Batteries and charger/converter question

[carlsojr]

I have a "Victory Components" 55 amp charger/converter in my 2007 National Sea Breeze. I bought new batteries the end of March - 1 12 volt Deka for the engine, 2 6 volt Trojans for the house, from a reputable local RV repair business.

1) Is the charger/converter a 3 stage smart charger? ... I can't find thing 1 about it in a Google search.

2) Are the batteries okay? ... We have been unable to go anywhere since the end of March so our Sea Breeze has been in storage. I have gone out a couple times to start the engine and generator, leaving the generator on for an hour or so. Yet when I went out this last Saturday, the chassis battery was dead and the 6 volt bank read 6 volts instead of 12 or more. Got a jump to start and brought it home to plug in.
*** Went out to check on it Sunday morning and noticed a slight sulfur smell. Opened up stairstep to air out the compartment and look at the batteries; one 6 volt seemed slightly warm, others did not, water levels look right, after unplugging and checking back in 30 minutes the battery check said the chassis battery is 13.1 volts and the 6 volts are 12.6.

So, I figure if this Victory isn't "smart" I should swap it out.

But, I'm confused about why my batteries were dead or nearly so.

I also don't know if I should leave them charging for a day, or 3 or 4 days?

Are they irreparably damaged because they lost all or most of their charge?
Is there a way to get them tested to find out if there was something wrong with one or more that caused them to discharge so far? Could my CO detector have drained them? I forgot to completely disconnect them, at the battery bank, the last time I was out there, so it was on the whole month.

We have to get it up to operating caliber soon, we want to go on a trip in September, and then to be able to snowbird in Arizona.

Thanks for any information you folks may offer.

(the label of the converter):
https://www.dropbox.com/s/gr9jewuju4...32.01.jpg?dl=0

[dennis45]

You say the water levels are good meaning the level is above the plates, correct? If that's the case, plug into shore power and after an hour or two, take your digital voltmeter (not the one inside on the wall) and check the battery voltage at the batteries. You should see 13.6 - 13.8 volts Maximum. If you are seeing higher, or lower voltages, your converter is not functioning correctly and needs attention. Or, one of the batteries is pooched and causing the converter to overcharge thinking the battery is dead. Have the batteries tested.
If the voltage falls into the acceptable range, the batteries and the converter are likely OK. Just keep an eye on water levels and battery voltage.

[shiggs68]

Your Converter is a Parallax Converter branded under the Victory name. See the comments in this thread. https://www.rv.net/forum/Index.cfm/f...print/true.cfm

That thread also says that the Converter is a single stage and overcharges batteries. I suggest you replace it before your batteries are damaged.

As far as them being discharged, it is very common for a battery cutoff switch to not disconnect everything. While in storage without shore power batteries often become discharged. This should not harm your new batteries. However have them tested. It might be prudent to disconnect while in storage.


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[carlsojr]

I will get right swapping that thing out.Thanks for the information!

[dennis45]

Originally Posted by carlsojr

I will get right swapping that thing out.Thanks for the information!

If you are in the market for a new converter, take a serious look at this one. I have this device and it works flawlessly. Factory support is also very good.


PD9200 Series RV Power Converters

[carlsojr]

Thanks, Dennis, I'll check it out. We spend a lot of our time docked so I need better battery mgmt.

[chboone]

I have the PD9260C in my Dolphin it works great never over charges the batteries.

[mgscott4]

Leaving wet cell batteries in a discharge state is very bad for the battery. That is what kills them. I would put a "real" battery charger on them and see if you can get the voltage up to to around 13 volts. The best way to test batteries is to test specific gravity. Every cell needs to be checked after you charge it. You can get a tester at any autoparts store.

[carlsojr]

I wish to thank all of you who replied, you were very helpful!
Both my wife and I had unplanned medical issues and so were unable to go out at all last year. We are seemingly recovered now and have much traveling planned and booked now!
I did have the opportunity to have a PD 9260 installed finally, and it seems to be working well, but I have only had it home where I could plug it in the once.
I have but one issue so far, and that is its reluctance to turn on once plugged in, but I did think that it may be related to the limited way I can plug in at home. I have long used a 50 ft. 15 amp extension, which then is plugged in to the 50 - 30 amp tail and then the 50 amp main power cord. I thought maybe the PD9260 is more sensitive to the input amperage which is likely diminished somewhat through 50 feet, so I pulled the heavy 50 amp power cord all the way out (yes, laziness was a factor before, but I started doing this with a previous 30 amp coach) and found I could use a 10 foot 15 amp cord to complete the distance.
What was happening before was that the pendant showed no LED with the 50 foot extension, or so I thought, but would work if I pressed the manual override. With the 10 foot extension I waited longer than normal, maybe 2 minutes, and it finally came on in "normal" mode. I am not sure I waited that long before, but might have. It worked fine before in storage with the generator.
At any rate, it does seem to be working, and when I can plug it in to a 50 amp source at a park I'll get to see if it comes on faster.
So I am very much more comfortable now with this "smart" converter, I like that it has a desulfation mode for extended charging.
Thank you all again, very much!!