purchasing a new 55amp converter for my 30 amp service

[sluggermike]

I'm considering purchasing a new converter for my 2004 Fleetwood Terra.  I have a 30 amp converter and I was wondering what size I need.  Amazon has a 55 amp converter, and I was wondering if there is any advantage except for price in  buying a 55 amp converter over a 45 amp converter.  Amazon only sells the 55 where as CW sells the 45 amp.  The price is cheaper for the larger converter

 

[kdbgoat]

Have you checked bestconvertors.com?

To answer your question, the more amps the convertor puts out, the faster it will charge the batteries...to a point. Batteries will only take a certain amount of charge at a time. The convertor also powers the DC system in the RV at the same time. Bigger is better if you still have halogen lights and/or run the furnace a lot.

 

[John From Detroit]

Ok the converter amps is how much battery power it can put out.

Proper size for your converter is found by adding up your batteries... (The C/20 capacity rating) and multiplyinb by 0.3

So for a single Group 27 or 29. (Both are "About" 100 AH) a 30 amp is ideal. 55 can charge them too fast and reduce battery life.

FOr a pair of GC-2  (about 220 amp hour) well 0.3 times 220 is 66 so a 55  or 60 would be ideal.

IF You are replacing converters... Progressive Dymanics..  I'd not bother with other makes  IF the conerter is a box on it's own 9200 line  if it's built into the power panel 4600

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

Within reason, there is no disadvantage of installing a larger-than-necessary converter/charger. Probably no advantage in going way above basic need, but if the price is right...

 

[PJ Stough]

Ok the converter amps is how much battery power it can put out.

Proper size for your converter is found by adding up your batteries... (The C/20 capacity rating) and multiplyinb by 0.3

So for a single Group 27 or 29. (Both are "About" 100 AH) a 30 amp is ideal. 55 can charge them too fast and reduce battery life.

FOr a pair of GC-2  (about 220 amp hour) well 0.3 times 220 is 66 so a 55  or 60 would be ideal.

IF You are replacing converters... Progressive Dymanics..  I'd not bother with other makes  IF the conerter is a box on it's own 9200 line  if it's built into the power panel 4600

I have 4 GC-2 golf cart batteries, and a PD-9260 converter/charger, and even when the batteries are down to about 50% state of charge, they will not accept a charge over 50 amps for more than a few minutes.

Does this mean I have an issue with my batteries or charger/converter?

 

[Lou Schneider]

Nope, that's normal, Paul.

4 golf cart batteries are about 400 - 450 amp-hours.  That's their capacity or "C".

A C/10 charging rate is pretty fast,  40 - 45 amps for your battery bank and it decreases as your batteries gain charge.

Add two more golf cart batteries and you'll increase both your C and the C/10 charging rate by 50%.

With a 60 amp converter you'd have to use 15 amps for other stuff before the battery charge rate would decrease.  If you only have a 45 amp converter you'd decrease the charging rate by the amount of power you use, since there's only a total of 45 amps to go around.

 

[sluggermike]

John from Detroit wrote it might be harmful to the batteries if the converter/charger has too many amps for the batteries.  I have two 6 vdc house batteries hooked up in series.  The converter/charger I'm looking at is a three stage charger.  I don't know if that makes any difference?  I also noted Gary wrote it shouldn't be a problem getting a large converter/charger.  I'm a little confused.  Thanks.

 

[youracman]

John from Detroit wrote it might be harmful to the batteries if the converter/charger has too many amps for the batteries.  I have two 6 vdc house batteries hooked up in series.  The converter/charger I'm looking at is a three stage charger.  I don't know if that makes any difference?  I also noted Gary wrote it shouldn't be a problem getting a large converter/charger.  I'm a little confused.  Thanks.

Mike, I too have two 6v batteries connected in series.  The PO of my rig upgraded the converter to a Progressive Dynamics 55 Amp converter; it has a "charge wizard" built in to correctly charge the batteries (probably most of the modern converters do, I'd wager.)  My batteries are now 4 years old. No problems of any kind, so far.  I have to add water once a year to keep the plates covered.  That's only one user data point, but my experience is probably typical.

Also, my coach batteries are connected (via a solenoid) to the Ford's 130 Amp alternator circuitry (as is the Ford chassis battery) as I am going down the road (a typical configuration, right?)  I don't worry a lot that the alternator has too much current generating capability 

Good luck with your project...............and safe travels.

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

John from Detroit wrote it might be harmful to the batteries if the converter/charger has too many amps for the batteries.

The batteries only take what they can use.  The charger provides a charging voltage and as many amps as the battery can absorb, but a 55A charger doesn't force 55A all the time.  However, the smaller charger would limit the max amps to a lower amount (45 or less).


Actually, the 55A is the total capability of the converter, shared between your RV's powering internal systems (lights, circuit boards etc)  and charging. The charger only gets to use what is left over after any other demands are satisfied.