Power Converter... WWYD?

[DuaneMiller]

Took the MH in a couple of weeks ago to have some things checked out before the factory warranty runs out at the end of the month. One of the things that I wanted them to check is the house batteries.

The problem that I was having was when I disconnected from shore power, or turned off the generator, the 12v stuff (coach lights) drained in a matter of minutes. Well seeing how I just checked the batteries about mid-May, and have not left the MH plugged in an excessive amount, I'm thinking there may be an issue with the converter charging the batteries, or at least a bad battery with a shorted cell.

One thing I should have checked before taking the coach in to the repair shop was to check the battery water level. Got in a hurry to get it over, so I never checked the water before leaving the house. Fast forward to when I get a status call from the shop.... "Batteries were dry, Winnie will not cover them". So I approve them to replace both batteries, a $441 mistake on my part (that will never happen again if I can help it)

I have read on all kinds of RV forums about the single stage converter/chargers out there that just keeps sending the "juice" to the batteries and never backs off... I never dreamed the Winnie would put one of these in a MH. In fact the last two RV's that I've owned, both had Progressive Dynamics converter/chargers with the "Charge Wizard" installed. With the PD converters I basically checked the batteries at the beginning, middle and end of the camping seasons. I guess I've never had to worry about boing the batteries dry)

The guy at the shop told me that I should check the batteries with the Parallax converter/charger that I have now, at least every couple of weeks, if not more. Which brings me to my question....

Should I keep the Parallax converter that I have now and install a BatteryMinder or BatteryTender, or bite the bullet and change out the converter to a Progressive Dynamics model with the Charge Wizard? I thought about a Xantex model, but I already have an onboard inverter that came with the coach. So.... WWYD? (what would you do?)

Duane

[F&D ABQ]

IIWM, and price no concern, I'd buy a Magnum Pure Sine Wave inverter/charger. Short of that, a 3-stage charger is the way to go. They cost a lot less than $441.