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Old 03-13-2014, 01:36 PM   #1
Art
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Join Date: Feb 2006
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M.O.C. #5316
Replacing Converter/Charger?

I haven't been hearing my fan (cooling)motor operating on my converter/charger for a while. I used to hear it come on and off often. I leave my Montana plugged in over the winter months while in my back yard. In checking my battery (now that the snow has finally melted here in NJ) I found the cells very low and the battery dead. In normal winters, I always check the fluid level in the battery about once every two weeks. I couldn't even get to my trailer for months this winter.

That's the background now to my question. I have a 45-amp converter in my 3670RL. I think that I am going to replace it before my upcoming trip. Can I "oversize" the converter with a 55-amp or 65-amp and would it be of any benefit?

Thanks in advance for your input.
 
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Old 03-13-2014, 02:16 PM   #2
kdeiss
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M.O.C. #164
Remember that fan only comes on when the converter is Hot this is a normal operation
To test I would turn on as many DC lights as you can wait a few min's and the fan will come on
No problem replacing with a higher AMP as long as you have space I beleive the higher Amp unit's are larger you can check that out in the Catalog I beleve your unit is a Magntek Brand
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Old 03-13-2014, 02:37 PM   #3
Carl n Susan
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I don't know what brand converter you have. My 2005 had an IOTA unit. A friend's 2002 had one integrated in the power/fuse panel. Neither of them (and I am willing to bet yours too) had a "Smart Charger" capability. This likely caused your batteries to boil out most of their water, resulting in the battery going dead, and consequently had the charger working overtime (hence the fan) to try and charge the battery.

You are smart to upgrade your converter to one with a "Smart Charger" technology. There usually is sufficient space available to place the new converter. Move the battery charge cables from the old converter to the new one, and plug in the new converter to complete the conversion. Usually an easy job.

New RVs come with 90 amp converter. Depending on how many batteries you have and how much you boondock, 90 amps may be overkill. A 55 amp unit is probably sufficient for normal use.
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Old 03-13-2014, 02:51 PM   #4
Rondo
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Had our converter go out on our 2004 2980 two years ago. We had a smart converter put in and all is well. I leave our unit plugged in also and have checked the battery monthly and have had no problems with is boiling out. I agree with Carl on the 55 amp unit being plenty. I used our unit out at Quartzite during January in 2013 and had no problems with the batteries, the power inside both 12V or the use of the Honda gennies!
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