Leave converter on while pluggged to shore?

[xisme2]

GM, great, when you say "writing article for mag..." do you mean Rivets? I want a copy of that article with pics. My Globetrotter will be a little tougher to rewire, but should be doable. Thanks!

[pond]

So you have to go aftermarket to someone like Progressive dynamics and get the 92xx converter if you want the latest and greatest...

Oh and some of the solar controllers have similar stages too now.. as that is the current technology and thinking to max your battery life.

... and we mentioned that this one is 80 amps.. why so much you say... well another technological issue is recharge rate... seems that you will keep the plates in the battery cleaner if you provide them with the max current they can demand... once the battery starts to recover... it start building a higher internal resistance and tapers off in its current demand... If you restrict the amount of current first applied... the battery will not recover as quickly... and it has been found the plates in time will coat out and not provide the current capability it was rated at...
besides... with 80 amps.. I can light up the whole trailer.. inside and out and never put a demand on the battery... where as the current converter in AS are rated for 45-50 amps.. and if you turn everything on... your current demand is up their around 60 amps... so the battery then has to provide the extra 5 amps or so.. in a discharge mode... not what we want when glamping etc...

So their you have the newest of the new thinking and products to improve your electrical issues.. and max your battery life...

Oh if your stor'n your trailer.. /RV... I think it wise to do the old school thing and remove them.. take them home place them on a piece of wood...(old wives tale) and recharge them frequently.. then take them back and put them in the trailer when you are going to use it. (labor intensive) but at todays prices and increases.. you want to optimize your battery life to the max.. after all you can hear cha ching $$$ when you get new ones and never got full usage out of the old ones your lugging into the dealership.

The adventure contenues... WA6CDE Form GM Airstream.

There was mention that this Progressive Dynamic Converter was going to written with installation instructions. Anyone see this article in the Airstream magazine this past year?

Mike

[uncle_bob]

Hi

If you have *both* a converter / charger *and* solar, things get a bit complex. Simply put - unless then are networked together (few are) the net result is the worst features of both devices .... That may still be good enough.

Bob

[HClews]

Very complete reply from GM Airstream... But keeping it simple, we make a practice of turning OFF the converter whenever we're connected to shore power for extended periods. We've discovered we can do this very simply by flipping the switch near the door to the "store" mode. We have a 2017 27FB model with single-stage (dumb) converter/charger - which clearly overcharges the batteries if it is left on continuously.

A possible disadvantage of this procedure is that all power, including the fridge, will shut off in case of a shore power outage.

We've also found that the batteries will stay charged much longer in storage if you 1) turn off the propane sensor and 2) disconnect the battery wire to the Inverter. (We've installed a disconnect at the batteries for this.) These two items draw a small load; without them, the batteries will stay charged for months.

Cheers,
Henry