R-pod Owners Forum Homepage

This site is free to use.
Donations benefit a non-profit Girls Softball organization

Forum Home Forum Home > R-pod Discussion Forums > Podmods, Maintenance, Tips and Tricks
  New Posts New Posts RSS Feed: Upgrade Converter
  FAQ FAQ  Forum Search   Calendar   Register Register  Login Login

Topic ClosedUpgrade Converter

 Post Reply Post Reply
Author
Message Reverse Sort Order
1nana2many View Drop Down
Groupie
Groupie
Avatar

Joined: 05 Apr 2018
Location: NE Kansas
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 62
Direct Link To This Post Topic: Upgrade Converter
    Posted: 08 Sep 2020 at 4:18pm
About a month ago we replaced the converter in our 2016 179. My husband talked to an RV repairman that runs his own RV repair business and has been very helpful when we have questions. He mentioned that WFCO had had an issue with their converters but had changed the design or components that were causing the problem. Because of this, we went with the same brand for the new converter. For what it’s worth...we trust this guy and he’s been very honest and up front with us when he wasn’t making much money because we do our own repairs.
The mountains are calling and we must go...O.D., Keith & Jody
2016 RP179= O.D. (Olive Drab)
2008 Coachman Captiva
1993 Jayco 1206 popup
2016 F150 Supercrew
Back to Top
StephenH View Drop Down
podders Helping podders - pHp
podders Helping podders - pHp
Avatar

Joined: 29 Nov 2015
Location: Wake Forest, NC
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 6326
Direct Link To This Post Posted: 03 Sep 2020 at 8:02am
+1 on staying with the 55A converter. If you are considering changing to an LiFePO4 battery, WFCO offers a drop-in replacement converter that is 50A suitable for LiFePO4 batteries but not for Pb-Acid batteries. However, that would make necessary other changes as you can see in my mods.

As for Progressive Dynamics, they are more expensive and while they are good, they too can fail as I have read in some of the reviews. I think WFCO got a bad batch of converters. I had one fail, but after replacing that, the replacement was still going strong until I replaced it with the LiFePO4 capable converter, which is working very well. When I was at the Kentucky  Mini-Mini a couple of years ago, I found from Dave Hickey who was working on them who did a write-up on Facebook in the RPod Owner's Group there) that one of the causes was that the grounding screws were not making good contact, eventually would cause a cold-soldered contact point to fail. Re-soldering this connection and making sure the screws attaching the circuit board to the mount are tight seemed to be a way to prevent this from happening. Here is a link to that article:
StephenH
Happy is the man that findeth wisdom,...

ouR escaPOD mods
Former RPod 179
Current Cherokee Grey Wolf 24 JS
Back to Top
offgrid View Drop Down
Senior Member
Senior Member


Joined: 23 Jul 2018
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 5290
Direct Link To This Post Posted: 03 Sep 2020 at 7:09am
Same current rating as what you have now. Probably you have a WFCO 8955, 55A max current. You could replace with the same, or some folks prefer Progressive Dynamics chargers. 
1994 Chinook Concourse
1995 RV6A Experimental Aircraft
2015 Rpod 179 - sold
Back to Top
AK RPod View Drop Down
Newbie
Newbie
Avatar

Joined: 13 Aug 2020
Location: Alaska
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 3
Direct Link To This Post Posted: 02 Sep 2020 at 9:50pm
What AMP converter do you recommend? I am 99% sure it the converter and I will also check the other issues you mentioned.

Thank you for your help.
2017 RPod 180 2016 Jeep Wrangler 4 door JKU
Back to Top
AK RPod View Drop Down
Newbie
Newbie
Avatar

Joined: 13 Aug 2020
Location: Alaska
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 3
Direct Link To This Post Posted: 02 Sep 2020 at 9:46pm
Thank you for your response. I am 99% sure it is the converter and need to replace it. What AMP converter is recommended? I will also double check the other issues you mentioned.
2017 RPod 180 2016 Jeep Wrangler 4 door JKU
Back to Top
podwerkz View Drop Down
Senior Member
Senior Member
Avatar

Joined: 11 Mar 2019
Location: Texas
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 966
Direct Link To This Post Posted: 02 Sep 2020 at 10:06am
Yep...all the above plus, if you were to upgrade, the new converter might cause your 30 amp supply breaker to trip IF you were trying to power the microwave and/or A/C and/or electric water heater element while that large converter is pulling a lot of amperage also.

You really need to figure out what is wrong, rather than chase this with expensive upgrades that may or may not fix the problem, or might even make it worse.
r・pod 171 gone but not forgotten!
Back to Top
offgrid View Drop Down
Senior Member
Senior Member


Joined: 23 Jul 2018
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 5290
Direct Link To This Post Posted: 02 Sep 2020 at 9:23am
Welcome.

The battery conductors aren't rated for 70A, don't get a charger with a higher current rating. 

I can't imagine how the existing charger couldn't keep up with your electrical demand unless something is wrong. Dual batteries is not your problem. Either the batteries aren't holding a charge or the existing converter isn't working properly or you have an excessive load or short circuit somewhere. You will need to find out which.

First, check what 12V DC loads you have on. Is the refrigerator on 12Vdc? If so, change it to propane or 120Vac. Have you accidentally pulled your breakaway brake pin? That is the plastic pin on the tongue which is connected to the cable that you hook to the tow vehicle so that the trailer brakes are energized if the trailer gets unhitched. Besides those two relatively heavy loads there really aren't any 12V loads in the trailer that use very much power. Turn them all off anyway.  

How old are you batteries? If they are flooded batteries are the plates covered with electrolyte when you remove the caps? 

If those easy to check things aren't the problem then you will want to get a multimeter to explore further. Get one that has a clamp on that can measure DC currents (not just AC currents). That will make troubleshooting much easier. 


1994 Chinook Concourse
1995 RV6A Experimental Aircraft
2015 Rpod 179 - sold
Back to Top
AK RPod View Drop Down
Newbie
Newbie
Avatar

Joined: 13 Aug 2020
Location: Alaska
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 3
Direct Link To This Post Posted: 02 Sep 2020 at 7:52am
This is my first post. I have been reading about converters and replacing them here on the forum. But has anyone upgraded to the Progressive Dynamics (PD9270V) 70 Amp Power Converter? I am wondering if it is worth upgrading and can I just use the exciting panel? I have a 2017 R Pod 180 that seems like the converter can not keep up with charging 2 deep cycle batteries in parallel.I installed a master switch for my batteries to stop the slow drain from the radio. I have been running my generator for around 8 hours a day and by night to my batteries are down to 25%.
2017 RPod 180 2016 Jeep Wrangler 4 door JKU
Back to Top
 Post Reply Post Reply

Forum Jump Forum Permissions View Drop Down

Bulletin Board Software by Web Wiz Forums® version 9.64
Copyright ©2001-2009 Web Wiz