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Old 08-31-2007, 02:58 PM   #1
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Parallax to Intellipower

I want to switch out my 7355 model Parallax converter/charger to and Intellipower converter/charger. My Parallax is rated at 55 amp and the Intellipower is rated at 60 amp, it doesn't seem that Intellipower makes a 55 amp.

Based on past threads, it appears that the Intellipower will give me better battery charging through multi-stage charging, I am planning on also installing a Charge Wizard. I am also hoping it is quieter.

Question? Will the Intellipower 60 amp model work in my 06 Safari 25FB which has the original Parallax 55 amp model????

Thanks for the help.

John
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Old 08-31-2007, 03:15 PM   #2
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Quote:
Originally Posted by TIMEMACHINE
I want to switch out my 7355 model Parallax converter/charger to and Intellipower converter/charger. My Parallax is rated at 55 amp and the Intellipower is rated at 60 amp, it doesn't seem that Intellipower makes a 55 amp.

Based on past threads, it appears that the Intellipower will give me better battery charging through multi-stage charging, I am planning on also installing a Charge Wizard. I am also hoping it is quieter.

Question? Will the Intellipower 60 amp model work in my 06 Safari 25FB which has the original Parallax 55 amp model????

Thanks for the help.

John
John,

I was under the impression that Parallax was multi stage. Here is a link to the one I just ordered to replace the old Univolt. I had expected to run the Univolt for at lease one more year and then rebuild it but the Univolt forced my hand on the last trip and required percussive repair to keep it working.

Parallax Paramode with TempAssure

The Inteli-Power is available from the same folks. BTW, Randy is a wealth of information on converters.

60 Amp RV Converter/Charger
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Old 08-31-2007, 03:19 PM   #3
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Quote:
Originally Posted by TIMEMACHINE
... Question? Will the Intellipower 60 amp model work in my 06 Safari 25FB which has the original Parallax 55 amp model? ...
Yes. No problem. From what I have read, Intellipower makes fine equipment. You will be happy with the switch.

I prefer the WFCO, 3-stage charger. You may want to investigate them at bestconverter.com.

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Old 08-31-2007, 03:24 PM   #4
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Thanks

Quote:
Originally Posted by Royce
John,

I was under the impression that Parallax was multi stage. Here is a link to the one I just ordered to replace the old Univolt. I had expected to run the Univolt for at lease one more year and then rebuild it but the Univolt forced my hand on the last trip and required percussive repair to keep it working.

Parallax Paramode with TempAssure

The Inteli-Power is available from the same folks. BTW, Randy is a wealth of information on converters.

60 Amp RV Converter/Charger
Royce,

Parallax does make a multi-stage, but based on my model number, the unit installed by Airstream does not have that feature. There is a lot of support on the forum for Intellipower, and I hear that it runs quieter, our power center in under the bed (on my side of course).

John
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Old 08-31-2007, 03:29 PM   #5
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Thanks

Quote:
Originally Posted by TomW
Yes. No problem. From what I have read, Intellipower makes fine equipment. You will be happy with the switch.

I prefer the WFCO, 3-stage charger. You may want to investigate them at bestconverter.com.

Tom
Tom,

Thanks, looks like you and Royce both recommend Bestconverter, I will take a look before I buy.

John
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Old 08-31-2007, 03:33 PM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by TIMEMACHINE
Royce,

Parallax does make a multi-stage, but based on my model number, the unit installed by Airstream does not have that feature. There is a lot of support on the forum for Intellipower, and I hear that it runs quieter, our power center in under the bed (on my side of course).

John

John,

I agree, quiet is better and I also sleep with my head right above the converter. Hope I made the right decision. Guess time will tell.
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Old 08-31-2007, 04:12 PM   #7
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We replaced our 55A Parallax with a 60A IntelliPower with Charge Wizard, from Best Converter. Have been happy with it since.
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Old 08-31-2007, 04:35 PM   #8
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Parallux vs Intelapower

Intellapower is much better.
You might want too take a look at the cheap 110 braker box first. If it's like mine was the brakers are loose fitting and get hot and trip. I replaced it with a Square D box and brakers. The Parallux has been replaced once and will give way too Intellapower this winter plus new 12 volt fuse block this winter.

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Old 08-31-2007, 06:07 PM   #9
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Why change?

Quote:
Originally Posted by TIMEMACHINE
I want to switch out my 7355 model Parallax converter/charger to and Intellipower converter/charger. My Parallax is rated at 55 amp and the Intellipower is rated at 60 amp, it doesn't seem that Intellipower makes a 55 amp.

Based on past threads, it appears that the Intellipower will give me better battery charging through multi-stage charging, I am planning on also installing a Charge Wizard. I am also hoping it is quieter.

Question? Will the Intellipower 60 amp model work in my 06 Safari 25FB which has the original Parallax 55 amp model????

Thanks for the help.

John
I guess I don't understand why you are switching out your converter/charger. I have no issues with my set-up and I am wondering what I am missing. My unit is in the middle of the trailer and it does hum somewhat, but not to where I would want/need to make a switch. Please enlighten me if you would.

John
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Old 08-31-2007, 06:17 PM   #10
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Decreased maintenance for me (and no Univolt hum)

Quote:
Originally Posted by altamont
... I am wondering what I am missing. My unit is in the middle of the trailer and it does hum somewhat, ...
I don't know about John, but I have not had to add water to my battery since 01/01/06 when I installed the WFCO charger in post #28 of this thread:

http://www.airforums.com/forums/f206...yet-17326.html

Granted I was going from a Univolt to modern-day equipment, but it is nice not having to worry about adding water to my battery.

Tom
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Old 08-31-2007, 06:52 PM   #11
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Well I have a univolt original in the 86. The PO installed a switch to turn it on and off. I flip it on when the voltmeter indicates a need then flip it off a few hours later. Have not added water to batts in over a year. gonna upgrade soon to a WFCO simply to make things easier on my Honda 1000 when charging in Timbucto.
P.S. John- switch sides.
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Old 08-31-2007, 10:58 PM   #12
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Reason for changing

Quote:
Originally Posted by altamont
I guess I don't understand why you are switching out your converter/charger. I have no issues with my set-up and I am wondering what I am missing. My unit is in the middle of the trailer and it does hum somewhat, but not to where I would want/need to make a switch. Please enlighten me if you would.

John
John

The Parallax has a single stage battery charger and my primary goal is to convert to a multi-stage. I have had problems with overcharging and I add water every other month to my original (less than 2 years old) wet cell Megatron batteries.

I am planning on replacing the batteries with AGMs in the next month and it has been recommended in numerous threads that changing the Parallax to and Intellipower is added safety when buying expensive AGMs.

And lastly, no matter what the Parallax manual says about "most people don't even hear it running", my head is three feet away from the converter charger (under the bed) while I am sleeping, and when the fan kicks on I wake up. Rumor has it that the Intellipower may be quieter.

John
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Old 09-01-2007, 07:29 AM   #13
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We replaced the Parallax when we went to two Group 27 Lifeline batteries, which is what fits in the compartments above the tongue on our trailer. I always worried about the corrosive mist from them overcharging, so I was constantly washing the skin around them with baking soda water and waxing it. Now I don't have to worry about that.

I can't help you about the noise issue, since our converter is under the sofa, but I seem to remember the Intelipower has a variable speed fan so it doesn't go right to high speed. I could definitely be wrong about that though, and Best Converter would be the one to ask about it.
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Old 09-01-2007, 10:22 AM   #14
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The stock converters that come with new Airstreams are single stage units. The first thing I did when I got my CCD was to replace the OEM unit with a new WFCO 3-stage converter/charger. Batteries last far longer when topped up with a 3-stage unit. The next step was to ditch the Interstate GP-24 liquid cells for a pair of Lifeline GPL-4C 6 volt AGM batteries wired in series. No more problems!

The golf cary batteries are far superior in their charge retention and available minutes of discharge. A Lifeline group 24 has 149 minutes of discharge capacity at 25 amp draw. The 6 volt golf cart battery has a whopping 492 minutes of discharge capacity at the same 25 amp draw.

Any of the new 3-stage chargers will work nicely: WFCO, Intellipower and the new Parallax Paramode. Give Randy a call ad he'll give you his best suggestions.
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Old 09-01-2007, 10:50 AM   #15
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Quote:
Originally Posted by lewster
The golf cary batteries are far superior in their charge retention and available minutes of discharge. A Lifeline group 24 has 149 minutes of discharge capacity at 25 amp draw. The 6 volt golf cart battery has a whopping 492 minutes of discharge capacity at the same 25 amp draw.
Yes, the golf cart batteries have significantly higher capacity at high discharge rates, but comparing two 6 volt golf cart batteries to one Group 24 12 volt battery is an exaggerated comparison. In the first place, the two 66 pound golf cart batteries are better compared to two 65 pound Group 27 batteries than to one 56 pound Group 24.

In the second place, you can't compare the golf cart batteries' published 492 minutes at 25 amp discharge to the 25 amp ratings of 149 minutes (Group 24) or 186 minutes (Group 27) where the total discharge for a pair is then is 50 amps, double that you use for 492 minutes for the golf cart batteries.

At 25 amps total discharge, 12.5 amps each, the minutes of discharge are significantly greater than those published by Lifeline for a 15 amp discharge, 259 (Group 24) and 324 (Group 27). You get no argument here the golf cart batteries have significantly higher capacity, but nowhere near the difference in the exaggerated comparison.

At lighter discharges, 11 amps for the pair of golf cart's, 8 amps (Group 24) and 10 amps (Group 27) for a pair of 12 volts, the capacity difference is much smaller. A pair of golf cart batteries have a 10% advantage over a pair of Group 27s, but a 37.5% advantage over a pair of Group 24s.

Where you can deal with their height, the golf cart batteries have the advantage of smaller footprint. Where you can't, as in the Group 27 compartments of our trailer, the 12 volts are still the reasonable choice.
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Old 09-01-2007, 04:13 PM   #16
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One more question

Quote:
Originally Posted by RoadKingMoe
We replaced the Parallax when we went to two Group 27 Lifeline batteries, which is what fits in the compartments above the tongue on our trailer. .
Thanks everbody for the info, Royce, RoadKingMoe, Lewster, TomW, Gunnyusmc and doorgunner, all good information. And altamont, I hope I answered your question.

I am leaning toward the Intellipower and 2 Group 27 Lifeline AGM batteries. Since RoadkingMoe put Lifeline 27 batteries in his classic box, does anybody know if I can fit the Group 27 in my battery box located on the tongue of our 2006 Safari 25FB?? Has anyone else done it??

Thanks,
John
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Old 09-01-2007, 04:55 PM   #17
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Quote:
Originally Posted by TIMEMACHINE
Thanks everbody for the info, Royce, RoadKingMoe, Lewster, TomW, Gunnyusmc and doorgunner, all good information. And altamont, I hope I answered your question.

I am leaning toward the Intellipower and 2 Group 27 Lifeline AGM batteries. Since RoadkingMoe put Lifeline 27 batteries in his classic box, does anybody know if I can fit the Group 27 in my battery box located on the tongue of our 2006 Safari 25FB?? Has anyone else done it??

Thanks,
John
John, for what it's worth, we tried to fit 2 group 27's in the compartment of babebloos CCD Bambi, and even though they would fit with the compartment on a bench, having the compartment on the tongue puts obstacles in the way. You definitely could not use the hold down in the center of the battery compartment. The plastic battery tray will have to be removed, of course. It's a matter of there not being enough room to angle the batteries down into the compartment.
That said, if your compartment is wider, and if there is more space between the front skin and tongue jack, then that might work fine.
As far as the Intellipower 60A charger with the charge wizard are concerned, it is far from perfect. It is a noticeable improvement over a vintage Univolt, but it is definitely not as quiet and electrically savvy as it's hype would suggest.
How do I know? I have a 60A unit with charge wizard in my 63 Overlander. The fan does kick on, and it is NOT quiet. If you run vents at night, the fan will kick on several times, and does make a fair amount of noise. It also boiled dry 2 group 27 batteries in 2 months time, I did not notice until it was too late, now the batteries are junk.
When the fans are not running, the Intellipower is dead quiet. It provides very stable 12V power to my trailer, even with all the lights on and the fans etc. I am very pleased with it's small size, great performance as a converter, and it's reliability.
The noise level, charger circuit and the Charge wizard thingie are overrated, though. This is one consumer's experience with teh Intellipower 60A converter/charger with the charge wizard attachment, purchased from bestconverters.com
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Old 09-01-2007, 05:08 PM   #18
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John, two comments. I support the change to a multi-stage charger if you regularly use the converter to charge the batteries, espeically of you switch to either Gel's or AGM's. The Parralax is a constant voltage charger which will try to maintain the battery voltage at 13.8. This will lead to overcharging AGM's or Gel batteries and unlike wet cells you can't add distilled water periodically to keep the cells from drying our and warping.

We have not switched out our Parallax system because I rarely use the converter to charge the batteries. I typically switch the batteries out of the circuit when connected to shore power to avoid over charging. I use our 260 watt solar panels and the solar charge controller that is temperature compensated to reduce float charge voltage as temperatures increase.

There is another option. You can purchase a new Magnetek three stage charging section from Best Converters with breakers and fuses to install in the Parralax converter. It might be cheaper and would solve the overcharging problem but it might retain the original Parralax cooling fan with is the source of the noise you notice when the unit switches it on.

As others have said, talk with Best Converter for a recomendation.


Quote:
Originally Posted by TIMEMACHINE
Thanks everbody for the info, Royce, RoadKingMoe, Lewster, TomW, Gunnyusmc and doorgunner, all good information. And altamont, I hope I answered your question.

I am leaning toward the Intellipower and 2 Group 27 Lifeline AGM batteries. Since RoadkingMoe put Lifeline 27 batteries in his classic box, does anybody know if I can fit the Group 27 in my battery box located on the tongue of our 2006 Safari 25FB?? Has anyone else done it??

Thanks,
John
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Old 09-04-2007, 08:27 PM   #19
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4455TC ParaMode

Install complete of the 4455TC ParaMode converter. Thanks to Randy of Best Converter for the assistance.

Intial thoughts: Install was easy, took about two hours. No instrunctions included with the converter but Randy's assistance cleared up all of the questions. Unit is absoultly silent expect for the fan. Fan ran for about 3.5 hours during intial charge cycle. The fan is a little louder than the fan on my desk top computer and only runs when needed. Much quieter than the old Univolt. I had to rerange the fuse block and the water pump to have room for the ParaMode. Had I chosen the WFCO it looks like it would have gone in the same spot as the Univolt. I am counting on the temperature control to be worth the extra effort and cost. Wish I had changed out the old fuse block while replacing the converter. Job should have taken about an hour with instrunctions and I had to work under the dinette. My only complaint is the lack of printed instrunctions for install.

Thanks again to Randy of Best Converters for the assistance and the prompt shipment. Great service!
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Old 01-06-2008, 01:05 AM   #20
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Maybe I should make a new post, but I thought I might hijack this older thread and see what happens...

I have a 2007 Bambi CCD 16ft. There is a Parrallax 7355 under the bed and under the dinnette there is something marked as WFCO and it looks like some kind of converter/charger, too.

A couple of weeks ago, somehow the 110v over the kitchen counter got shorted out. I could see that the wire coming through the aluminum inner wall had rubbed and cut where the grommet was not seated properly.

I fixed the wire and the grommet. Now, the lights dim when the heater kicks on, the battery has charging problems, etc. I ordered a 7355 R/U lower replacement unit for the Parrallax under the bed. I am hoping this will do the job.

If anyone wants to give a quick schooling on what the 2 different (the parrallax and the WFCO) units "do" - it would be much appreciated.

Thanks.
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