How to disconnect battery charger for Distribution panel Converter

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Sportster280T

Sportster280T

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Joined
Jan 31, 2023
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24
Location
Bancroft, Ont, Canada
I understand that you can't/shouldn't allow Distribution Panel to charge battery's as they are already being charged thru solar Controller.

How do you disconnect charger from system?

My Distribution panel has no breaker or fuse marked charger.
 
Your distribution panel only feeds the converter (charger) that in turn charges the battery bank,, you just need the find your onboard charger and disconnect it from the panel.. This is NOT advisable as you do not always have the sun or even light for the solar use,, many times for many days,, so think hard on this one.. There is no harm in both doing the same job,,, even together..>>>Dan
 
The trailer is a 2021 KZ, would the converter (charger) be Lithium compatible?

Edited to add: I actually found Panel specs which state Lithium ready.
 
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I am sure the factory did not "mix" the two systems,, so if you have added the solar system with a lithium battery,, then you have not done your homework..>>>Dan
 
Utclmjmpr said:
I am sure the factory did not "mix" the two systems,, so if you have added the solar system with a lithium battery,, then you have not done your homework..>>>Dan
Click to expand...
I'm not sure what your trying to get at here??
What two systems are you referring to.
I am attempting to do my homework & after much searching for specs for model wf8955pec distribution centers I just now confirmed the unit IS Lithium battery compatible.
Apparently not all are.
 
The question here is what type batteries do you have??? That will determine how you need to proceed.. At any rate it appears you are OK with the unit as is..as I said earlier both are friendly and one will back-up the other when needed..>>>Dan
 
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Sportster280T said:
I understand that you can't/shouldn't allow Distribution Panel to charge battery's as they are already being charged thru solar Controller.

How do you disconnect charger from system?

My Distribution panel has no breaker or fuse marked charger.
Click to expand...

Usually it is very simple and even REVERSABLE.. Yup.. Do you have a breaker labeled CONV or Converter? IF so turn it off and see what else (if anything) Does not work.. Depending on your converter it will be 15 or 20 amps. Just turn it off. that's all you have do
I see you say it has not such fuse... IN that case if you find the converter (It would be labeled CONV not Charger) YOu can trace the wire... IF you can either add a breaker or put in a "Double half size" (Two indepencent circuit( Breaker to replace the one that feeds it (Not a dual ganged but a two half size in one package) then you will have one dedicated to just the converter.
 
SuwanneeDave said:
Shouldn't there be a transfer switch?
Click to expand...
Not for DC sources. You can parallel two or more and the one with the greatest voltage will override the others. So there's no harm in keeping your existing converter connected to deliver provide power when you're plugged into power at night and your solar panels aren't producing.

Transfer switches are only needed when using two or more AC sources.
 
John From Detroit said:
Usually it is very simple and even REVERSABLE.. Yup.. Do you have a breaker labeled CONV or Converter? IF so turn it off and see what else (if anything) Does not work.. Depending on your converter it will be 15 or 20 amps. Just turn it off. that's all you have do
I see you say it has not such fuse... IN that case if you find the converter (It would be labeled CONV not Charger) YOu can trace the wire... IF you can either add a breaker or put in a "Double half size" (Two indepencent circuit( Breaker to replace the one that feeds it (Not a dual ganged but a two half size in one package) then you will have one dedicated to just the converter.
Click to expand...
I have one marked Con-GFZ, I have no idea what GFZ is?? but when Con is switched off I have no A/C power in the trailer even when Inverter is on.
I know what you mean by "Double half size" so if there's two feeds for that Con breaker you think one is charger?
 
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Sportster280T said:
I have one marked Con-GFZ, I have no idea what GFZ is?? but when Con is switched off I have no A/C power in the trailer even when Inverter is on.
I know what you mean by "Double half size" so if there's two feeds for that Con breaker you think one is charger?
Click to expand...

Well it will either bet two wires connected to the same breaker or one wire and the two connected "Downline" but yes... If the converter is attachedc to the power panel it is easier. If the converter is moutned Elsewhere you may need to run an additional line.
Home depot if anyone does not know the kind of breakers I'm talking about
 
John From Detroit said:
Well it will either bet two wires connected to the same breaker or one wire and the two connected "Downline" but yes... If the converter is attachedc to the power panel it is easier. If the converter is moutned Elsewhere you may need to run an additional line.
Home depot if anyone does not know the kind of breakers I'm talking about
Click to expand...
It was exactly as you said, two wires into one breaker, there was no charge to the battery's when one of the two was disconnected.
Thank You Sir
 
Sportster280T said:
I understand that you can't/shouldn't allow Distribution Panel to charge battery's as they are already being charged thru solar Controller.

How do you disconnect charger from system?

My Distribution panel has no breaker or fuse marked charger.
Click to expand...
Not generally true - simply having an alternate means of charging (solar) does not mean you should disconnect other charging sources.

You said "distribution panel" but that term refers only to the 12v bus that contains the fuses. The distribution panel receives 12v power from some source (batteries, for example) and makes it availble to the branch circuits. Sometimes the distribution panel is integrated with a converter/charger, which I'm guessing is the case here. The panel is probably wired to receive 12v power from two sources, the 12v battery bank and the converter/charger module. Your solar power should be wired to the batteries, so that it is only an indirect feed to the distribution panel.

The you have upgraded to a lithium-type battery bank, you should check the specs on the converter/charger to see if it has a lithium charge mode. If not, the charger is less than ideal for lithium but not harmful. I'd leave it alone, because odds are the wires from charger to battery is also the path for the batteries to feed power to the distribution panel.

We could be of more help if you identifed the make/model on your distribution panel and converter/charger. It should be right on the face of the panel.
 
OK, so you have an lithium compatible, integrated converter/charger and distribution panel. Make sure the WF8955PEC is set for lithium charging rather than lead-acid and you don't need or want to disconnect anything.

From what I read, the WF 8955PEC may need an upgrade to be optimal for lithium batteries, but there are conflicting messages online (aren't there always?) so I'll leave that investigation to you.
 
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Sportster280T said:
It was exactly as you said, two wires into one breaker, there was no charge to the battery's when one of the two was disconnected.
Thank You Sir
Click to expand...
You are welcome.. Glad it was that easy.. also I believe connecting two wires to one breaker terminal is a code violation but the key word is BELIEVE as I"m not an expert on the code.
But of course. you fixed it.
 
The new WFCO converters claim to be auto sensing and will charge lithium or lead acid correctly without user intervention. As with all things WFCO, I have my doubts, but the OP needs to keep an eye on it, to see if it is fully charging the lithium after dark.

I'll parrot what others have said. Do not try to out think the system. DC can accept power from multiple sources at one time, and generally highest voltage wins, no damage is done to have solar, converter (shore or generator) and 7 way from tow vehicle, all inputting at one time.

Charles
 
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