I fully agree that the WFCO is junk, but I had different results. I had a 8935 that WOULD go into boost, and stay there until the battery boiled dry! Replaced battery, reset AC and DC power per WFCO, and it put out abt 11.?V, then back to boost on a fully charged battery.
Due to availability of 4 nice 75AH take out UPS batteries, bought an IOTA 55A unit, and with the help of their tech (REALLY good help!), I got it set up the float the batteries at 13.65V.
I do not use their manual 'boost' or 'equalize' feature as these batteries will not fast charge. 5A per max charge rate. I can afford the time to slow charge them as I'm on shore power most of the time and have 160W solar.
Get the PD or IOTA. The WFCO takes the fun out of camping.
Greg
Thanks for all the tips and suggestions. My trailer has been at the dealer for a few issues and I had not had the opportunity to view it until this weekend.
Note: Because of my limited access to measuring instruments on this trip,(no ammeter or precision DVM) my findings are not conclusive, but do show a trend (I think a positive one).
I picked up the trailer on Friday and headed to destination. When I picked up the trailer, I had less than full charge on the battery. As I drove, I was charging. When I arrived I plugged in my new :
I turned on enough drain, long enough to cause the batt voltage to drop to about 11.25 with all drains (except fridge (gas) turned off). So at this 11.25 state, I flipped the breaker on the WFCO and whe the converter came on, I had 14.36 on the gauge. Every now and then it would go up to 14.4 for a short bit.
It stayed that way for a few hours, then dropped back to about 13.3 to 13.5 for most of the time (I had the fridge (gas) and radio on the whole time). I suspect the WFCO is working properly. Or at least I know it is CAPABLE of going into bulk mode.
In any case, my old (30+year, and 50+ year) battery chargers were due for replacement, so I went out on a limb and purchased The B&D VEC1393 DBD.
I won't have an opportunity to try the charger and genny combo out until next season sometime. I think we are done for this season. But hopefully, I'll at least be able to use the genny and the new battery charger to charge the battery a bit quicker when boon docking than waiting for the WFCO to do its thing. .
One more question: Is there any harm in charging the battery (in 40 amp mode) with the converter connected to the battery. I don't have to isolate the battery from the converter to use the charger in high mode do I?
Thanks for taking the time to reply. I truly appreciate it.
Paul..../NH
1983 Coleman Columbia (sold)
1995 Coleman (Fleetwood) Sequoia (sold)
1984 Coleman Sun Valley (sold)
1996 Sunnybrook 26DB (Sold)
1999 Lance 1030 (sold)
2011 Keystone Bullet Premiere 19 FBPR (current)
You can leave everything connected and the 1093 will do all the work as soon as battery voltage rises past the converter's voltage, which happens quickly unless the converter is in boost.
Possibly the battery will not accept all the available amps at first and the 1093 will be doing say 25 and the converter 20 out of 45 total say. As battery voltage rises, the 1093's share of the total will grow until it is doing it all. Just try it out and see how it plays out with your own set-up, you won't break anything.
However, if there is a significant draw on the battery while it is being charged this will extend the gen time. With 10 amp draw from rig and 40 amp charging that's like using a 30 amp charger instead of a 40.
You can beat that by disconnecting the battery and charging it with the portable while the converter supplies the 12v for the rig.
2003 Chev 2500HD Gas, 2003 Komfort 26FS 5er
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I hate to say this, but with a single battery, and a WFCO that actually goes into bulk (albeit with a little help,) you don't need the B&D. However, it's a great device to have around. With pulse conditioning and a very good automatic equalizing mode, it can certainly do things that a converter never can... for your RV and passenger vehicles alike.
*EDIT*
Rethought...
If you do any longer boondock sessions with successive 50-90% charges, for example, then you ARE going to need a charger that can equalize. A manual charger would be better, but the 1093 can also do some good here.
* This post was
edited 10/13/11 10:23am by KendallP *
Cheers,
Kendall
1986 Winnebago Chieftain 22RC
Our Camper (with no payments)
First,let me apologize for not following up on this issue. I have not had much to report until now. Next, thank you all for your input. I sincerely appreciate all of your efforts. It is a lot to take in. At the end of last season last year I installed a cutoff switch for the battery in the + line. It is a marine grade cutoff.
Regretfully, I did not get as much data as I would have liked. So some critical measurements are missing.
I went boondocking in mid April. Same battery lasted 52 hours before the fridge started complaining. Before I left, I isolated the battery via the disconnect switch and charged it with my new B&D VEC1093 on the 40 Amp setting. The charger performed exactly as it shows in the manual. 3 descending levels of charging, then eventually said "FUL".
In mid June I took another trip. 4 days of boondocking. Trailer was plugged in for 4 days prior to leaving. I measured the specific gravity of the electrolyte and all 6 cells were around 1250-1275. I did a "recondition" it took about 27 hours to complete. Just to be sure the battery was fully charged before I left, I put it on the B&D again. 20 amp setting. This time it never got to "FUL". It stayed between 8.4 and 8.7 for several hours. Way more than it should have. I put my trust in the technology. Perhaps prematurely. I finally cut it off and went on my trip. Cells still registered 1250-1275.
Again, we got a little over two days out of the battery with VERY judicious use. (All LED lights). I removed the battery from the trailer mid-trip and manually charged it with the B&D. This time at the 10 amp rate. It started at 10.4, beeped once and remained at 10.4 for over 26 hours. No change in the display. Again, I gave up and took it off the charger and back in the trailer. It lasted another couple days or so.
During that trip a friend asked me if I could charge HIS battery. I told him I didn't think my charger was working correctly, but if he wanted I would give it a shot. I did a "recondition" (it didn't complete in 28 hours). I gave up and gave him the battery. It lasted 1/2 hour. I had another camper come by and ask to charge his battery. I set it at the 10 amp setting. It showed 10.4 for 14 hours. Never wavered. I think the battery charger is toast.
I called Baccus Global ( the manufacturer of MANY battery charger brands). They offered an analysis and repair under warranty (5 years). They said it would take 6 weeks from the time they get it, to the time they ship it back. Just in time for the end of camping season.
OK, now back to my situation. I ordered and installed a PD 4655 WFCO conversion kit last weekend. It went in without incident. I did notice that the trailer wiring is 6 AWG as was the WFCO 8955. I think the PD 4655 was 8 AWG.
When I finished, I ran the battery down to about 11.25v with various appliances. After about an hour of settling, it measured about 12.34 v. I plugged the trailer in and took a current reading at the battery. Cheap, clamp on meter read about 25 amps. After about 10 minutes I took the following readings at the converter DC output terminals and at the battery terminals.
In storage mode: 13.24 at the converter, 13.14 at the battery
In normal mode: 13.61 at the converter, 13.46 at the battery
In boost mode: 14.39 at the converter, 14.10 at the battery. (measured 12.1 amps at this time).
Is the voltage drop/resistance of 23 milliohms at "boost" power worth tracing down ? it won't be an easy task....
About 28 hours later, battery was drawing less than an amp, and settled voltage was around 12.9 v. I unplugged the trailer and 3 days later the static voltage is 12.56.
My conclusions:
1. My new battery charger has malfunctioned.
2. The WFCO (for whatever reason) was not charging my battery properly.
3. The PD 4655 conversion is doing a MUCH better job at charging the battery. (The next trip will tell).
4. Battery may have suffered some abuse.
Sorry for being long winded, but I wanted to include as much info as I had.
I think it's normal to lose a little voltage between the converter and battery, I don't think you need to worry about that.
That's too bad about your B&D, I only use mine for my boat battery but it's been great for that so far. I think I should 'equalize' my golf cart batteries though.
My WFCO wouldn't go into boost mode no matter what I tried, my PD 9280 has worked well for me, I only dry camp and rely on that and my Honda genny to keep my Trojans charged.
06 Dodge Ram 3500 Cummins 6 spd std with a few goodies.
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