converter upgrade

happycamperbrat · March 31, 2011, 02:47:16 PM

I have the converter I stripped my prior RV. It does work flawlessly and although I will be putting in mostly 24volt system with inverters and stuff, it would be ashame not to use this converter for something.... It is 12 volt system. I just found that the converter was discontinued (surprise, it is 20 some years old lol) but has an upgrade offered for 3 stage battery charging. Has anyone had experience with this? I found this http://www.bestconverter.com/45-Amp-Converter-Replacement-Kit_p_46.html which would be used with my 6345 (45amp) converter

fe2_o3 · March 31, 2011, 05:54:10 PM

Will this do what you want? Seems spendy if it doesn't...Cable

happycamperbrat · March 31, 2011, 07:53:40 PM

Actually Im not exactly sure right now if I would use it except as maybe a battery charger... I have a lot of different options I am considering right now for it but mostly an inverter would do better for my needs. I would not be in the market for a converter or even asking about one, if I didnt already have this. Im just trying to figure out if I should upgrade it and use it as a battery charger My alternator on my bus is 24 volt and I am figuring that mostly I will be running 24volts in my house system..... but Im sure I could probably find stuff to use this converter with if I kept it. My chasis is 24 volt for most everything except I think the lights which are 12volt. I have a Vanner (but Im not positive that it isnt what caused me problems last year at the rally.... I have to go on another long trip to find out if I fixed the issue or not with simple wiring in one of my headlights) I suppose I might be able to use the converter instead of the Vanner somehow?

fe2_o3 · March 31, 2011, 08:08:37 PM

After we reset the vanner at the rally last year did it work for the rest of the trip, or did it continue to trip all through the trip?...Cable

happycamperbrat · March 31, 2011, 09:37:53 PM

No.... I still had charging problems with the 12volt side. But the right headlight that kept going dim on me continued and I did find the wiring there and that it was bad, so I replaced the wiring and crossed my fingers. It seemed to have at least temporarily fixed the problem, but I need to go on a long trip to really be sure...

fe2_o3 · March 31, 2011, 10:17:20 PM

Take it to the rally again this year. I think we will...Cable

bevans6 · April 01, 2011, 03:22:13 AM

I had that converter and installed that upgrade. It worked fine, I am really happy with it (it is in my truck camper). Now the bad news. The magnatek that you will be replacing (it's an upgrade everything except the front door, basically) is a total piece of junk. Known for several things - amount them boiling batteries dry in short order and catching on fire...

If you are going to 24 volt, buy a 24 volt converter/charger from the same guy, he is an excellent vendor, and be done with it. You don't need a traditional converter, which in an RV is the AC distribution, the DC supply and the DC distribution all in one code approved box. You will want to have your own separate AC panel and build a nice DC distribution system your self, so a plain charger is better for you.

The main difference between a charger and a converter power source is the charger is optimized for charging and maintaining batteries, so it has the multi stage charging. A converter is designed to supply DC to a house system, so it often has multi sage charging but all at one voltage, done by current limiting, or has a separate "charge wizard" that only does multi-stage charging on command. The unit that you show, that I have, is a constant 13.6 volts but maintenance mode is virtually no current. According to it's book, anyway.

happycamperbrat · April 01, 2011, 10:12:58 AM

Bill, right now my bus is a mess! I have the sides off and am doing very serious work on it. I dont know if it will be travel worthy by this summer (depends on how much the weather and health of my family cooperates between now and then) BUT if it is then be assured we will go the rally and even be ontime this time lol

Quote from: bevans6 on April 01, 2011, 03:22:13 AM
I had that converter and installed that upgrade. It worked fine, I am really happy with it (it is in my truck camper). Now the bad news. The magnatek that you will be replacing (it's an upgrade everything except the front door, basically) is a total piece of junk. Known for several things - amount them boiling batteries dry in short order and catching on fire...

If you are going to 24 volt, buy a 24 volt converter/charger from the same guy, he is an excellent vendor, and be done with it. You don't need a traditional converter, which in an RV is the AC distribution, the DC supply and the DC distribution all in one code approved box. You will want to have your own separate AC panel and build a nice DC distribution system your self, so a plain charger is better for you.

The main difference between a charger and a converter power source is the charger is optimized for charging and maintaining batteries, so it has the multi stage charging. A converter is designed to supply DC to a house system, so it often has multi sage charging but all at one voltage, done by current limiting, or has a separate "charge wizard" that only does multi-stage charging on command. The unit that you show, that I have, is a constant 13.6 volts but maintenance mode is virtually no current. According to it's book, anyway.

Someone in the yahoo rts forum had suggested that I just mount a regular 12 volt alternator to the PTO of the transmission to charge for 12volt..... I guess that is what I will do and maybe couple it with a solar panel or something. Anyone want a converter?

fe2_o3 · April 01, 2011, 10:18:06 AM

I'll see to it there is a place for you if you can get there...Cable

bevans6 · April 01, 2011, 10:29:35 AM

My theory is that you want to be able to charge all of the batteries from the engine, somehow, and charge all of the batteries from the pedestal 120 vac, somehow, and relatively quickly at that. Does me no good on the road to need 48 hours to top off my house bank. So my solution is all 24 volt system, all charged from the alternator, with switches to isolate when required. A large-ish 24 volt battery charger that can charge everything, again controlled with switches. A Vanner to derive 12 vdc for small house loads.

I would install a separate alternator as a valid choice, but about my last choice. It's a good idea, I just think the simpler the better. Mind you it has the benefit of redundancy. Nothing like an extra alternator when you run out of electricity... There is no way I would not have a charger, though.

Brian

happycamperbrat · April 01, 2011, 11:19:52 AM

Quote from: bevans6 on April 01, 2011, 10:29:35 AM
My theory is that you want to be able to charge all of the batteries from the engine, somehow, and charge all of the batteries from the pedestal 120 vac, somehow, and relatively quickly at that. Does me no good on the road to need 48 hours to top off my house bank. So my solution is all 24 volt system, all charged from the alternator, with switches to isolate when required. A large-ish 24 volt battery charger that can charge everything, again controlled with switches. A Vanner to derive 12 vdc for small house loads.

I would install a separate alternator as a valid choice, but about my last choice. It's a good idea, I just think the simpler the better. Mind you it has the benefit of redundancy. Nothing like an extra alternator when you run out of electricity... There is no way I would not have a charger, though.

Brian

Yes, mostly (if not all) my house system will be 24 volt. My chasis is 24 and 12 volt controlled by the Vanner. I dont know enough about this stuff to make huge changes to the system....... yet. But some RTS owners change their entire systems to run off either 24 or 12 volt to get rid of the Vanner or use less batteries. The main problem with the Vanners is that they are expensive (rebuilt about $600) if they blow up.... which mine "might" have. So after I make my next big trip I will know if I fixed the problem with just the wiring in one headlight or if it is a much bigger problem of my Vanner pooping out.

As for house battery charging, I want it all...... I want to charge on the road, by genny, by solar/portable wind power and by shore power. My house will probably be all 24 volt, but I could sneek in a few things 12volt if I were to use the converter...

Im anxious to get set up at least to run off shore power because next week I am installing both 50amp and 30amp outlets at my home (I already have the water and septic hooked up for an RV pad). It would be cool to be able to run stuff in the bus parked at home without having to use long extention cords (which Im having to do right now with my power tools). That's why I was digging around in my storage and looking at the converter I have in there. I may have to just suck it up and buy an inverter or something right now though so I can run my power tools out there...

happycamperbrat · April 01, 2011, 11:21:09 AM

Quote from: fe2_o3 on April 01, 2011, 10:18:06 AM
I'll see to it there is a place for you if you can get there...Cable

Thanks Bill!!! I got my fingers crossed

gus · April 01, 2011, 02:50:11 PM

I just made this conversion and it works great. However, my system is 12v.

It doesn't make a lot of sense to have a 12v converter with a 24v system. If your house was 12v it might make some sense, but it isn't.

A 24v converter seems to be the logical thing here.

happycamperbrat · April 02, 2011, 01:08:53 AM

Thanks for the info Gus! I dug around some more in my storage and found some 12 volt things I would like to keep and use after all. I found a cb my dad used to use, some little personal fans I forgot about, and even a small portable tv with vcr lol.......

gus · April 02, 2011, 02:52:22 PM

My converter upgrade came from the exact same place as the link in your first post. I think I paid around $205 for it and the four-phase battery charger works great. The original charger boiled all the liquid out of the batteries.

I had a problem with the little green light flashes for the battery charger did not agreeing with the instruction book. I emailed the company and got the proper instructions which I can send to you if you get one.

I also had to run some of the heavy wires in front of the DC panel that the inst said should go behind it because there wasn't enough space. It is a tight fit.

It would be a lot simpler if you wired the whole house DC system to 12v and leave the bus 24v. Finding bulbs for a house 24v systems might be difficult and I doubt there is a 24v RV refrigerator.

You can wire the converter to charge all the 12v batteries but it would require some isolation switching which I don't know how to do offhand. Someone on the board will though.