Converter replacement questions - 6325 to PD4045 Mighty Mini

[wadingthroughlife]

Hey All,

 

1987 18’ Sunrader with the 6345 converter and have a replacement PD4045 Mighty Mini on hand for swap out. 
 

I’m pretty weak on electrical but forcibly learning and have read a few posts on this here. I was having trouble with a few parts of this replacement before jumping in. 
 

1) The main breaker on the old converter is 20A, where I mostly see a 30A in videos.  I haven’t confidently located the proper replacement even with reading the approved breakers mentioned. I planned to go to Ace or HD in the morning, but I can also order if that is easier.  

 

2) I’ll be putting on a rooftop AC in the spring. Is there anything within the converter on the AC breaker side I need to do? I’m hoping the wiring is already in place but uncertain how to check from the converter end of things. There are presently 2 breakers- the main 20A and a 15A. 

3) How many of the 15a breakers do I need? Any help is appreciated. The AC would probably be the only appliance that 12v doesn’t also run.

 

 

Thanks!!!!!

 

[extech]

i think you'll find the breakers and fuses stay, the converter feeds them

[wadingthroughlife]

I’m swapping the entire unit out. Already made my gap filler surround. 

[WME]

The 6345 has 2 serviceable CB,  reuse them. You are missing the "main" CB you need a 30 amp main. It will feed the other 2 CB,  15 amp house power and 20 amp A/C power. Yes they total more than 30. But thats OK. 

Look how the 2 CB are wired and hook their output wires up the same way in the new box.

For the 12v side you need a bunch of fuses 25 amp for the converter reverse protection fuses and a 15 amp for each 12v circuit you hook up

[wadingthroughlife]

I grabbed a 30A for the main. 
 

When you say A/C will be the 20A, do you mean air conditioner? I’m not certain where or if the dedicated wire will be there for the air conditioner. I hope so. 

 

The photo of mine old one shows A/C on the existing 20A but I think that’s existing AC current supply that will be replaced by the 30A breaker. 
 

 

[extech]

both breakers are for alternating current. the one labeled ac is for air conditioning

[wadingthroughlife]

Hm. I don’t have an air conditioner currently though. I wouldn’t have expected it to be prewired to a breaker but maybe it isn’t and that the yellow capped wire in the picture here. 
 

From the photo, I guess it seems the shore is coming into a 15A Main breaker then unless the written descriptions on the sticker are out of order. 

[WME]

95% of RVs are prewired for roof AC. Your should have the wire from the power panel to the roof vent.

The output from the 30 amp MAIN in the new panel should go the the common input for the 15 and 20 amp breakers.

The output from the 15 amp breaker should go to the household 120 v outlets around the RV AND to the power for the converter. The 20 amp output goes ONLY to the power wire for the AC

Edited October 25, 2022 by WME

[extech]

if you pull those breakers out you will see the power (black) is connected to a buss bar so both breakers have power.  i'm begining to think you shouldn't be doing this

[linda s]

Yes the air conditioner wiring is already there. If they didn't install it on all Sunraders there would have been no way of installing the AC option after the build was complete because wires are imbedded in ceiling

Linda S

[wadingthroughlife]

43 minutes ago, extech said:

if you pull those breakers out you will see the power (black) is connected to a buss bar so both breakers have power.  i'm begining to think you shouldn't be doing this

Well this is why I’m going through the exercise of research and asking questions before removing anything. 

[Maineah]

The black #10 wire supplies the panel the one attached to the lug. The stab in is there for a 20 amp breaker (ac) I'm guessing the wire nutted black wire is the AC feed wire. Yes 20+15+15  that's why camper power pole outlets are 30 Amp they are the main breaker feeding the camper not the camper panel same with your house but a house breaker plugged in to a cheater adaptor is only a 20 amp circuit.

 

[extech]

the black wires nutted together(red nut) are the feeds for your outlets and fridg. ac is off the 20a breaker and will be a single wire(also black)

[Maineah]

You have some interesting stuff going on there only one breakers is wired and a wire nutted bundle. All black wires are either line or load. Campers use 2 15 amp breakers with no AC and 1 20 amp breaker with 3 What you picture looks like to me every thing is on a 15 amp breaker, the 15 is feeding the whole works with a single wire going to the the wire nutted bunch. The lugged black wire should be the pole feed.

[wadingthroughlife]

1 hour ago, Maineah said:

You have some interesting stuff going on there only one breakers is wired and a wire nutted bundle. All black wires are either line or load. Campers use 2 15 amp breakers with no AC and 1 20 amp breaker with 3 What you picture looks like to me every thing is on a 15 amp breaker, the 15 is feeding the whole works with a single wire going to the the wire nutted bunch. The lugged black wire should be the pole feed.

Accurate analysis.
 

I’ve done the swap. I added the 30A to take in the shore power. I retained the original method with nutting that same bundle coming from the two sets of wires behind the converter to the single 15A along with the DC feed.
 

I’m planning to get another 15A breaker in the morning and separating that bundle so only one set of wires goes to each breaker with one getting the DC feed as well. Is that good form? 
 

I also brought over the 20A for the air conditioner but left it nutted vs in the breaker until spring when we install the unit. 
 

The DC side seems to have gone pretty easily. 
 

 

[WME]

Make sure the newest 15 amp CB is DC rated before you pop it in. DC and AC do not play well together on the same buss bar.

This is a 15 amp 12-110 v DC breaker. https://www.amazon.com/12V-110V-Miniature-Protector-Magnetic-Disconnect/dp/B09H4WQ1QJ/ref=sr_1_4?crid=3GKLZFQR5IKO0&keywords=12v+solar+circuit+breaker+15+amp&qid=1666758221&sprefix=12v+solar+circuit+breaker+15+amp%2Caps%2C324&sr=8-4

Edited October 26, 2022 by WME

[wadingthroughlife]

9 hours ago, WME said:

Make sure the newest 15 amp CB is DC rated before you pop it in. DC and AC do not play well together on the same buss bar.

This is a 15 amp 12-110 v DC breaker. https://www.amazon.com/12V-110V-Miniature-Protector-Magnetic-Disconnect/dp/B09H4WQ1QJ/ref=sr_1_4?crid=3GKLZFQR5IKO0&keywords=12v+solar+circuit+breaker+15+amp&qid=1666758221&sprefix=12v+solar+circuit+breaker+15+amp%2Caps%2C324&sr=8-4

Thanks for the tip!

 

I've currently reused the 15A breaker from the old converter to feed the DC power just like it was set up.

 

I was planning to unbundle one of the 2 (romex?) sets of wire that were previously nutted together along with the DC feed and place it on it's own 15A breaker from the approved list on the instructions. I was going to leave the DC feed nutted with one on the same reused 15A, reasoning that it worked before, which might not be the best line of thinking.

 

Would you recommend swapping all the Breakers to the version you linked? I lightly read about the differences.

[WME]

We may have a vocabulary problem. Are you planning to put the AC input for the DC converter on its own breaker?? That is a good plan and would use normal breakers like you already have. 

If you want a breaker on the DC out of the converter then you need the other breaker, BUT the fuses are for the DC side of things

[wadingthroughlife]

5 minutes ago, WME said:

planning to put the AC input for the DC converter on its own breaker?? That is a good plan and would use normal breakers like you already have. 

 

This ^^ but leaving the AC input for DC converter combined with one of the 2 sets of house wires' black as done originally, while putting one of those 2 originally combined sets of house wires' black on it's own (AC) breaker. I guess it could just stay all combined, but I liked the idea of distributing them to their own breaker.

[WME]

OK so the 4 breakers in your new power panel will be labeled,

30 amp= Main

20 amp= AC

15 amp= RV 115v outlets

15 amp= power converter

???????               

 

 

 

 

[wadingthroughlife]

20 minutes ago, WME said:

OK so the 4 breakers in your new power panel will be labeled,

30 amp= Main

20 amp= AC

15 amp= RV 115v outlets

15 amp= power converter

???????               

 

 

 

 

That’s how it’s set up except one 15 amp also has a second RV 115 outlet. 

 

15 amp= RV 115v outlets 1

15 amp= power converter & 2nd RV 115

[WME]

Are ANY of the RV outlets GFI equipped?

[Maineah]

The power plug in you camper is 30 amp #10 there is no compromise that's it. The wiring will take no more. 15 amp # 14  wire, an AC 20 amps #12. GFI in the bath covers kitchen outlets and outside outlet generally.

 

 

[wadingthroughlife]

No GFCI that I’m aware of. I think we only have one, maybe 2 actual outlets and a 12v cigarette outlet.

 

Should I replace the outlet by the oven with a gfci and perhaps recombine the RV outlets from the two sets of wires into one breaker and do the power converter onto its on 15A?
 

Ie the way WME mentioned above? don’t want the magic smoke getting out. 

[WME]

FWIW my "modern" (2003) has a GFI in the kitchen (wet) and the bathroom outlet chained off it (also wet). The other outlets just have a circuit breakers.

The setup is 3 outlets=one 15 amp circuit breaker.

I like the idea of the outlets on one 15 amp breaker and the converter on the other 15 amp breaker. Any outlet in a wet area should be a GFI.

[Maineah]

Because the walls are thin often GFI will not fit. You need a GFI, there is a work around. A spacer or better yet a 15 amp GFI breaker very simple fix that way everything is protected on that circuit. Take the old one with you to match it up different boxes had a different method of attachment.