Dumb Electrical Question

[Bob H]

I was just curious about 110AC/12VDC converters.

1. If I have one hooked up to my 110V shore power circuit, to supply 12VDC to my DC lights & furnace, do I need a cutout switch for my battery?

2. If I don't have a battery cutout, do I run the risk of boiling out my battery by having it on the circut all the time?

3. And on the flip side, should I also have a cutout switch between the converter and the 110v circuit to prevent charging the 110V circuit, if I don"t want to, anytime I'm running on battery power only?

My reason for asking. I bought a old working Coleman 110V converter at a garage sale, but I only know enough about electricity to be dangerous. Anyone know how these Converter Critters work?

BTW... Merry Christmas Everyone!

[Byron Kinnaman]

I was just curious about 110AC/12VDC converters.

1. If I have one hooked up to my 110V shore power circuit, to supply 12VDC to my DC lights & furnace, do I need a cutout switch for my battery?

2. If I don't have a battery cutout, do I run the risk of boiling out my battery by having it on the circut all the time?

3. And on the flip side, should I also have a cutout switch between the converter and the 110v circuit to prevent charging the 110V circuit, if I don"t want to, anytime I'm running on battery power only?

My reason for asking. I bought a old working Coleman 110V converter at a garage sale, but I only know enough about electricity to be dangerous. Anyone know how these Converter Critters work?

BTW... Merry Christmas Everyone!

1 & 2.
If you can find the model number of the converter check on line with Coleman. Most manufactures have a manual. What you want to know is what kind of carginger circuit the converter has. If it doesn't have some kind of smarts, than get a "Charge Wizzard" to put between the converter and the battery.

3. No problem, they don't work in reverse.

[Darwin Maring]

You can purchase a battery cutoff switch at Wallyworld that attaches to the negative side of the battery and you can switch off the battery anytime you wish. It has a round green knob on top and is not expensive at all.

I use one when I will be connected to shore power for extended lengths of time as I do not have a charge wizard on my converter.