Replacing Old AC/DC Converter Charger?

[V'sGlassSleeper]

Update - finally got the 4135 Progressive Dynamics installed!

I had almost all the wiring figured out but called someone out to double-check it just to be sure, as I did get confused about grounding because there were some older wires from the trailer that ended up being redundant. The RV mechanic said that using stranded wire for the grounding wire (which was what was original to the travel trailer) is not a good idea, as it can corrode.

For the Progressive Dynamics ACDC Charger unit, I ran two new bare copper wires (per the manufacturer's tech support guy's suggestion) and the RV mechanic secured them (after using my angle grinder to clean the paint off the frame ).

I was wondering if I should I be putting any kind of protectant over where the bare copper grounding wires are screwed to the chassis?

Also, should I be covering those bare copper grounding wires with something so that they don't corrode, since they are under the trailer and will be subjected to water and dirt from the road? I bought various sizes of the long black plastic wiring protectors from Harbor Freight - would those be appropriate to use?

[Borrego Dave]

Originally Posted by V'sGlassSleeper

Update - finally got the 4135 Progressive Dynamics installed!
I had almost all the wiring figured out but called someone out to double-check it just to be sure, as I did get confused about grounding because there were some older wires from the trailer that ended up being redundant. The RV mechanic said that using stranded wire for the grounding wire (which was what was original to the travel trailer) is not a good idea, as it can corrode.
For the Progressive Dynamics ACDC Charger unit, I ran two new bare copper wires (per the manufacturer's tech support guy's suggestion) and the RV mechanic secured them (after using my angle grinder to clean the paint off the frame ).
I was wondering if I should I be putting any kind of protectant over where the bare copper grounding wires are screwed to the chassis?
Also, should I be covering those bare copper grounding wires with something so that they don't corrode, since they are under the trailer and will be subjected to water and dirt from the road? I bought various sizes of the long black plastic wiring protectors from Harbor Freight - would those be appropriate to use?

Kind of wonder about the stranded wire being a problem as many ground wires on TTs and vehicles are stranded to the end user. If you were in a high salt use, snow and rain area I could see a possible problem. Covering the wires with the HF covers won't hurt but really not needed. If you're really worried about the ground connection at the frame, spraying it with a coating made for battery posts or Vaseline would work also.

[Buggeee]

Hey Val Progressive Dynamics 4 stage rocks! You'll love it.

Two 6v batteries can take a beating better but they will provide the same capacity as one 12v battery. I did Trojan 6v flooded golf cart batteries for years, and loved them because I could drain them senseless, but had four of them to get the capacity of two 12v.

Two 12v batteries will double your capacity, making it less likely to dip into the sketchy discharge levels that damage your batteries.

Get two batteries at the same time, don't lash new to old, they perform to the level of the weakest link.

Get true deep cycle (either (a) flooded golf cart or (b) absorbed glass mat deep cycle). Don't do the typical RV/Marine batteries, they have medium thickness plates in between car battery (thin) and golf cart battery (thick) and won't take the beatings we dish out boondocking.

Try to think of 50 percent discharge as your lower limit. In other words use 12.0v as your floor and 11.8 as your "oh no" moments. Whenever you fully discharge a lead battery to it's floor you cash in one of it's nine lives (so to speak, they call it discharge cycles). Stay above 50 percent, and they last for years.

Two 12v are wired to each other positive to positive and negative to negative (parallel). Two 6v are positive to negative (series), to create 12v for your camper.

Your camper wiring stays the same. The wiring between the batteries should be thick (think what jumper cables look like) and short.

Fun stuff!

[TheWanderers]

Val,

I was supposed to be sleeping last night while the same thought occurred to me: our 1988 Bigfoot fiver has been plugged in for four days straight without any real drain on the system. This started me worrying about overcharging that battery. We brought Gladys home on Friday afternoon and I set her up in our driveway so we could show off our new-to-us trailer.

About 2:00 am last night, it occurred to me that the same charging system that we'd installed into our old Scamp using the Progressive Dynamics upgrade to the "smart" charge controller, would be a good upgrade in Gladys. (I unplugged her this morning.)

The install on the Scamp wasn't too tough and I ended up changing quite a few wires during the install, because I could, and because I didn't like the look of some of the old wiring. We added all new exterior lights on Ziggy too. While, I don't think we're planning new lights for Gladys, the updated PD smart charger feels like something that we are going to want to install before next camping season. However, it's gonna have to be put on a lower priority while our checking account recharges itself. hahaha


Did the 4135 fit into the existing hole or did you need to cut the wood panel to get it to fit the hole?

bill (not laura)

[John in Santa Cruz]

Fwiw, I recently replaced the failed 30A converter in my Casita with a pd4630.... The PD whistles under very low loads like 1-2 led lamps when on AC power. PD says they know this, are working on a fix, but don't have one yet...they will replace the whistlers when they have it sorted...

[John in Santa Cruz]

Buggeee, your math is wrong. A 6v batt is the same physical size as a 12v will have at least twice the AH rating. In series, you add the voltage, in parallel you add the current. 2 6v 200AH in series is theoretically the same as 2 12v 100ah in parallel, BUTT the series batteries won't drain each other the way parallel ones will. Also, the same size 6v is probably 230ah, not 200 because 3 cells waste less internal space than 6 cell 12v Batts. Dual Interstate GC2-XDH 6V 230AH rock!

[Franswa]

what tune ?

[TheWanderers]

We'll be installing the 4135 unit this spring or as soon as the weather permits working outside. Just not right now with the morning temps at 3° on my way to work. whew!


bill (not laura)

[Buggeee]

Originally Posted by John in Santa Cruz

Buggeee, your math is wrong. A 6v batt is the same physical size as a 12v will have at least twice the AH rating. In series, you add the voltage, in parallel you add the current. 2 6v 200AH in series is theoretically the same as 2 12v 100ah in parallel, BUTT the series batteries won't drain each other the way parallel ones will. Also, the same size 6v is probably 230ah, not 200 because 3 cells waste less internal space than 6 cell 12v Batts. Dual Interstate GC2-XDH 6V 230AH rock!

Hi John. I think we are saying the same thing. Or at least trying to. The two 6v batts run in a series to create 12v will have a total ah capacity equal to the rating shown on one of the batteries.

Man I can't wait for spring. I thought for sure I was going to hear the ground crack this week from the cold (happens sometimes here).

[Kenny Strong]

I ordered a 41or 4245 progressive by mistake with an order. I thought I had chosen a 41or4235. (senile dementia ? ) rather than mess with return, and doing some research I found the wire needed; according to the convertor size and the distance to the battery, I would need to upgrade to 12/10 gauge wire and not the 35 amp wiring in place. ( it might get burnt up). I bought 10 gauge from Home Depot cut off a roll. The old convertor screwed up batteries and melted led lights.

[V'sGlassSleeper]

Hi Bill (not Laura),

I'm sorry but for some reason, I did not get updates on the posts to this thread so am just seeing this now. To answer your question - my old converter/charger was larger than the PD 4135. I happened to have some wood paneling in my workshop, so I just cut a piece to cover the excess and cut out the inside to match the size of the PD 4135. Will post a photo at some point - worked great.

One thing that is confusing to me is that someone else recently posted a new thread about replacing his 30 AMP 1984 Scamp converter with a 45 AMP converter and forum members who are responding that this should be just fine. But the responses to my thread and from Progressive Dynamics were to not go more than 5 AMPs over the original converter/power center rating. I am fine with the one that I purchased, and I prefer to follow the manufacturer's (Progressive Dynamics) recommendation, which agreed with the advice I was given to not go more than 5 AMPs over, as I don't need more than 30 AMPs worth of power.

[TheWanderers]

Val,

Thanks for the update. I am going to be working on replacing the charge controller this week now that the weather has improved. I'm looking forward to replacing the tired unit but not trying to figure out the wiring issues relating to our dead battery. When I brought Gladys home from Canada she had a new battery but after a few weeks of being home, that new battery was dead. I'm charging it now but I don't expect it to take a charge and we'll be replacing the battery as soon as I can get the charge controller installed. A quick test with a multi-meter showed zero charge being returned to the battery when on shore power. I don't know what the capabilities of the original charging system include so I've opted to simply replace the charge controller to eliminate any potential problems.

Tracing wires inside the Bigfoot is no where near as easy as tracing wires in a Scamp. It's gonna be fun.

bill (not laura)

[John in Santa Cruz]

Originally Posted by TheWanderers

When I brought Gladys home from Canada she had a new battery but after a few weeks of being home, that new battery was dead. I'm charging it now but I don't expect it to take a charge and we'll be replacing the battery as soon as I can get the charge controller installed.

is that battery a flooded aka wet cell, with removable caps? check all cells have acid above the plates, ideally right up to the 'ring' at the bottom of the filler hole. top off any low cells with distilled water. put the caps back on, gently rock the battery side to side to mix the water with the acid, then put it on a car charger that has 8-20 amps, leave it over night, then use a specific gravity tester (its like a turkey baster with a float in the plastic tube) to check the battery acid condition in each cell. if that doesn't bring it back, then the battery is toast.

oh, wear rubber gloves when handling batteries, the acid in them can give you a nasty burn. have some baking soda handy to neutralize any spills (but do NOT let any baking soda get INTO the battery or you'll ruin it).

[V'sGlassSleeper]

Hi Bill (not Laura),

Great idea to use the protective covers on the underbelly run - I did the same thing but bought them at Harbor Freight - good to know that Amazon has them too!

Haven't posted photos yet - been too busy doing landscaping in my back yard, but will be back to trailer reno shortly.

Keep us updated!

[redbarron55]

When charging a battery that has low water add water to cover the plates, not to the full ring.
If you fill to the ring the acid formed will expand and overflow making a mess AND end up diluting the acid.
After the battery has charged add what little needs to be added to get to the ring and trickle charge.
Many batteries are killed by overflowing the acid from overfilling.

[TheWanderers]

Ladies & Gentlemen,

This battery is dead. It is brand new, purchased within the last 6 months, and not even dusty yet. It worked great on the trip home from Canada and for a month after arrival. However, after sitting in the driveway the interior lights would not come on so I put a multi-tester on the battery as well as the charging system and there is zero charge coming from the charger. I have had the battery on the trickle charger for almost and weak and it simply will not accept a charge. I haven't even checked to see if the caps would come off so I don't know what the water level is inside. I'll prolly check that before I use it for exchange/core when I buy a replacement.

This bit of bad weather we've been having has prevented me from getting outside to do any more work. I'm just not a fan of working in the cold if I don't have to, so I'm not doing any outside work right now.

bill (not laura)

[k0wtz]

sounds like a dead cell. as a side note the battery in our 2002 Cadillac quite accepting a charge took it to walmarts where it came from. their comment time for a new battery yours is 8 years old! what? a cheap walmarts battery going 8 years?

I didn't believe it either until they showed it to me I cant believe we have owned that car for 8 years I remember putting that battery in it was expensive goes under the seat!


bob

[John in Santa Cruz]

Time flies like the wind.
Fruit flies like bananas!

[TheWanderers]

Originally Posted by TheWanderers

Ladies & Gentlemen, This battery is dead. It is brand new, purchased within the last 6 months, and not even dusty yet.
bill (not laura)

Well, it turns out that the battery was not dead. I left it on the trickle charger for almost a week and when I checked it last Friday, it was holding a good charge. Go figure...

So, I installed the PD smart charger and connected the new landing gear to the battery. The instructions on this charger are a little "light weight" and require a little personal interpretation. However, the first two parts of the system test were successful and all that remains is to attach to shore power and verify the charging system is working correctly.

We're getting ready for our first trip of the season and I still have to fill and flush all the tanks to "de-winterize" before we can actually hit the road.

[John in Santa Cruz]

if that battery is a wet cell, I'd pop the caps and verify all the cells are reasonably filled, and ideally do a hydrometer test to ensure the specific gravity is close to the same in all cells (ideally, 100% charged after your week on the trickler...)

if the battery was completely flattened, there's a fairly good chance that its capacity has been impacted, and that its got far less usable amp*hours than it did originally.