Boondocker Retrofit for WFCO converter

[Kountrykamper]

This is the proper kit and instructions. This kit is only sold by Best Converter. It does NOT come with a DC board and DOES come with the remote. No board change is necessary with this kit.

PD4655MBA 55 Amp Main Board Assembly for WFCO 8955 or Parallax 7155 (Includes Remote)

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by C&G in FL

Wrong. The installation guide you apparently viewed on-line is out of date, PD's fault. The PD4655-MBA no longer requires replacement of the dc distribution board. The remote pendent now allows control of the charging mode which previously was controlled from the replacement dc distribution board. There is a You Tube video on line which shows upgrade of the WFCO with the latest version of the PD4655-MBA. One point the individual in the video makes is that the board no longer needs to be replaced.

Good. I don't watch videos made by companies which don't both to produce proper documentation... which apparently now includes Progressive Dynamics. I certainly don't search YouTube for manufacturers' instructions, although some companies do use that distribution method.

So, the "extension instructions" that Carl was referring to in post #75 are simply not applicable to the product which Carl and Tom got from Best Converter.

Originally Posted by Kountrykamper

This is the proper kit and instructions. This kit is only sold by Best Converter. It does NOT come with a DC board and DOES come with the remote. No board change is necessary with this kit.

PD4655MBA 55 Amp Main Board Assembly for WFCO 8955 or Parallax 7155 (Includes Remote)

Thanks Tom.

The manual linked to that page doesn't mention any company name - neither Progressive Dynamics nor Best Converter. The model name on the Progressive Dynamics website is PD 4655V, not PD 4655TV or PD 4655 MBA. I wonder who actually makes this product?

[C&G in FL]

Originally Posted by Brian B-P

Good. I don't watch videos made by companies which don't both to produce proper documentation... which apparently now includes Progressive Dynamics.

So, what extension instructions were you referring to, Carl? Obviously not the obsolete document on the PD website...


Thanks Tom.

I never said the extension instructions on the PD website were obsolete. I said the installation manual was out of date.

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by C&G in FL

I never said the extension instructions on the PD website were obsolete. I said the installation manual was out of date.

The "extension" instructions are clearly obsolete, because they are actually instructions for changing the connector, which I now understand from Carl and Tom is no longer required. Yes, the manual is obsolete as well, if the product from Best Converter is actually a Progressive Dynamics 4600 series.

Originally Posted by C&G in FL

What's the matter Brian, can't accept the fact that you posted incorrect information?

I have no problem admitting when I have made an error - it's not an uncommon occurrence!

[C&G in FL]

Originally Posted by Brian B-P

The "extension" instructions are clearly obsolete, because they are actually instructions for changing the connector, which I now understand from Carl and Tom is no longer required. Yes, the manual is obsolete as well, if the product from Best Converter is actually a Progressive Dynamics 4600 series.


I have no problem admitting when I have made an error - it's not an uncommon occurrence!

Then I would sincerely apologize for misinterpreting your post's intended meaning. And yes, the product from Best Converter is a PD. Much of the manual is identical to the one that is on their website, but with a few changes related to the remote "pendant" which is the word they use to describe it. I suspect that PD just hasn't gotten around to updating the website documents.

It's also good to know that I do not have a monopoly on being in error. I definitely make more than my fair share for sure.

[Brian B-P]

Information obtained by email from Randy at Best Converter:

Progressive Dynamics manufactures it exclusively for Treasure Valley Distribution. We distribute it and it will soon be called the Wildkat.

Kudos to Randy for an impressively rapid response to a public query.

So perhaps the information at ProgressiveDyn.com is not so much out of date or incorrect, as it is inapplicable to the variation of the product being sold by Best Converter. This should be more clear when Best brands and describes it properly.

• Progressive Dynamics PD4655V
  • includes replacement DC board, with accessible Wizard Mode button and display
  • PD92201 Remote Pendant (with 55" cord ) can be used, but requires modification of remote cable
• PD / Treasure Valley PD4655TV Series - PD4655MBA
  • no replacement of DC board
    • ... although instructions refer to "new DC power distribution board", presumably due to sloppy editing from previous version
  • Remote Pendant (not PD92201) plugs in directly to module and must be used if control or display is desired

I will provide a further update when I hear from Progressive Dynamics. In the meantime, knowing which product you are using - Progressive Dynamics branded or "Wildkat" - will help in getting applicable information. My apologies for confusing the two.

[Kountrykamper]

"Progressive Dynamics manufactures it exclusively" being the key words.

Ours had a PD label on it.

Randy sells enough converters he has had PD modify the kit so you only get want you need for the WFCO 8955. This kit is designed around replacing the converter on the WFCO. No board, no sleave, remote included, no extra parts not needed is what he told me. This was mentioned several times starting back at post 44.

Since he is the only one selling this kit they may be putting a different name on it in the future but it is a Progressive Dynamics converter.

Here is a picture of the label on the box.

[richardr]

Thanks so much for the discussion. I learned a lot. I'm trying to figure out what I gain by upgrading to a charger with an available boost voltage.

I normally use a generator. Ideally, I would like to fully charge my batteries when I run the generator around supper time for a couple of hours.

Is the 14.4 boost charging voltage too high for some 12 volt appliances. I think the furnace was mentioned. Has anyone had problems with any 12 volt appliances (built-in or plugged-in) or a converter output voltage when running at the 14.4 boost voltage?

If the batteries are down to 50%, I think that is 12.1 to 12.2 volts will charging at 14.4 volts max out the converter's 55 amp charge? I am interested in how quickly my batteries will charge, but I was unable to find any graphs which showed the charging current using 14.4 and 13.6 charging voltages with different battery voltages.

[padlin]

Don't think you can fully charge a battery, or 2, in a few hours with anything. As the charge state goes up, the charge rate goes down. Well, maybe if they were at 98% or some such. The final 5% or so takes quite a while.

Standard practice for many, is let the generator bring it up to 90% +/- and call it good.

I run my solar at 15.3v, nothing has been burned up because of it. I did initially check with Suburban and Dometic. Don't remember which device it was, but the closest max voltage was 16vdc so no worries on my trailer.

[Kountrykamper]

Originally Posted by richardr

If the batteries are down to 50%, I think that is 12.1 to 12.2 volts will charging at 14.4 volts max out the converter's 55 amp charge? I am interested in how quickly my batteries will charge, but I was unable to find any graphs which showed the charging current using 14.4 and 13.6 charging voltages with different battery voltages.

See the graphs on the attached instructions. One of the advantages of this converter is that you can put it in the boost mode for a few hours while running on a generator and get the batteries up to 90%.

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by richardr

Is the 14.4 boost charging voltage too high for some 12 volt appliances. I think the furnace was mentioned. Has anyone had problems with any 12 volt appliances (built-in or plugged-in) or a converter output voltage when running at the 14.4 boost voltage?

While I haven't had anything definitely damaged by high voltage, the boost level of our Progressive Dynamics converter makes the Atwood furnace very loud, and doesn't sound very good. I haven't noticed anything else adversely affected; the lights just get brighter;

[skiman]

Well, that was fun. One little post and boy did I get a bunch of new information. Sounds to me like I will probably order a PD converter from Best Converters when I get a chance. What an amazing forum we have! Thanks all, keep posting if you have some more info on converters. Thanks.

[Kountrykamper]

Not to get this whole thing going again but thought I would report on the Progressive Dynamics now called Wildcat that I installed. It is still a Progressive Dynamics renamed Wildcat for Best converter to sell under their brand. Ours had a Progressive Dynamics sticker on it. This kit is designed to replace the main board assembly on the WFCO 8955 that is installed in all recent models of Escapes. It is a easy 5 wire, 30 minute replacement. It also allows you to manually change the charge rate but I have not found a need to do that. The only time I would override it would be if I was charging with a generator but from what I have seen so far if the batteries were low I believe it would go up to 14.6 anyway without doing anything.

I have had it installed on a few trips now and it works great. The output voltage and amperage will change based on the battery load. I never saw changes like I see now with the WFCO. If I use something with a heavy amp draw like the tongue jack it will kick up to 14.6 volts for a while. I can watch the amperage change on the surge protector readout and the voltage on a volt meter I use. After a hour or 2 it will drop back to 13.6 then after a day or so it will drop back to 13.2 unless I put a heavy load on the battery. Lights and low amp draw items will not cause it to increase and it stays at 13.2 most of the time when the batteries are charged. You can also tell what voltage it is charging at by looking at the LED on the remote.

One of the fans had a slight noise the first trip for about the first hour but it probably just needed to be run some and I am unable to hear any fan noise now.

So far I am very happy with it and have seen the voltage and amperage changes where it would never do anything with the WFCO.

Again here is the link to the one I installed.
PD4655MBA WildKat 55 Amp Main Board Assembly for WFCO 8955 or Parallax 7155 (Includes 4600 Remote)

[fudge_brownie]

Do you have a single flooded battery or the dual six?

You said you did not have the need to manually change the charge rate. Can I interpret that to mean I could force a charge rate of 15.4 volts, as recommended by Interstate for the dual sixes? Wouldn't you want a recommended charge rate or at least a rate closer to the recommendation?

With that said this is a substantial improvement. Getting the Wildcat to charge even at 14.4 is quite the accomplishment. The deserved bad rap for the WFCO was they would never charge at that rate. Based on my experience I could never get a charge rate above 13.7. Some users wrote on other forums that they would see 14.3 on a severely depleted battery. Only for a short time however.

Nice report, looks like a good replacement.

[Kountrykamper]

I have dual 6 volt. You can boost it to 14.6 for 4 hours manually. Unless you want to get into a major upgrade your not going to get more than that. For $200 and about 30 minutes time you get a 100% improvement with this option.

I doubt you could ever tell the differance with something costing 4 times the price.

Randy at best converters knows a lot more than I do and told me to not even bother boosting it manually unless using a generator and trying to get a quick charge.

I have seen it go to 14.6 3-times on its own already. I never seen 14.6 in 10 years of using a WFCO in our Casita and previous Escape.

[Kountrykamper]

Double post

[skiman]

Originally Posted by Kountrykamper

I have dual 6 volt. You can boost it to 14.6 for 4 hours manually. Unless you want to get into a major upgrade your not going to get more than that. For $200 and about 30 minutes time you get a 100% improvement with this option.

I doubt you could ever tell the differance with something costing 4 times the price.

Randy at best converters knows a lot more than I do and told me to not even bother boosting it manually unless using a generator and trying to get a quick charge.

I have seen it go to 14.6 3-times on its own already. I never seen 14.6 in 10 years of using a WFCO in our Casita and previous Escape.

Nice report. Thanks. On my to-do list.

[richardr]

We run a generator for large loads and to recharge our battery. How can a person tell if their battery needs the 14.6 volt charge for a couple of hours while running the generator? Will the converter automatically drop the voltage once the battery is fully charged? If not it sounds like a manual high voltage charge could be a risky thing to do.

[Kountrykamper]

If the voltage of the battery is down low enough this converter will go to 14.6 automatically. If you use a generator and place it manually in the boost mode it will run for up to 4 hours and charge your batteries back to 90%. 14.6 will not hurt the battery, just a faster charge to be able to run the generator for a shorter time.

[richardr]

Originally Posted by Kountrykamper

If the voltage of the battery is down low enough this converter will go to 14.6 automatically. If you use a generator and place it manually in the boost mode it will run for up to 4 hours and charge your batteries back to 90%. 14.6 will not hurt the battery, just a faster charge to be able to run the generator for a shorter time.

Thanks. That's just what I needed to know.