Converter Replacement with PD 9260C

[Bill]

Caver -

I was with you right up until

you might want to consider upgrading to either the Parallax 7300 or a multi-stage converter.

I would suggest NOT upgrading to a Parallax 7300 for exactly the reason you stated - it is a constant-voltage converter and will happily overcharge your battery. There was a Parallax 7300T - the T stands for timer. As a quick and dirty approach to overcharging, the 7300T would charge at full rate for a setr interval (an hour? a few hours?), and then back off to a lower charge rate. Of course that meant that if your battery was badly discharged, it would not have time to recharge before the timer ran out. Incidentally, I don't think TM ever used this model.

Bill

[Caver]

Depending on how you use the TM I would agree with Bill's suggestions. I had an interesting chat with a Parallax engineer about their design a few years ago about why they didn't use a multi-stage controller.

Basically the controller is trying to figure out when the battery is charged yet the controller has no way of knowing what is happening in terms of loads and planned use. Their feeling was that it was better to more aggressively charge the battery and add a little water occasionally.

If you leave the TM plugged in for extended period of time then I would recommend a multi-stage controller.

If you infrequently plug it in and want to make sure the battery has the maximum charge then the constant voltage controller would be a good choice.

Much of what I've said applies to liquid electrolyte batteries where you can add water as needed. These batteries seem to like aggressive charging. However, if I switch to a sealed lead acid battery/AGM then I would want to carefully review the manufacturer's charging information and probably want to charge with a properly configured multi-stage controller.

Bottom line is that for most RV users I would agree with Bill and recommend the multi-stage controller.

Ray

Thanks guys, just so darn many options out there. Like going to dinner and trying to make a decision.