RV 110/ 240 charger replacement .

[Travelbug1]

Has anyone any advice or experience of changing the 110 volt charging system for a similar 240 charging system. I have a parallax 7300 series with a very noisy 12 volt transformer that is need of replacement. IN my garage i have a spare zig unit so thought disconnect 110 charger, then from my 240v board power the zig any comments hopefully positive will be welcomed(and yes i have a 4kva 240v 110v transformer).Otherwise a new unit from over the pond will be needed.

 

[pappajohn]

I had the same problem with a noisy converter.....i also had a parallax 7300 series unit.
i swapped mine for a progressive Dynamics electronic unit.



I ordered mine from a company in Chicago at around $130 plus $27 shipping......less than half the uk price.

The problem you will have with the zig is it just aint big enough.

your existing unit is rated 45amps.....and you need 45amps or you will be pulling amps from the battery to make up the shortfall from the converter.
it isnt just a charger.....its also a power converter which powers everything 12v on the rv.....fridge, freezer, heater blower, lights, water pump.....the whole shebang.
the old parallax units were designed to run on 110v 60Hz.....of course when on hookup you are using 110v 50Hz which over time damages the electrical windings causing the vibration and rattling.

After removing the old charger section from the brown box, leaving he 12v and 110v fuse blocks in place, the new unit slid in its place and connection was straightforward.....only two wires to the 12v fuse box and the 110v input wires.
mine also came with a charge wizard which is a remote indicator/controller to check whats happening or charnge charging modes.

 

[pappajohn]

If you still have halogen and flourescent stip lighting you will be pulling near enough 25amps with them all turned on.....thats a lot for a zig unit.

 

[Travelbug1]

Thanks for that, time now not wasted. Would it be worth sourcing a 240 volt 45amp version ebay item no.131365967445 or similar so as not to have the same problem in the future?
Equally if not is it worth upping to a 55 amp version like this ebay no.
181665948116?

 

[Travelbug1]

How about a sargeant px 300?
All bubs are filament type or led no flourescent

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[pappajohn]

Thanks for that, time now not wasted. Would it be worth sourcing a 240 volt 45amp version ebay item no.131365967445 or similar so as not to have the same problem in the future?
Equally if not is it worth upping to a 55 amp version like this ebay no.
181665948116?

It would be easy enough to fit a 230v unit......the output is still 12v nominal but would obviously need a suitable 230v supply from somewhere.
the one you point to on ebay is a fixed voltage Charger...13.4v...and will cook your battery bank if left hooked up for a length of time.

Progressive dynamics do a range of converter up to, i believe, 80amps.
they are a smart charger which can be left connected indefinately.
it has a boost mode to charge up to 90% in 2 to 3 hours then a bulk mode to charge slowly to 100% after which it goes into float/maintenance mode to maintain full charge.
the model we have can, if the battery bank is flat, charge at 45amps.....the parallax unit charges at a constant 2amps and provides 45amps to accessories, which is why they are rubbish.

Our previous owner had fitted a 20amp 230v charger but it couldnt keep up with the current needed so the batteries had to supply the shortfall.....resulting in the battery charger working overtime and never keeping up.

 

[pappajohn]

How about a sargeant px 300?
All bubs are filament type or led no flourescent

Still only 25amp charge rate.

 

[Peter A Forbes]

We have bought 12V 50A adjustable power supplies to use as chargers on the Mercedes, single-rate but very good as shore supplies as well as charging the battery.

Broken Link Removed

Ours are set to 13.80V.

Peter

 

[Travelbug1]

Pappa john
sorry i think i need to be a little more specific.
Here goes we only tend to be away on hook up for 1-2 weeks in the summer and the odd weekend so most of our 12 volt is low power bulbs mainly led, tv by avtex water only on when needed, our possible biggest power is the furnace. Being our first rv i sometimes need advice our old eurobox charger was 20amp and no problems we have 300watts of solar on the roof and 3 110 leisure batteries. So i wonder if i need more than a 30 amp charger i have just seen a Premium Caravan and leisure 30 amp charger and think it may be ok. if the 110 transformer has killed a 12 v already how long will the next last? I think you know a lot more about rv s than me but iam learning all the time.

 

[pappajohn]

if the 110 transformer has killed a 12 v already how long will the next last?

I assume you mean the 12v charger circuit.

Thing with modern charger/converters they are usually suitable for both 50Hz and 60Hz electric supplies so it shouldnt be a problem.
you should get away with a 25amp charger with 300 watts of solar.
230v or 110v is obviously the input voltage but the output is always 12v nominal.
the 12v from the charger goes to the larger posts on the back of the fuse panel...the same terminals as the existing battery wires.
the posts have a hole in the side for the wires and a centre screw to clamp the wires....really easy, except for the wire colours...you DO need a multi/volt meter to determine pos and neg.

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[pappajohn]

I fitted on of these, but the 25amp version (now obsolete), as an emergency backup charger in the RV.
nowt worse than charger failure half way through your trip.
never had to use it in the RV but worked faultlessly in our old eurobox.
http://www.amperorassociates.co.uk/c-battery_chargers/batteryC-3_18a.html

Just noticed the 25amp version is available again.
http://www.amperorassociates.co.uk/c-battery_chargers/BatteryC-3_25A.html