Tell me about shore power and converter chargers.

[RDinNHand AZ]

I tell everyone.....WFCO will ruin FLA and AGM batteries

2 options Progressive Dynamics and IOTA

Really? I have been using a succession of them since 2001 with no issues, 20 years no failed batteries!. I tell everyone to remember you must top up the FLA batteries with distilled water about once a year. No biggie, I will admit I mostly ran on solar.
My ruined batteries have come from battery maintainers and I have lost batteries on several brands. I now run them about 2-3 days a month on a battery with the negative disconnected and 1 day per week on vehicles with the now common parasitic current that all modern vehicles seem to have.

 

[Roaddude]

How does the noco charger work with if you have a load on the battery?

I have an Alpicool fridge that I would like to leave hooked up.

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Works fine. On those occasions I've parked in campgrounds or driveways with shore power I took advantage of it to hook up my NOCO Gen2 Mini, then ran all sorts of 12v stuff to charge mobile devices, camera battery chargers, and my fridge, etc.

It's no different than having a more conventional, portable, 110 battery charger like a lot of folks have in their garage. I have one of these Potek Smart Chargers for the dual starting batts in my diesel van, and do the same thing there; use 12v accessories while this is maintaining/charging the batteries:


..

What I'm rigging up now, though, is redundant solar power through smart solar charge controllers; one system for the trailer and one for the van. So I can keep both systems charged independently, use them apart from each other, and use shore power(or shore chargers) with either system even less, even in the dead of winter or when not using van or trailer for long periods. A regularly topped off battery is a happy battery.

I have one Victron 75 10 smart charge controller and may duplicate it for the trailer, which currently has a Zamp charge controller (below), because the Victron has MPPT for solar and has bluetooth so you can control from and see stats with your phone or tablet.



..

 

[Boatbuilder79]

Will the noco switch from float back to charging when the fridge cycles on and off?
will the progressive dynamics?

 

[Roaddude]

Will the noco switch from float back to charging when the fridge cycles on and off?
will the progressive dynamics?

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I'll refer you to NOCO Support, where you should be able to find more info and details with greater accuracy than I can provide with any authority. Just scroll down to Genius Chargers and to the charger you're interested in potentially purchasing.

Also, I don't know you're asking a question unless you quote my post, unless I happen to glance back in here, which is often sporadic at best.
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[Buddha.]

I have a single 100 ah flooded lead acid house battery. It powers a fridge, water pump, lights, fan inverter and tool battery chargers.

it is fed by a yandina combiner and solar.

I want to add shore power.

What shore power converter contraption do you recommend?

I’m not sure if this was clear or not.
You can use either a battery charger or a converter charger.
The battery charger will just charge your battery.
The converter charger will supply 12v directly off of shore power and charge your batteries as well.

I assume the converter charger is better because it doesn’t force the batteries to be part of the equation when using 12v.

I had a progressive dynamics with “charge wizard” and though it worked well. It never cooked my batteries.

 

[4000lbsOfGoat]

I assume the converter charger is better because it doesn’t force the batteries to be part of the equation when using 12v.

There is nothing wrong with the batteries being "part of the equation". That is what they are there for. Everything runs off of the battery and the charger maintains the battery as-needed. Any decent modern charger is smart enough to monitor the battery and charge it at the best rate.

 

[Buddha.]

There is nothing wrong with the batteries being "part of the equation". That is what they are there for. Everything runs off of the battery and the charger maintains the battery as-needed. Any decent modern charger is smart enough to monitor the battery and charge it at the best rate.

I was thinking along the lines of the batteries being good for x amount of cycles. Would charging the batteries while drawing off of them count as cycling them? idk

 

[john61ct]

good modern converters are chargers, period.

chargers will power loads just as well

so long as their output is large enough no energy at all is drawn from the bank

 

[Alloy]

Really? I have been using a succession of them since 2001 with no issues, 20 years no failed batteries!. I tell everyone to remember you must top up the FLA batteries with distilled water about once a year. No biggie, I will admit I mostly ran on solar.
My ruined batteries have come from battery maintainers and I have lost batteries on several brands. I now run them about 2-3 days a month on a battery with the negative disconnected and 1 day per week on vehicles with the now common parasitic current that all modern vehicles seem to have.

If you can get a bulk charge at 14.4VDC (per spec) from a WFCO let me know. The most I've seen is 13.4VDC.

 

[john61ct]

The charge sources' output terminals should be very close to the bank posts.

Fat wire helps if more than a couple feet.

But for units with non-adjustable voltage, maybe select your chemistry to match the fixed setpoints.

For many flooded, 14.8V is preferred over 14.4

And equalizing cycles are at up to 15.8V.

Worst case use the "RV converter" for running loads, and a DC "boost converter" for proper battery maintenance.

 

[86scotty]

I would not recommend a converter/charger when you are this far along in building a system. I'd definitely go for an inverter charger instead. I have had amazing luck with AIMS power units in the last few years. For just a little more money you basically complete every need you might have.


AC passthrough from shore power to AC outlets when you are home or at a place with a power hookup (you might not have now but think how handy they can be for your chargers, small kitchen appliances, etc)
A near silent high quality inverter to run AC chargers/appliances when needed while on the road or off the grid
3 stage charging/maintaining of your batteries

 

[DaveInDenver]

I just read its ’specs.
Apparently it can if put into force mode.
Otherwise like many batterychargers it wont turn on its output unless it senses the battery voltage. Force mode turns on the charger even if it detects 0V on its charging leads.

I just picked up a Noco GEN5X1, their waterproof on-board single supply charger. Not sure if it's the same for all Noco models but the force mode on this one will supply it's full current (5 amps in my case) but only for 5 minutes before dropping back to its controlled profile (which does step through various bulk, absorb, float). When it finishes and goes into long term float it appear to be CV at 13.6V (IIRC, for AGM profile) and CC at 150mA as an attempt I assume not to overcharge while compensating for self discharge. It's not really ideal for using as a power supply. This is kind of unfortunate because the little charger works pretty well as a charger just as long as you don't have a small load or something you want to supply with it floating. It seems to really be expecting just to be charging/maintaining a battery fully disconnected from its load.

Should probably also mention that battery chargers aren't always safe to power on with no battery connected. Even if it says "force on" doesn't mean it works exactly like a power supply, which generally won't need a load connected to stay in regulation while a charger probably does.

 

[Alloy]

good modern converters are chargers, period.

chargers will power loads just as well

so long as their output is large enough no energy at all is drawn from the bank

A converter/ power supply can't be programmed to suit the charging specs nor does it have a battery temp sensor.

Commonly used Trojan T105 require 14.82V @77F this would need to be higher as temp drop. The converters I know of (WFCO PD and IOTA) will out a max of 14.4V.

 

[Boatbuilder79]

PowerMax Converters - Battery Chargers Power Supplies Inverters Generators

PowerMax Converters 12V, 24V, 48V Battery Chargers for LA AGM Lithium, AC & DC Power Supplies, 12V to 110Vac Inverters based in Bradenton FL

powermaxconverters.com

Anyone have any experiance with power max?

seems a lot cheaper than the progressive dynamics and has a lot of positive reviews on anazon but I think they come from China.

 

[FosterWV]

How does the noco charger work with if you have a load on the battery?

I have an Alpicool fridge that I would like to leave hooked up.

I have the same fridge, and NOCO Gen 1

When we camp w power hook up the NOCO maintains the batteries the voltage and input amps varies on load and when fully charged goes into stand by mode. Also went w their external plug.