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Old 07-12-2021, 07:43 AM   #1
odvilla
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2019 Cougar 369bhs power converter

I want to replace the original battery on my 5th wheel with a 12v 200AH AGM battery. Will I have to replace my power converter also?
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Old 07-12-2021, 08:34 AM   #2
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No, your "OEM WFCO converter/charger" will work with either a Flooded Lead Acid (FLA) battery or with an AGM battery. WFCO does not recommend "gel type batteries" except with the 6800 series converter charger line. Your trailer has either the 8900 or the 9500 series power center (depending on whether you have a 30 amp or a 50 amp shore power capacity, so "no gel batteries"...

Keep in mind that if your current battery (as an example) is a 100 amp/hour battery and your current converter/charger takes 3 hours to recharge, if you replace it with a 200 amp/hour battery (regardless of FLA or AGM) and it's discharged to the same level, it will take roughly twice as long to recharge to the same level.... That's not a "converter problem" rather it's a "capacity/battery size reality"....

So, if you do change out to a larger battery, realize that your converter fan is going to run for a longer time and if you use a generator to recharge during dry camping, you'll probably need to run the generator "twice as long to get twice the charge"....

Don't fall into the "trap" of assuming, "my old battery charged in 1 hour and my new one is only half way there in the same time, so my converter/charger must be bad"... It's not bad, just like the hose that takes an hour to fill a 1000 gallon tub, if you try to fill a 2000 gallon tub with the same hose, it'll take twice as long to fill.....
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Old 07-14-2021, 11:20 AM   #3
odvilla
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Thank You for the information I appreciate it. One last thing, do you know if the power converter will stop charging when full? I would have to spend $400 dollars on a battery and have it get damaged for over charging. Should I use the battery disconnect when it is at home plugged in to electricity?
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Old 07-15-2021, 07:41 AM   #4
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If the converter/charger is operating properly (and there's no reason to believe it is not) then it will vary the charge level to maintain the battery properly.

It starts with a "bulk charge" (fast charge) and as the battery charge level increases, it changes to a "normal charge" and then finally, when the battery reaches "near max capacity" the converter/charger changes to a "maintenance charge" that is similar to a trickle charger...

The WFCO converter/chargers will not (if operating properly) overcharge your battery bank.

There is a "BOATLOAD" of information for you to research on the WFCO site:
https://wfcoelectronics.com/support/

The "THEORY OF OPERATION" link on that page is an excellent place to start your learning experience.
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Old 07-15-2021, 08:02 AM   #5
odvilla
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Awesome to hear and thank you very much once again for the information. I mostly do boondocking so battery is pretty important to me. Next will be to get a power inverter for my fridge since it does not work on propane on the altitude where I usually camp. I have tried a couple of times to talk to Dometic about it, but they pretty much told me anything over 6000 feet will not work with my fridge.
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Old 07-15-2021, 08:10 AM   #6
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You're going to need not only a BOATLOAD of information, but to operate a heating element in a Dometic refrigerator, you're going to need a BOATLOAD of battery capacity. The typical Dometic heating element is 325 watts. That will "consume most batteries overnight"...

We used to have a cab-over camper with a 3.5 CuFt Dometic 3 way refrigerator (gas, AC and DC). The DC heating element would "kill the camper battery" in about 3 hours of "hot sunny parking"... Using the AC heating element powered by an inverter is using the same "wattage draw from the battery" as using a DC heating element....

I think you're going to have difficulty keeping the refrigerator operating on AC mode with an inverter.
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Old 07-15-2021, 08:36 AM   #7
odvilla
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Shoot, maybe a couple of 200ah lipos? Gas for my generator might be less expensive!
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