Replace battery charger?

[wadeswink]

We have a 2003 coachman with the original magnetic 7455 which seems to be working fine. What is conventisl wisdom for improve Charing with a more modern charger for my deep cycle batteries?

[RichR]

If it ain't broke don't fix it!

[Gary RVRoamer]

A newer design converter/charger will keep the batteries healthier by employing a more scientific charge algorithm. Whether that results in a noticeable increase in battery life depends on a variety of factors related to how you use your RV and care for its batteries. In other words, no simple Yes/No answer.


If you are using the so-called marine/rv deep cycles, you are probably getting around 3 years use from them and a better charger isn't going to improve that a lot. If you are using a specifically designed deep cycle, e.g. a 6v golf car battery or maybe a Trojan or Lifeline 12v deep cycle, a better charger has the potential to add a year or tow of life. However, in either case if you are frequently discharging below 50% or letting the batteries run down dead over the winter, chances are nothing is going to help.

[Mark_K5LXP]

The old single stage converters took longer to restore a bulk charge and tended to overcharge if left on too long. So while you can get them to work by monitoring things and pulling the plug at the appropriate time, any multistage modern converter is going to be "better", both for the batteries and user experience. If all one does is travel from RV park to RV park and hardly ever dips into battery capacity then a single stage converter will work just as well as anything. Someone trying to recover as many Ah as possible with genset time or wants to leave their rig plugged in continuously would benefit greatly from a multistage.

Mark B.
Albuquerque, NM

[Old-Biscuit]

The Magnetek 7455 is a stand alone (deck mount) plug in converter charger.
The 7400 Series is OBSOLETE

Replace with a Parallax ParaMode 55A Multistage Temp Compensated
Converter/Charger
#4455TC ---- ~$175 at Best Converter (amazon/others $319 and Higher)
4455TC ParaMode with TempAssure

[Bob_C]

When my Wfco charger died, went with a 4 stage 55 amp replacement from Best Converters.....works great!