New camping trailer. Battery/generator questions

[dreadlocks]

thats still not an inverter, thats your onboard charger/power supply.. you do not possess any inverters, an inverter turns DC voltage into AC voltage.. all u got is stuff that turns AC voltage into DC.. an inverter is what people use so they can run TV's and other 120v appliances off a DC power source (battery)

both of em look like rather dumb chargers without any charging profiles or safety mechanisms.. you cant just leave em hooked up to these chargers continuously tho, the'll cook batteries... these kinda dumb chargers are more designed for use as a secondary/backup source to charge a battery when the primary source fails (Alternator/Solar) but if put on as a primary charge source they have a tendency to dramatically reduce your batteries lifespan because they just output power blindly and dont monitor the battery and adjust its output based on what the battery wants for the long haul.. like stoping charge when full and then providing a small trickle charge intermintently to keep it topped off without boiling away the liquids inside it.

 

[BlackdogGS]

Got it! So I need to upgrade my charger to a smart type or just use the onboard charger/power supply. Is there any need for me too get an inverter?

 

[Alloy]

It is called a converter or another name is power supply. If it is a WAFCO brand these are poor battery chargers.

Iota and Progressive Dynamics are other brands of converters that a somewhat better. These will do 3 stages -Bulk - Absorption - Float.

A good FLA (flooded lead acid) battery charger will us a battery temperature sensor and will charge in 5 stages -Bulk - Absorption - Float - Stand By - Automatic or Manual Equalization

 

[BlackdogGS]

My WFCO has the Absorption/Bulk/Float feature. This is a Coachman (Forest River) so everything in it is probably low end.

 

[dreadlocks]

if you dont have any AC appliances you wish to run you dont needa inverter, mine is mostly to power my Coffee Maker or recharge my dewalts (a sawzaw w/a nice long ugly blade can make short work of a pile of limbs).. it depends on if everything you need off battery is DC already.

The onboard charger (your WFCO) is probably your best bet, if you invest any more into your electrical/battery system you might consider something more robust w/safety features.

 

[BlackdogGS]

I have my Honda inverted generator. I think I’ll be ok. I’ll know more after my first trip. Going to the Northwest Territories.

 

[dreadlocks]

yeah I ran my coffee maker just fine off the genny all summer, I just dont like firing it up in a campground that early.. im usually one of the first ones moving about, so I wanna make my coffee in quiet and then run the generator later to recharge the battery.. but I do agree with you, take it out a few times before you go all in on outfitting it.. an inverter just helps you drain your batteries faster really, with traditional lead batteries the less current the more capacity.. 1A for 10h will use less batttery capacity than 10A for 1h..

Also an inverter should be appropriately sized for your loads, I grabbed a cheap one I already had from HF and took on my first trip.. only to realize at camp that my coffee maker drew alot more amps than my inverter could supply so the setup was worthless.. so if you end up wanting your AC outlets to work when your on battery you'll need to size your inverter according to what your intending on plugging into those outlets.. a laptop/tool charger? a small TV? a toaster? those use vastly different amounts of wattage and an inverter thats good enough for one may not work for the others.

 

[dwh]

DC -> AC = INverter
AC -> DC = CONverter
DC -> DC = CONverter (I.e. 24vdc -> 12vdc)

A dumb converter that holds a set voltage is a power supply.

A smart converter that can raise the voltage to a high enough level to properly charge a battery is a battery charger.


A box which combines AC circuit breakers with a 12v converter is a power center. A power center can supply power to 120v loads if there is incoming AC power (shore or generator), and the built-in converter can also supply DC loads so the battery doesn't run down.

If there is no incoming AC, then the AC circuits of the power center are dead, and the DC circuits run from the battery.

The converter in a power center can keep a full battery topped up, but at a fixed voltage of generally around 13.5v, it cannot fully charge a depleted battery.

Best Converter makes upgrade kits to replace the converter section of a power center with a proper battery charger (smart converter)...


http://www.bestconverter.com/Replacement-Lower-Converter-Assembly-for-WFCO-8955_c_196.html

 

[john61ct]

I must have an inverter, when I'm plugged into shore power I have 12 volt lights, etc. I guess I'll have to look harder.

Please read how I defined "inverter" again more closely.

 

[john61ct]

DC -> AC = INverter
AC -> DC = CONverter
DC -> DC = CONverter (I.e. 24vdc -> 12vdc)

Since the second use of converter there is confusing and afaik specific only to tge US RV industry (famous for poor quality electrickery systems in the mainstream),

IMO best to just use "charger", knowing that in either case expensive deep cycling banks require quality gear, not cheap garage style stuff.

There is nothing even the best "converters" (in that sense) can do that you don't get from good quality chargers, especially those standard in marine applications.

relevant: http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/f14/do-you-really-need-a-400-charger-208103.html#post2730903