URGENT HELP needed: woke up to S&HCl smell

[sisu]

I have the series 6300A model 6325 power converter with battery charger made by Magnatek Power Plus in a 1994 Northern Lite 9.6 hardside slide in. My wife finally figured out that the smell was not from the new sewer being installed where we are camped, but our battery was HOT. I removed the battery (6.25 volts left in it).
We've been plugged into the AC since Sunday nearly a week ago. Thursday we disconnected to buy fishing supplies and reconnected. That evening she mentioned that the converter was not making the usual clicking sounds. I don't know what the heck went wrong and I also don't know how old the battery was as it came with the camper.
Where we are at there are a lot of marine supply places but no RV repair shops. But RV and boat should not be much different. If you can help please reply ASAP. I'll check here in the AM but I am not going to check again till the PM on Sunday as the silvers are running and I really want to fish. Even if you have a slight hint as to what you my think is wrong please reply.
Thank you,
Scott

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[dwh]

Battery was at 6.25v - is that a 6v battery or a 12v battery? If it's a 6v - well and good, but if it's a 12v battery it's likely to be toast.

Is it a flooded type battery where you can add water, or is it a sealed type battery? If it's a sealed battery and you smelled fumes from it venting - well that's that. It's all downhill from there. Sealed batteries have a pop-off valve to release over-pressure in the event of overcharging but there is no way to replenish the lost water, so it will forever more have a dodgy electrolyte balance.

Even if it's a flooded battery, and you can top it off with water, it's likely to be unacceptably (and permanently) weakened from too long a period of not having been properly charged.

You will probably have to replace it. If the battery is in your living quarters, then you should replace it with a sealed battery. A true "deep cycle" (NOT rv/marine) AGM battery is the best.

Starting batteries have thin lead plates to dump peak amperage quickly, deep cycle batteries have thick lead plates to dump sustained amperage over a longer time, and RV/marine is a compromise between the two with medium thickness lead plates.

AGM (Absorbed Glass Mat) is a sealed battery that has fiberglass matting between the plates. They don't vent unless overcharged (like any sealed battery), and they don't slosh because the electrolyte is absorbed into the matting.

I would avoid Gel type batteries, as they desire a slightly different charge voltage and are very sensitive to being over-charged. They require a charger that has a "Gel" setting. AGM and FLA (flooded) generally have the same charge specs, so a charger that works on one, will work on the other.

If you replace the battery with a flooded type (you can add water) then if it's in your living compartment, you should ABSOLUTELY put it in a box which is vented to the outside and CANNOT vent hydrogen into the living compartment. When hydrogen burns, it's somewhat like gun powder - it burns so fast, that to the naked eye, it's basically indistinguishable from an explosion.

Technically, even a sealed battery is supposed to be in a box vented to the outside - "just in case" it gets overcharged and the pop-off valve releases hydrogen.


As to the Magnetek...they don't have a very good reputation. They were apparently a low-cost unit favored by many RV manufacturers at one time. Favored due to the price, not the performance. Apparently the 12v converter/charger section is not a very good design.

There are many reports on the Information SuperInterWebs Highway about Magnetek problems and failures.


Parallax Power makes an upgrade kit for the Magnetek 6300:

http://www.parallaxpower.com/7300/7300RU.pdf

BestConverter.com sells the upgrade kit.

http://www.bestconverter.com/Magnetek-63007300-Upgrade-Kit_c_64.html

The upgrade kit comes with either a 45a or 55a converter/charger section (more output than the original) and a new fuse block (to handle the increased output), and is reasonably easy to install. Here's a page on BestConverter.com that shows photos of the process:

http://www.bestconverter.com/MagnetekParallax-to-Ultra-III_ep_8-1.html

Personally, if I were to go that route, I would go with the 45a unit. The reason is simply that a 55a charger is right at the ragged edge of what a common "1600w continuous / 2000w surge" inverter generator (such as the Honda, Yamaha, Champion, Kipor, Briggs & Stratton, Generac and others) can run. 45a is right in the sweet spot to run from a 1600wC/2000wS inverter generator - 55a is pushing it. The Honda could almost certainly handle it. The Yamaha probably. The others...roll of the dice.


Another option, is to replace the converter/charger section of the Magnetek with a different converter/charger entirely. Here's a page on how to replace the 12v converter/charger section of a Magnetek power panel with a Progressive Dynamics converter/charger:

http://home.comcast.net/~rabarber/magnetek.htm


Here's a page on replacing the Magnetek converter/charger section with a 55a WFCO converter/charger:

http://homepage.mac.com/pseabolt/Camper/Converter web/Site/Welcome.html


Personally, if I were going to go that route, I'd probably use an Iota DLS converter/charger with IQ/4 3-stage control module rather than the PD or WFCO:

http://www.iotaengineering.com/12vdc.htm

 

[Byrdseye]

Make sure your fridge has not sprung a leak in its gas tubing..............

 

[sisu]

OK, replaced battery with the glass mat & no problems charging going down the road. I still need to check when plugged into a inverter or 120. We own the small 1000 watt Yamaha, so I guess I need to becareful what I replace my converter with if it is bad.