Todd Engineering PC-30 "Power Source"

[antibo12]

The 1997 SMB pop-top I purchased a few weeks ago has the PC-30. The Todd sales literature that came with the SMB does not provide much information on the PC-30, and it also mentions an ADV-10 Dual Voltage Controller that I apparently do not have as I cannot find it. I found out that Todd is out of business. The SMB has one 27 series deep cycle house battery, and I am in the process of replacing it with two new batteries. Will the PC-10 properly charge and maintain my new batteries if I leave the SMB plugged into my 120 house current indefinitely? In other words, does the PC-10 do "float" or maintainance charging, or will it eventually overcharge the batteries? I have used the Guest Battery Pal 2602 float charger on my boat and lawn tractor batteries for years, but it only puts out a maximum of .6 amps, and it sounds like the PC-10 puts out a lot more even if the house batteries are fully charged. The SMB will be stored inside my garage, so I could remove the enclosure over the battery box and the battery box cover and connect a 2602 to each battery to keep them charged, but that would be a minor nuisance. I will appreciate any advice.

[daveb]

You can always do a voltage and amperage check but most older converters are substandard and have poor battery charging capabilities. I seem to remember Todd being not the best and maybe one reason they're out of business but I could be wrong. I would venture into the full time RVers or marine type web sites. Others do make converter/chargers that are kind of high tech that supply a float mode like Progressive Dynamics units.

[Scalf77]

The best data I could find on thePC-30 is that it is a single stage converter, that has the option to select either 13.2 Volts or 14.2 Volts as the output. The ADV10 would automatically choose the "correct" voltage if you had that accessory. That would have been a crude attempt at a multistage charger. I would be in line with Dave's recommendation to purchase a newer multistage converter/charger.
When looking for one, be very specific about your intent to leave it plugged in for long periods of time, they may give you specific recommendations based on that.


greg