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Old 04-04-2014, 10:28 PM   #21
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Re: Inverter / Charger Suggestions

I am running a separate inverter and charger setup. My van came with a MSW Xantrex 3000 watt inverter that the previous owner used to run a freezer on for fishing. I figured it would work for my needs so why spend the money on a fancy combo. It has worked out fine for when I need the 110 without shore or generator power. I can run my micro or other 110 appliance if I need to at a quick stop.

Products such as the iGo power supply work well for not having to use the inverter if you can find the correct tip for your device.

For the charger I went the Xantrex Truecharge2 40amp model. It is able to charge three banks of batteries separately. I wired it so it charges the van batteries on one bank and the house batteries on a second bank. That keeps them separate and happy. Also purchased the remote display which gives more options so I can scale back the charge output if charging from my generator.
Eric

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Old 04-07-2014, 02:06 PM   #22
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Re: Inverter / Charger Suggestions

I will start a new thread if requested, but it seems appropriate here to complete the knowledge cycle. With respect to the stand alone charger / stand alone inverter approach, does anyone have any experience, knowledge, opinion or advice as to the following converter/charger?

Progressive Dynamics (PD9280V) 80 Amp Power Converter with Charge Wizard

http://www.amazon.com/Progressive-Dynam ... B000GARO80

I think I read somewhere that converter/chargers never fully charge a battery. Is this true? Does anyone know if it would be true with this one?
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Old 04-07-2014, 04:14 PM   #23
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Re: Inverter / Charger Suggestions

Quote:
Originally Posted by E350
I will start a new thread if requested, but it seems appropriate here to complete the knowledge cycle. With respect to the stand alone charger / stand alone inverter approach, does anyone have any experience, knowledge, opinion or advice as to the following converter/charger?

Progressive Dynamics (PD9280V) 80 Amp Power Converter with Charge Wizard

http://www.amazon.com/Progressive-Dynam ... B000GARO80

I think I read somewhere that converter/chargers never fully charge a battery. Is this true? Does anyone know if it would be true with this one?
Why do you want a converter 350? The newer converters have come a long way over the years as far as adding a better charging unit into some models but you still need AC for them to work and are designed for higher DC loads that most SMB's don't have.
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Old 04-07-2014, 05:06 PM   #24
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Re: Inverter / Charger Suggestions

E350,

That would not be on a list converter/chargers that I would go with. In a nut shell basically older converters were poor excuses for battery chargers. Other then being a Xantrex (I have developed a bios on their products) the unit Eric pointed out Xantrex Truecharge2 would be far better.

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Old 04-08-2014, 08:05 AM   #25
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Re: Inverter / Charger Suggestions

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Originally Posted by Scalf77
E350,

That would not be on a list converter/chargers that I would go with. In a nut shell basically older converters were poor excuses for battery chargers. Other then being a Xantrex (I have developed a bios on their products) the unit Eric pointed out Xantrex Truecharge2 would be far better.

-greg

The "charge wizard" option (a little box that plugs in with an RJ-11 phone type connector) is supposed to make those chargers smart.

My neighbor's RV had a 60 amp Progressive Dynamics charger in it when he bought it. I convinced him to add the charge wizard to the unit so that he would not fry his shiny new 200ah AGMs. Very shortly after this, the charger was replaced with a 2000W Tripp-Lite inverter, so we don't really have any data on the performance of the charger/charge wizard.
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Old 04-08-2014, 08:56 AM   #26
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Re: Inverter / Charger Suggestions

Thanks guys, please keep it coming. The reason for considering the Progressive Dynamics converter/charger was because it was half the price, and 30 amps more, and does three battery banks instead of just two, than the Samlex below:

SAMLEX SEC-1250UL 12 VOLT 50 AMP 3 STAGE ADVANCED FULLY AUTOMATIC BATTERY CHARGER & POWER SUPPLY

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00AKH ... GM2K2OIRAD

My goal is to try to use DC appliances as much as possible and stay away from using AC appliances as often as possible. But I need a good charger to keep the van house battery (Bank 1) and the starting batteries (Bank 2) charged while parked in my driveway or while parked with electrical hookups in RV parks while traveling. For instance, we have stayed in Draper, UT while skiing Snowbird and at another small RV park near Jackson, WY while skiing Jackson Hole. And it is nice to have the Webasto furnace running off of an unlimited supply of DC current. But right now the van is parked and needs battery charging/maintaining, so I would like to install a permanent smart charger.

I am just not knowledgeable enough to be able to compare the differences between the two chargers above or experienced enough to know if there is another better unit out there.

I only need to charge two banks, and I want the smartest battery charger out there to get the most life out of my batteries.

So, I want to buy a high quality "smart" charger to maintain my batteries.

And I appreciate KTMRider's and Scalf77's suggestion re the Truecharge. However, after spending over $3K on Xantrex products and not being satisfied with their durability, I personally have sworn off Xantrex forever. YRMV. Edit: Despite what I wrote above, the Truecharge2 appears to be much better than a converter/charger and may be one of the best chargers out there:

http://www.rvdoctor.com/2011/03/product ... arge2.html

(BTW, do you guys know if AGMs sulfate or, turning the telescope around, do they benefit from a Battery Minder which desulfates?)

And yes, after I get the battery charger (sans inverter) worked out, I will do some more research and revisit my previous thread seeking your input on my soon to be revised solar controller/charger.

I hope the OP doesn't mind this half a thread hijack, since he wants both an inverter/charger, and I am looking only for the best charger...

FYI, the following has been helpful to my understanding:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Switched- ... wer_supply
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