I have been using Deltran "Battery Tender" chargers for 15 years and never had a problem or a battery that lost "power. We live in NE ohio so my Class-C gets cold but I have one "Tender" on the Lead/Acid chassis battery and one Tender on the Lead/Acid coach battery. I also have a tender Jr on my Lawn mower 12v battery. My current RV batteries are 6 years old and still test as good using a Load Tester.
Would a Progressive Dynamics converter in similar conditions (long term unattended storage, failed or failing cell on a flooded lead acid coach battery) not be subject to similar risks?
I purchased a small solar battery tender with controller that works very well when the unit is at the storage lot. Have also been toying with idea of wiring up a battery voltage monitor inside the rv to keep an eye on charge rate etc. I would run it direct to the battery.
Mike, I just heard from a friend who purchased a brand new trailer that came with a WFCO converter having an “auto detect” feature (rather than a switch) which is supposed to automatically detect the battery type and set the charging profile to Lithium. He replaced its lead acid battery with Lithium and soon found that the auto detect feature did not work reliably. He looked on forums and found that many people had the same experience and some were recommending replacing their WFCO converter with one from Progressive Dynamics. I suggested he call WFCO but he was headed out in a long trip and didn’t have time. Since you are in touch with a WFCO engineer, maybe you could you ask him about this and let us know what he says. Here is a link to a video I found by someone who experienced this problem.
I have been using Deltran "Battery Tender" chargers for 15 years and never had a problem or a battery that lost "power. We live in NE ohio so my Class-C gets cold but I have one "Tender" on the Lead/Acid chassis battery and one Tender on the Lead/Acid coach battery. I also have a tender Jr on my Lawn mower 12v battery. My current RV batteries are 6 years old and still test as good using a Load Tester.
Progressive Dynamics converter it is....WFCO it is NOT...junk.
Would a Progressive Dynamics converter in similar conditions (long term unattended storage, failed or failing cell on a flooded lead acid coach battery) not be subject to similar risks?
I think all of them are…
I purchased a small solar battery tender with controller that works very well when the unit is at the storage lot. Have also been toying with idea of wiring up a battery voltage monitor inside the rv to keep an eye on charge rate etc. I would run it direct to the battery.
Great point about using the smaller battery tender for unattended battery charging, instead of using the converter.
Mike, I just heard from a friend who purchased a brand new trailer that came with a WFCO converter having an “auto detect” feature (rather than a switch) which is supposed to automatically detect the battery type and set the charging profile to Lithium. He replaced its lead acid battery with Lithium and soon found that the auto detect feature did not work reliably. He looked on forums and found that many people had the same experience and some were recommending replacing their WFCO converter with one from Progressive Dynamics. I suggested he call WFCO but he was headed out in a long trip and didn’t have time. Since you are in touch with a WFCO engineer, maybe you could you ask him about this and let us know what he says. Here is a link to a video I found by someone who experienced this problem.
https://youtu.be/r8jqVVnPIx4
This is why Li-ion batteries have battery management systems in them that monitor temperature. They will shut down when the temperature gets too high.