Yesterday after reading about how some of you wanted to d/c the converter from the 110volt home hookup after the batteries are up to 12.7 volt and fully charged.
So I went out and started throwing breakers. There are 4 on my 110 volt box in the back above the twin bed. Seems the second one from the top is the master and the bottom one which looks to be a GFI breaker is the one which shuts off the converter.
Tripping the GFI breaker shuts off the converter but also cuts elec to the 110 in the back and also in the bath.
I haven't run the wires yet to see if I could spit that breaker out to just the converter. There is an extra slot at the top for a fifth breaker that could be added. I assume the converter is on the GFI for a very good reason.
Anybody done this or is it easier to put a knife switch in front of the converter to cut it off? I would rather charge the batteries up on the larger home unit (20amp and 40 amp).
My converter is NOT on the GFCI. My converter is plugged into a wall outlet under the couch. It's on the same circuit as the rest of the living room, under the dinette, and the bedroom.
The GFCI controls the kitchen, bath, and outdoor outlets.
The AC has a breaker of its own.
And then there's the main breaker.
I forget off-hand which breaker the microwave is on.
The converter is an inductive load (a big transformer). Seems to me that could cause problems for the GFCI (voltage leads current through an inductive load... ELI the ICE man don'tcha know .
since a seperate circuit from the breaker is out of the question becuase the outlets are daisy chained together, how about a 15 amp wall switch installed next to the main battery switch.
you could cut the wall switch into the power cord. then you could just reach behind the couch and flip it off without affecting anything else.
if your trailer is like mine there should be a wood shelf behind the couch that would give you enough room for a switch and cover plate.
if your cord on the converter is not long enough you could just make an extention cord with the switch and outlet on one end.
I'll bet it isn't 36 degrees and rainy in Savannah right now! YUK!
First, I'd look at how much voltage that particular converter puts out once the batteries are charged. If it's between 13.2 and 13.6V, I'd just leave it hooked up all the time. That's the typical fixed voltage float charge of most battery chargers I've seen. Just check the water level periodically.
If you disconnect the converter at the AC side, I wouldn't use an exposed knife switch... put a box in the AC line and a switch in it sufficient to handle the current of the inverter.
I wouldn't disconnect the batteries themselves if you're gonna leave the trailer AC live. Many converters have poor, if any, filtering after rectification to DC, and rely on the batteries to absorb most of the AC ripple. Having that going to your 12V appliances wouldn't be a good thing.
Steve,
My Magnatek converter/charger sits underneath the entertainment center underneath the front window of my '77 31' Excella 500. There are two 110 volt receptacles within the center, one of which the converter is plugged into. When I feel a need to shut the converter off to prevent overcharging of batteries, I just pull the plug.
__________________ Craig
AIR #0078
'01 2500hd ext. cab, 8.1 litre gas, 5 sp. Allison auto
3.73 rear end
Mag-Hytec rear diff cover
Amsoil Dual by-pass oil filtration system
Amsoil synthetics all around
265 watt AM Solar, Inc. system
My coach has blade switches on the two coach batteries. If I disconnect these I am cutting off the charger from the batteries... This would allow me to plug into shore power and NOT charge them, so as to avoid overcharging.
Wouldn't be a problem for the charger to have them disconnected?
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