the same thing while you are not using the camper. A simple 120 volt timer set for a couple of hours a day with the stock charger will create the same effect.

Edited by Maineah
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3 hours ago, Iflyfish said:

This is like the unit I referred to in my recent post. It attaches to the + and - posts on the battery. My dilemma is how to connect it to two 12 volt batteries with a battery isolator installed. The isolator lets the 110 from the coach go thru the Converter and charge both the chassis and coach batteries. It will however not allow the coach to draw power from the chassis. I wonder if it is safe to simply connect this to the positive on one battery and the negative on the other????

Iflyfishelectronically

No AC in the isolator it is purely 12 volt DC. You said you had a isolator that read both batteries that would be a replacement isolator called a combiner they will work with any charger bi-directional.

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Thanks! I wasn't planning on having the converter hooked up to shore power while using this unit. Just when parked @ home to keep the battery charged without damage from the converter. I understand the lack of high current from these units. I wouldn't use it to charge a dead battery. I just want to keep a full charge for maintenance and it seems perfect for that.

 

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15 hours ago, Maineah said:

No AC in the isolator it is purely 12 volt DC. You said you had a isolator that read both batteries that would be a replacement isolator called a combiner they will work with any charger bi-directional.

So would I then hook up the https://www.amazon.com/Pulsetech-PowerPulse-12-Volt-Battery-Maintenance/dp/B004I6QREK/ref=cm_cd_al_qh_dp_t  across both batteries, one connection to a positive on one and a negative on the other or would I need one of these for each battery. In my Toyota the both 12 volt batteries sit next to each other under the hood so attachment of this will be easy. The battery isolator is now connected to both batteries so I can charge Toyota battery at same time as Coach battery but Coach battery cannot drain Toyota battery. The question is how to hook it up. Sorry for the confusion, it's hard to draw a word picture. I appreciate your input. 

Iflyfishinthedarksometimes

 

Edited by Iflyfish
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1 hour ago, WME said:

Lots of interesting reading maybe a few answers.  http://www.bestconverter.com/

Lots of good stuff here indeed. My goal is not to have to replace my converter. If I were to do so it would be with a Progressive Dynamics Converter with Inteli-charger. This is what I put in my Winnebago View with my two 6volt deep cycle batteries. Worked like a champ. If this https://www.amazon.com/Pulsetech-PowerPulse-12-Volt-Battery-Maintenance/dp/B004I6QREK/ref=cm_cd_al_qh_dp_t will pulse both of my 12volt batteries in my Toyota, they sit right next to each other, then I am home free without replacing the converter. 

Iflyfish

 

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Are the 2 batteries your talking about both house batteries? or is 1 a house battery and the other a truck battery.

If both are house batteries in parallel, then 1 of the power pulse units would be all you need.

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34 minutes ago, WME said:

Are the 2 batteries your talking about both house batteries? or is 1 a house battery and the other a truck battery.

If both are house batteries in parallel, then 1 of the power pulse units would be all you need.

Now were getting somewhere.....whew! One 12 volt battery is for the truck and the other 12 volt battery is for the house. They sit beside each other in the engine compartment of the truck. I installed a battery isolator that allows both batteries to be charged via 110 volts and via the truck's generator. It also stops the house battery from taking electricity from the truck battery. 

Thank you very much for taking the time to address this. Vexing but close to a solution. 

Iflyfishwithmytoyotafriends

Edited by Iflyfish
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OK at this point this is a SWAG. You seem to be worried about the house battery sulphating, so get one of these power pulse units and install it on the house battery.

It will protect your house battery. If the pulses get through the combiner great, if not then your like the rest of us who regularly abuse the poor truck battery and get away with it.

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I left my Sunrader plugged in for pretty much 10 years and have the old style converter. My batteries still lasted 5 years or more. didn't by any fancy expensive batteries though. Cheap Walmart ones. 100 bucks for 5 years of use sounds darn cheap to me

Linda S

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34 minutes ago, linda s said:

I left my Sunrader plugged in for pretty much 10 years and have the old style converter. My batteries still lasted 5 years or more. didn't by any fancy expensive batteries though. Cheap Walmart ones. 100 bucks for 5 years of use sounds darn cheap to me

Linda S

Your are lucky more often the old chargers boiled the water out of the batteries. Before I replaced the charger in mine I put the charger on a simple plug in timer and ran it 2 hours every 24 that worked fine. 5 years is a pretty standard battery life for common deep cycle batteries.

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2 hours ago, Iflyfish said:

Now were getting somewhere.....whew! One 12 volt battery is for the truck and the other 12 volt battery is for the house. They sit beside each other in the engine compartment of the truck. I installed a battery isolator that allows both batteries to be charged via 110 volts and via the truck's generator. It also stops the house battery from taking electricity from the truck battery. 

Thank you very much for taking the time to address this. Vexing but close to a solution. 

Iflyfishwithmytoyotafriends

Yes all isolator do that but a combiner is a bit different it allows both batteries to charge regardless of where the charge is coming from as long as the truck battery is fully charged it is a "smart " isolator the other is basically an electrical on off switch truck key is on isolator is on. If that is what you have than it does not matter how your charger is connected it charges either plugged in or when the truck is running it's actions are dictated by the state of charge in the truck battery, it get priority.

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3 hours ago, WME said:

OK at this point this is a SWAG. You seem to be worried about the house battery sulphating, so get one of these power pulse units and install it on the house battery.

It will protect your house battery. If the pulses get through the combiner great, if not then your like the rest of us who regularly abuse the poor truck battery and get away with it.

Thank you very much.....this makes sense. I actually want both batteries to be pulsed, to prevent sufphating. However you make a good point, put it on the house battery as it is first in line for charging and if it also works for the truck battery I'm golden. Thank you. I appreciate your thinking on this. 

Iflyfishwithmyfingerinanelectricaloutlet

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1 hour ago, linda s said:

I left my Sunrader plugged in for pretty much 10 years and have the old style converter. My batteries still lasted 5 years or more. didn't by any fancy expensive batteries though. Cheap Walmart ones. 100 bucks for 5 years of use sounds darn cheap to me

Linda S

Right on! Good for you! My experience with my Winnebago View was that I had to replace 2 sets of Trojan batteries over two years. I installed the Progressive Dynamic converter and never a problem again, went with COSTCO batteries and was golden after that. I am glad to hear of the durability of the original converter, this is good news. Mine has 30 years on it and finger's crossed here. I don't want to have to replace it! Thanks

Iflyfishinthedark

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my converter is original and I have never done anymore than change the fuses. Thought I had a big problem a few weeks back but it was just the wire going from the isolator to the battery. Battery wasn't charging while driving. pulled it out and it had been spliced together some time in the past where it goes into the battery compartment. not visible at all until we pulled it. Bad splice, wire corroded. Replaced it, and all is good

Linda S

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Good to know! I plan on keeping my original 31 year converter also. Works perfectly! I wonder how long these new converters with their fancy electronics will last compared to our old ones. It appears my converter has a breaker to turn off the 12v charging function. Anyway, just purchased a charger that has the pulse function built in. My coach battery is 4 years old and hope to squeeze 2 more years out of it...fingers crossed!

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This is what the company says: I am still not sure how to configure these? Ideas. I am struggling to understand what they are saying. 

Battery pulse device

Before I jump into the question I want to point out that the PP-12-L does NOT pulse 14 volts. It is a true frequency based desulfator not a voltage pulsing desulfator. This is why it has better results.

If I understand your question correctly, you will still need one PP-12-L on the starting battery and one on the house batteries. The configuration on the house batteries will be on the POS of the first battery and the NEG of the second battery. The same connection points that lead to your charger.

This blog article will assist in setting up for various configurations. There are links within the article to more detailed diagrams for each type of setup.

Have a Wonderful Day!

Thank You,

Stephanie
Impact Battery Sales Team
1-866-668-3163

http://www.impactbattery.com/blog/2017/06/3-ways-to-connect-lead-acid-batteries/

Ifyfishinastateofconstantconfusion

 

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I replaced mine with intelligence dynamic 35A smart converter with remote pedant since my old converter cooked the battery in less than 2 years

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15 hours ago, Iflyfish said:

This is what the company says: I am still not sure how to configure these? Ideas. I am struggling to understand what they are saying. 

Battery pulse device

Before I jump into the question I want to point out that the PP-12-L does NOT pulse 14 volts. It is a true frequency based desulfator not a voltage pulsing desulfator. This is why it has better results.

If I understand your question correctly, you will still need one PP-12-L on the starting battery and one on the house batteries. The configuration on the house batteries will be on the POS of the first battery and the NEG of the second battery. The same connection points that lead to your charger.

This blog article will assist in setting up for various configurations. There are links within the article to more detailed diagrams for each type of setup.

Have a Wonderful Day!

Thank You,

Stephanie
Impact Battery Sales Team
1-866-668-3163

http://www.impactbattery.com/blog/2017/06/3-ways-to-connect-lead-acid-batteries/

Ifyfishinastateofconstantconfusion

 

DC has no frequency batteries do not respond well to AC current it is the device that produces the modulation or if you wish frequency. The voltage is what the charger produces whatever it is is what the battery normally would get. What they are saying is it is not paused  meaning turned off and on like a switch so zero voltage to full voltage. It is done with modulation (or frequency) it is the width of the pulse, very accurate voltage regulation such as you would find in a modern switching charger or solar panel voltage controller. The only way I could show you is with an oscilloscope picture of the waveform. The problem with the old chargers is voltage regulation that is what the device seeks to correct. The charger and the device can charge both batteries but they would have to be connected together. The original isolator connects both batteries only when the truck is switch on, Now if you truly have a combiner  not an isolator it will charge both. There is a work around using one device that would require a jumper wire or a manual switch the down fall would the failure to remove the jumper or turn off the switch resulting in the possibility of two dead batteries over time.

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