Okay, we're getting ready to leave for a few weeks on Sunday.
We're wanting to boondock a lot, so we went and bought 2 6v batteries. Our "old" dual 12v batteries, were not charging or so we tought.
I came here looking for info on our Converter, and I come to find that this converter will not fully charge our batteries. "Converter is Junk," is what I read.
So our batteries might have been good.
Replacing the converter is our best option I guess, but that'll be a question for later.
In such short notice, how can we keep our batteries charged? How much will our RV Alternator charge, if any?
Can we use a separate battery charger? If so, DH wants to know how do you charge them? Do they need to be disconnected?
Thanks, Don.
Can that charger stay connected all the time? It'll just run, while genny's on. We think we know where to store it.
How do you charge (where do the clamps go) dual 6v batteries?
Yes a portable will get you through the pinch. At least 20 amps, 40 is better.
Just slap it on the battery and plug into the generator.
Put the clamps on the same terminals that feed the RV.
Magnetek is fine except that it can take 48 to 96 hours to charge a low battery.
What you read was correct.
I could hardly describe the Mag as being fine,....even when there was nothing any better. The Mag is a converter, not a charger, as it did almost to nothing to charge a battery. And if it ever did get the battery charged, then you were also in trouble because it would then boil the batteries to an early death.
Seems strange but in those old days of the mag converters, they did have fairly decent 10-15 amp battery chargers,.so it wasn't like they didn't know how to make a charger/converter combo.
So, one has to conclude that even those RVs w/ gensets were not designed for dry camping, but for grid camping only. Otherwise, it was like turning you loose to have all the luxuries of home out in the forest till the batteries went dead,....then you either came home.....or sit and listen to an obnoxiously noisy genset for the rest of the time spent.It really never did make any sense.
Rich
'01 31 ft Rexall Vision, Generac 5.5k, 9245 conv, 400 watt inv, 2 12v batts, ammeters, KingDome/sat, Two Oly Cat heaters, and towing a '05 Jeep Liberty, or sometimes towing a Lowe bass boat.
Which or What kind of converter do you guys recommend, what should we look for? I know there's an online place that gets mentioned a lot, but what if we decide to replace before we leave?
Should any RV store carry a decent converter?
Or are these better converters only carried online?
Also, is there such a thing as plug and play with converters? Or does it require a lot of rewiring?
Oh, my.... Sorry for all the questions.
BTW, Amazon is delivering a B&D smart charger 40amp, today. Only $10 more to deliver locally same day. I looked online and couldn't figure out who would sell it. I would probably spend more on gas trying to find it.
the charger can stay connected
but in most cases you will have to turn it on manually to get the highest setting
my vector defaults to its lowest 4 amp setting,
if just plugged in with generator,being turned on and off
Options, always have options, and the journey goes much smoother ....
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I also disagree with smkettner.
The Magnatek units were acceptable in there day, but that was long ago.
The plan to pick a good portable smart charger is about all you do in the short term.
When you get home, order and install a current technology converter/charger. This will cost you a couple hundred dollars for a Progressive Dynamics or Iota unit, but you will never regret it an you batteries will love for it.
Matt
Matt & Mary Colie
A sailor, his bride and their black dog going to see some dry places that have Geocaches in a coach made the year we married.
I have a "dumb" (single voltage) but functional Elixir converter in the HTT. I installed an Iota 55-amp converter in the front storage compartment and have a short 3' run of wire to the dual batteries. The AC power to the converter isn't permanent yet, I'm using an extension cord back to the generator for now.
The plan is to disconnect the original Elixir converter but still use the AC and DC distribution panel. The new Iota will have its own dedicated AC circuit off the breaker box.
For a few years I used a separate 3-stage battery charger, but when I went to dual batteries I wanted a higher amperage charger and a new converter seemed the best way to go.
2013 North Trail 21FBS
2012 F-150 XLT Ecoboost ("EcoBeast") scab
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