Converter placement

[Country Campers]

As I am making a list and plans for "dropping the coroplast" I am thinking of the stock placement of the converter. Reading through some of the Solar and other Electrical threads it seems there is something to having the converter closer to the battery. In my 29RS fifth wheel the converter is about 5 or 6 feet from the battery and about 2 feet from the power distribution panel. The wire from the converter to the battery may be longer as I do not know where it goes once it enters the floor and reappears at the battery.

Questions.....

1. Is the location of the converter to the battery important?

2. Does the location and distance from the battery effect the charge rate?

3. Is the distance from the battery to the power distribution panel important?

4. Is the distance from the converter to the power distribution panel important?

5. Will wire size make up for a distance on any of the questions above?

One note that I have noticed is that the converter positive goes to the power distribution panel and then to the battery , Should this be changed?

More than likely this will not be all but is a start.

Brian

[TedS]

Wire size and distance work together. For reasonable voltage drop, larger wire size for longer distance. DC is more sensitive than AC to small voltage drops.

[howson]

In my 29RS fifth wheel the converter is about 5 or 6 feet from the battery and about 2 feet from the power distribution panel. Is the location of the converter to the battery important?

As a lawyer would say, "It depends." For your 29RS' OEM configuration, IMO it's fine as configured.

Does the location and distance from the battery effect the charge rate?
Is the distance from the battery to the power distribution panel important?
Is the distance from the converter to the power distribution panel important?
Will wire size make up for a distance on any of the questions above?

Within reason...no, not as configured by the OEM for a wet-cell battery.

One note that I have noticed is that the converter positive goes to the power distribution panel and then to the battery , Should this be changed?

??? I don't think so. I forget where my converter was installed.

What might be confusing is all the wiring associated with an inverter charger. The Victron I have can pull over 300 amps on a continuous basis from the four Battle Born batteries in my trailer (more for a short surge) and can charge the batteries at over 150 amps. At these amperage/power levels distance and wire size become incredibly important to minimizing power loss.

Bottom line: for the (relatively) low power levels of the stock WFCO converter, the 8 gauge wire in your 29RS at the distances in question are probably fine.

[Guest]

As I am making a list and plans for "dropping the coroplast" I am thinking of the stock placement of the converter. Reading through some of the Solar and other Electrical threads it seems there is something to having the converter closer to the battery. In my 29RS fifth wheel the converter is about 5 or 6 feet from the battery and about 2 feet from the power distribution panel. The wire from the converter to the battery may be longer as I do not know where it goes once it enters the floor and reappears at the battery.

Questions.....

1. Is the location of the converter to the battery important?

2. Does the location and distance from the battery effect the charge rate?

3. Is the distance from the battery to the power distribution panel important?

4. Is the distance from the converter to the power distribution panel important?

5. Will wire size make up for a distance on any of the questions above?

One note that I have noticed is that the converter positive goes to the power distribution panel and then to the battery , Should this be changed?

More than likely this will not be all but is a start.

Brian

Brian,

My goal was to re-locate the converter/charger as close to the battery as possible to save on wire cost as well as to reduce voltage drop. My original converter was around 1ft from the distribution panel but also around 20ft away from the battery. When considering how much 8 AWG was present for 60 amps of lithium charging, his became an issue. As a result, a new converter was located within a couple feet of the battery. Since my battery was moved to the passthrough, this reduced the length of 8 AWG wire to around 15ft from the battery to the distribution panel. Since 12V loads are low in the rig as compared to charging, this was not an issue.

Hope this helps,

Jim

[boyscout]

Will wire size make up for a distance on any of the questions above?

Brian, all good advice above but if you were inclined to ignore it (considering the sources ) and strike out on your own there are MANY "wire size calculators" to be found around on the web if you search with those or similar words.

This is one of the first that popped up when I searched; at a quick glance it looks OK.

https://www.wirebarn.com/Wire-Calculator-_ep_41.html

My own inclination is to exaggerate amperage and length a little when entering requirements. The only things that are damaged when you do that are your wallet and a pound or three of additional weight in the trailer. However even these days when copper is worth almost as much as gold the difference in bumping up the wire gauge a little isn't usually budget-crushing, and benefits can be a few percentage points of improved efficiency as well as future-proofing for changes you may want to make one day. My wife doesn't understand this thinking and maybe you won't either, but to me thinking "could-a, should-a" after completing a project can be expensive too.

Good luck.

[ncitro]

Country Campers I personally think unless you’re adding more batteries, or switching to lithium, or upgrading your converter you would not see much difference. In any of those cases then either you’d want to move it closer or increase the wire size, or both depending on the situation.

[Guest]

Country Campers I personally think unless you’re adding more batteries, or switching to lithium, or upgrading your converter you would not see much difference. In any of those cases then either you’d want to move it closer or increase the wire size, or both depending on the situation.

Neil,

I assumed he might add Lithium but if not, your spot on. A single FLA deep cycle battery will not accept more the 10 amps where changing the converter will not help.

One issue with adding a new converter in the stock location are the small wire connectors at the power distribution panel. Then from there to my battery in the original configuration. By adding a converter close to the batteries, the cable can be heavy then the original 8 awg can be fed from the battery back to the distribution panel. My single AIMs Corp battery gets hit pretty hard at 55 amps during charging so it very efficient in less generator usage.

Brian, an Ampacity chart is very handy for wire sizing.

12v ampacity chart - Bing images

Jim

[TucsonJim]

Another tidbit to remember is that your converter performs dual roles. It is not only used to charge the batteries, but it also provides a source of power for DC loads such as lights, furnace fan, etc. when it is energized. So if you move it to shorten the run to the battery, you want to make sure you're not increasing the length of the runs to the DC loads.

Jim

[Country Campers]

Well that was a can of worms that I might have left shut , just kidding.
All good input and thank you all.
I did replace the stock converter to a PD9260 last winter. Why I did not get the lithium model is beyond me , I believe Mark said it best above "coulda shoulda". I will leave the converter in the stock place for the time being. When I get to the Lithium part I will move it then , and get another new converter , oh well 3 converters is better than none I guess.

Brian

[Guest]

Another tidbit to remember is that your converter performs dual roles. It is not only used to charge the batteries, but it also provides a source of power for DC loads such as lights, furnace fan, etc. when it is energized. So if you move it to shorten the run to the battery, you want to make sure you're not increasing the length of the runs to the DC loads.

Jim

Jim,

The original wiring on my Imagine from the battery to the power distribution panel was left unchanged. Would this be any different if my converter is now using this same wire for DC loads? It did pass the ampacity test.

Jim

[ncitro]

Well that was a can of worms that I might have left shut , just kidding.
All good input and thank you all.
I did replace the stock converter to a PD9260 last winter. Why I did not get the lithium model is beyond me , I believe Mark said it best above "coulda shoulda". I will leave the converter in the stock place for the time being. When I get to the Lithium part I will move it then , and get another new converter , oh well 3 converters is better than none I guess.

Brian

Coulda Shoulda gets us all lol. As someone else said, if you are looking to add an inverter when you add lithium, then it may be a mute discussion. In that case leave your converter where it is and install the inverter/charger near to the batteries with large short wires going to it. I have had good experience with both the Magnum and Victron. They both poured the amps into my lithium batteries, they took the full 125 amps right up until 99% full which was great for generator use.