Which converter?

[Aironius]

My '01 Bambi 19 came to me with a dead WFCO 9855 converter and a dried up battery. I'm guessing the WFCO did not have a "float charge" feature and it cooked the battery. Then the battery killed the converter. Owner should have shut it off and used a trickle charger for storage, but I see this as an opportunity. I want to replace the converter with a better one but not too powerful, because we will only run a single battery and never dry camp more than two nights in a row. I'm thinking the PD 9260 is a good choice but wonder what others have learned. Is there something better?

[Aage]

I like my IOTA, I think it's a 45A model (or 55A). I can't remember because since I put it in, I haven't given it another thought.

[afneill]

Call Randy at Best Converter. He is very knowledgeable, has competitive pricing and access to most of the brands. His recommendation is what I and many others have gone with. I am very happy with mine. Give him a call. He is very helpful.

[A W Warn]

x2 call Randy at Best Converter
I'm happy with his recommendation. I installed a PowerMax Boondocker. Ordered it from Best Converter online, it came in a few days. It was very easy to install. It took longer to move the sofa to get at it than to actually install it.

[acstokes]

x3 call Randy at Best Converter

I'm happy with his recommendation. I installed a PowerMax Boondocker. Ordered it from Best Converter online, it came in a few days. It was very easy to install. It took longer to move the sofa to get at it than to actually install it.

[Aironius]

So I talked to Randy. Got a PM4B-60 Boondocker on the way. I was leaning toward paying $8 more for the remote charge status indicator on the IOTA, but the 3 year warranty and Randy's pitch convinced me. So here's my plan, what do you think? I'm going to screw the unit to the floor in such a position that I can see and reach the output fuses through the air vent under the dinette seat. Then I will connect the cooling fan to the vent in the chair compartment with flex duct, so it will get positive ventilation with cool air instead of recirculating the air inside the compartment.

[acstokes]

I have the same Boondocker model and my opinion is installing flex duct may be overkill. The following is from their installation manual:

LOCATION. The mounting location may be on any interior (out of direct weather) surface. Location chosen must be accessible after installation. When mounted inside a cabinet, the cabinet must be large enough to allow dissipation of heated air. Make sure that there is a minimum of 1” (one inch) free air space at each end of the unit so that cooling air can move through the unit properly.

Although they state 1" free air space, if you have several inches or more you should be okay. The fan on mine runs very infrequently and the unit never gets very hot to the touch. If in doubt, then by all means be safe and use the flex duct to properly ventilate.