Preparing for an adventure

[reynoldsfam3]

I am preparing our Coleman Catalina travel trailer for a trip of undetermined length. I have replace our 12 volt battery with 2 - 6 volt 230 AH batteries powering the 30 amp service. I am considering purchasing an Iota DLS-30 power supply and charger and their IQ smart controller.
Am I in the ballpark with these choices or should I consider other options? I want to be able to add solar panels in the future, would they be compatible with this set up?
Is there another brand or product that would serve us better?

Thanks for any advice
Bill

[Shadowcatche]

This is a rather poor choice as it is more a power supply than a charger that can slowly charge your battery but not with a high enough output to fully charge the batteries with out using a plug that boosts it to 14.2 V.
A good discussion that gives a great deal more information is on http://wind-sun.com/ForumVB/showthread.php?t=11035
You probably want a three or four stage automatic charger with some output i.e. http://www.progressivedyn.com/prod_d..._pd9180a_2.htm
My suggestion would be to do some homework and check out the care and feeding of deep-cycle batteries http://www.batteryfaq.org

[reynoldsfam3]

Thanks for the information, and other sites to read. I have been trying to read a lot, but at some points I start to get lost.

Thanks again
Bill

[HMXDave]

It is my understanding that the smart controller (which I have) turns your Iota power supply into a 3 stage charger. IQ Smart Charger for DLS Series Battery Chargers from IOTA Engineering

I have a voltage meter in my rig and when the batts are low, we kick on the genny and the Iota puts out 14.8 volts as the initial bulk charge.

[reynoldsfam3]

When looking at the assorted controller/chargers do I match the amp rating to the amp rating of the RV (30-30 etc) or should they be different?

Thanks for all the help
Bill

[Shadowcatche]

Amps in at 120 AC vs. amps out at 12V DC are two different animals. see Off The Grid How To
A progressive Dynamics PD 9280 80A intelligent charger draws 20 amps at 120 and puts out 80A on boost phase. More amps means less time charging.