New Converter/Charger

[HBarlow]

I completed a simple project today that may interest a few RV owners. I installed a new Intelli-Power 9260 in my HitchHiker fifth wheel. This is a 60 amp AC/DC converter.

Intelli-Power PD9260C 60A Electronic RV Converter/Charger

An AC/DC converter converts 115vac shore power to 12vdc to operate trailer 12 volt lighting and to provide 12v power to the control board for the refrigerator, and power furnace blower, water pump, etc. All converters perform this function fairly well and last almost forever. Converters also charge the trailer batteries.

The important feature the Intelli-Power converter provides that other converters don't is precise battery maintenance. My new converter came with a battery charge minder which uses one of four automatic modes to care for the battery with a light to tell the owner what mode it is in and a button for operator control. It won't overcharge and damage batteries when plugged in all the time.

My HH came with an Atwood 55 amp converter. It provided 12v as it should but it overcharged and destroyed batteries as many of them do. I keep the trailer stored in a large metal building and keep it plugged in all the time. A few months ago I discovered the batteries were gassing excessively and one was bad. The trailer was only two years old. I bought a pair of new Interstate 29 series batteries from SAM's Club. I checked them a week or so ago and found water level was already down on both new batteries.

I ordered a new Intelli-Power from Tweetys.com, an internet RV parts discounter. I knew when I ordered the HH I would probably have to replace the converter and should have done it sooner.

Tweetys.com - RV Parts & Accessories - 5th Wheel Hitches, RV Parts and Accessories

I installed it today. It is a simple plug and play installation. I removed the original, connected positive and neutral wires and a ground and plugged it in. Three mounting screws driven into a wood panel hold it in place. I had to add a quart of distilled water to each new battery to refill.

An Avion travel trailer I owned several years back also overcharged its batteries and I installed an Intelli-Power converter in it. They are an excellent product. Batteries last much longer with the Intelli-Power.

 

[CKelley1]

harvey what i do not understand is why so many brand new trailers do not have this feature. it only cost about $15 more for this upgrade. i installed a intella-power two years back now i never have to check them

 

[Gary - K7GLD]

Just a FWIW...



Here's an interesting related article from over in IRV2.com, particularly because it too, is related to upgrading the RV system - but also because it relates to the same brand and model unit as in our Winnegago MH - might interest a few others here who want to at least try an alternative and less costly approach:

With all due respect to the above posters, I will disagree to some extent about the old converters. Now if you have the coins to do so, sure swap the thing out for a newer one but if that isn’t an option and depending on the make and model to what you have it might be adjustable to give you the service you want. Let me add here, I went through this problem of cooking my coach battery on a 94 motor home until I got smart and started researching the properties of wet cell batteries. What I learned and this applies to most any 12 volt battery, the maintenance voltage on a fully charged battery should not ever exceed 13. 8 VDC. So this should be the first step in checking your battery. If it’s 13. 9 or better, yep, eventually it’ll start cooking. So try this------



1. If you have a digital volt meter (and if not get one even for future use and Radio Shacks have them at a reasonable price) with shore power applied, measure across the terminals of a fully charged battery. Correct reading should be between 13. 4 and 13. 8 VDC. If it’s greater then 13. 8, kill all shore power and go to the next step.



2. Determine what the Make and Model that is the converter. (Most converters are located under the refrigerator as a part of the fuse/circuit breaker box. (If not, locate it if possible. ) Should it be a Magnetec(?) 6300, it’s probably adjustable. If so-----next step.



3. If it’s a 6300, pull the face plate off so you can look inside behind the fuse/CB panel. Look down to the lower right side of the open box to see if there is a vertical placed circuit board there. If so, look very carefully to see if there is a adjustable part about the diameter size of a nickel. If so, that part will or should adjust the output voltage of the converter.



4. Now things might be a bit “hairy” only if your not careful. To adjust that “pot” to lower the voltage will need a long shank common screw driver of some type. If the screwdriver shank is metal, wrap it with tape for safety reason. With shore power back on and with a digital voltmeter across the battery terminals, adjust that pot counter clockwise to lower the output voltage. When I did mine, I lowered the voltage to 13. 7 VDC. Keep an eye on the voltage across the battery, should it increase, readjust that pot. The whole idea is to try to get the voltage to 13. 7 or even a bit less and try to keep it there over a period of time. I let mine set for about 3 hours and when it stabilized at 13. 75, I called that good.



I never had coach battery problems after I went through all of this even up to the day (maybe three years or more) when I traded from a 94 to the 05 I have now. There’s another little trick I pulled while I had that box open. Back in the right corner of the box was a cooling fan. I noted in and around it, it was filthy with dirt, dust and what ever so I pulled the motor out and vacuum that area out as well as much of the box I could. Out of curiosity, I applied 12 Volts to the motor to see if it would still work and felt the air that it was pushing across the back of the box. Didn’t seem like much so for the fun of it, pulled the fan off the shaft and turned it around. It didn’t change the rotation of the fan blades but it did change the amount of air that it was pushing out. Guess it was all in the designed of the blades but I left them as is when I reinstalled that motor. That made a difference in the operation of the converter especially at night when very little pull was placed on the converter. I could hear that cooling fan run off and on all night long.



Marty

 

[HBarlow]

CKelley,

Good point. I guess the answer is that when the manufacturer is building 100 trailers each day as the manufacturers were back in 2006, the small price difference adds up. And who knows, the converter manufacturers probably offer the basic models at a much more attractive price for big volume purchasers like the big manufacturers.

Gary,

That's an excellent tip. Have you tried it to see if yours is adjustable? If so, what brand? I think the quoted article was referring to the brand name of the converter that was in the Avion I owned in 2001-2002 and I did clean the fan but never looked for an output voltage adjustment.

I have wondered if converters could be adjusted or "tuned" but was never sufficiently inquisitive to open one up and look for an output voltage adjustment. I have owned trailers that did not cook their batteries (a couple of Airstreams and a Travel Supreme fifth wheel) and others that boil them within a couple of months like my current one.

Adjusting output voltage wouldn't provide the features that the intelli-Power does but would be about $225 cheaper.

 

[Gary - K7GLD]

Harvey, I was interested in that article because it was referring to the exact unit we have in our MH - we also have a smaller unit by the same maker in our 5th wheel.



And yes, after reading that article earlier this week (which is why it was fresh in my aging mind!), just yesterday, I checked out our own, and find that stabilized voltage at the pair of Interstate deep cycle batteries we have, measured at 13. 6 volts - enough to fully charge the batteries, but not so high as to seriously boil out the electrolyte over longer storage periods.



The smaller, but similar Magnetek converter unit in our '88 5er has done an excellent job for us - the first Trojan deep cycle golf car batteries lasted over 10 years, but were replaced because what I thought was failing batteries was actually deteriorated wire connections along the line - after installing new batteries and still having the same low voltage issues, I cut off all OEM crimp-on connectors, went to soldered on ones - and restored full voltage to my system. Gave the old batteries to my dad for his 5er - and about 5 years later when he sold it, they were still going strong, just as the newer replacements in our own 5er are.



Properly charged and monitored for electrolyte level and specific gravity, a quality deep cycle battery will last a LOooooong time!



When not connected to shore power, our RV's are hooked to solar panels 24/7, and always ready to be hooked up for a trip...



BUT, all that said, those unfamiliar or nervous about tweaking their own converters, are WELL advised to instead avoid potential disaster, and do what Harvey and others have done to upgrade their systems...

 

[AClayton]

It has been my experience that when you 'fool' with the set screw just once,it will require constant future tuning. Very similar to the Holley 600 Vac. secondary carb. Great carb but a screwdriver and 9/16th wrench was needed nearly every month for quick tunes. Different RV'ers do different things regarding their batteries. I do not and have never plugged my RV in... . BUT,I use mine at least once a month and sometimes more. I simply disconnect the battery after fully charged and they last. If you store your RV for long periods of time without use and leave your rig plugged in,then careful planning and maintenance is required for proper charging. A battery will last longer if it is charged,then used... charged,then used. A battery that is maintained at a constant rate with no or very little load will offgas and eventually burn up.



I have owned several RV's in my past and worked on many as well. I sincerely think that the older batteries were designed to last longer... . much longer!!Batteries today don't seem to live past the 4yr mark as a whole and regardless of care. My old 88MH was 11 yrs old when I bought it... . had the original batteries in it AND rear tires..... although severely cracked and dry rotted at the rims. The batteries were weak and would not run the furnace more than 3hrs drycamping so I replaced them..... that is when the date code showed up and the salesman at Battery WH said they were stamped at 4/86. Replaced in summer of 99' ... ... also new rear tires of course,but oddly enough,the tires passed Md. inspection AT a Dodge Dealership!



Alan

 

[Bill Stockard]

Our '03 Lance slide in truck camper came from the factory equipped with the Intelli-Power Converter and Charge Wizard. I too store our camper in an enclosed insulated and heated metal building and keep it plugged in to 120-volt AC 24/7. I check the Group 31 house battery about every 3 months and seldom add distilled water.



Bill

 

[CKelley1]

the intelli-power has four modes of operation and has internal calendar and timer logging to control the functions one of the modes desulfates the batteries. the unit will allow the batteries to last a very long time

 

[dresslered]

Hey Harvey, I did a similar install years ago in my Bigfoot. In fact, I noticed that my experience is still posted out on the web:



Converting the MagneTek 6325 Charger/Converter to the



What truly amazes me is that the Desulfation mode has kept the Cat battery from 1998 in top shape even today!

 

[HBarlow]

You did a nice job with the conversion and an even nicer job with the technical article complete with photos.

Mine was much simpler. The converter/charger in my HH is separate from the DC fuse panel and AC breaker panel so didn't require any modifications.

 

[dresslered]

I've actually read an article that claims these chargers can bring back to life dead batteries dropped off for recycling. Though I am truley amazed with the lifespan it has given my present battery, I have not gone that far. I leave mine plugged in 24/7.