Wanderlodge Gurus - The Member Funded Wanderlodge Forum

I have a '87 fc, and am replacing the original iota chargers with two
iota DLS-45 chargers. The squirrel cage blower in the adjacent
compartment is frozen. I have removed it and wonder if it is necessary
to replace it. The new DLS-45's have colling fans that cycle depending
on temp. The screened opening in the floor where the blower unit is
housed should provide a good convection air flow to the charger room.
Any thoughts. DAN

Dan,
Our 1987 PT has that squirrel cage blower for the chargers. I
disconnected it when the upgraded/newer charges with cooling fan were
installed. No problem in over a year.

Curt Sprenger 1987 PT38, Anaheim Hills, Calif.


dlefty12 wrote:

> I have a '87 fc, and am replacing the original iota chargers with two
> iota DLS-45 chargers. The squirrel cage blower in the adjacent
> compartment is frozen. I have removed it and wonder if it is necessary
> to replace it. The new DLS-45's have colling fans that cycle depending
> on temp. The screened opening in the floor where the blower unit is
> housed should provide a good convection air flow to the charger room.
> Any thoughts. DAN
>
>

Curt,
Where did you put the new charger? Is the space vented?

Dick Hayden - '87 PT 38 - Lake Stevens, WA

----- Original Message -----
From: Curt Sprenger
To: WanderlodgeForum@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Thursday, July 27, 2006 2:06 PM
Subject: Re: [WanderlodgeForum] battery charger replacement


Dan,
Our 1987 PT has that squirrel cage blower for the chargers. I
disconnected it when the upgraded/newer charges with cooling fan were
installed. No problem in over a year.

Curt Sprenger 1987 PT38, Anaheim Hills, Calif.

dlefty12 wrote:

> I have a '87 fc, and am replacing the original iota chargers with two
> iota DLS-45 chargers. The squirrel cage blower in the adjacent
> compartment is frozen. I have removed it and wonder if it is necessary
> to replace it. The new DLS-45's have colling fans that cycle depending
> on temp. The screened opening in the floor where the blower unit is
> housed should provide a good convection air flow to the charger room.
> Any thoughts. DAN
>
>





[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

--- In WanderlodgeForum@yahoogroups.com, "dlefty12" wrote:
>
> I have a '87 fc, and am replacing the original iota chargers with two
> iota DLS-45 chargers. The squirrel cage blower in the adjacent
> compartment is frozen. I have removed it and wonder if it is necessary
> to replace it. The new DLS-45's have colling fans that cycle depending
> on temp. The screened opening in the floor where the blower unit is
> housed should provide a good convection air flow to the charger room.
> Any thoughts. DAN

I have the same charger but I talked to BB and said one is fine & they are
right. make sure
your get the smart charger modual. the interal fan is fine

-guy smalley
86 pt40
>

Dick,
The new chargers were installed in the same location as the old battery
boilers. The compartment is vented.

Curt Sprenger 1987 PT38, Anaheim Hills, Calif.



Richard Hayden wrote:

> Curt,
> Where did you put the new charger? Is the space vented?
>
> Dick Hayden - '87 PT 38 - Lake Stevens, WA
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Curt Sprenger > >
> To: WanderlodgeForum@yahoogroups.com
>
com
> >
> Sent: Thursday, July 27, 2006 2:06 PM
> Subject: Re: [WanderlodgeForum] battery charger replacement
>
> Dan,
> Our 1987 PT has that squirrel cage blower for the chargers. I
> disconnected it when the upgraded/newer charges with cooling fan were
> installed. No problem in over a year.
>
> Curt Sprenger 1987 PT38, Anaheim Hills, Calif.
>
> dlefty12 wrote:
>
> > I have a '87 fc, and am replacing the original iota chargers with two
> > iota DLS-45 chargers. The squirrel cage blower in the adjacent
> > compartment is frozen. I have removed it and wonder if it is necessary
> > to replace it. The new DLS-45's have colling fans that cycle depending
> > on temp. The screened opening in the floor where the blower unit is
> > housed should provide a good convection air flow to the charger room.
> > Any thoughts. DAN
> >
> >
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>
>

Curt,
Is that the compartment just forward of the curb side lift-up vent where you
access the Racor and the batteries? That area on mine is open to all of the
dirt from the road. However, I believe it has been modified. I would like to
know how this compartment was supposed to be arranged originally. Mine had the
boilers on top and the shunts below on the bottom with lots of wasted space.
The rear wall of the compartment has been cut out and that's where the crud
from the road gets in. I removed the boilers. The previous owner had installed
a new Zantrex inverter with a 100 amp batt. charger. That is located in the
next compartment forward just ahead of the drivers and has no ventilation.
Seems to be working though with just the cooling fan in the unit.

I'd just like to know how it's supposed to be arranged.

Thanx

Dick Hayden - '87 PT 38 - Lake Stevens, WA


----- Original Message -----
From: Curt Sprenger
To: WanderlodgeForum@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Thursday, July 27, 2006 2:27 PM
Subject: Re: [WanderlodgeForum] battery charger replacement


Dick,
The new chargers were installed in the same location as the old battery
boilers. The compartment is vented.

Curt Sprenger 1987 PT38, Anaheim Hills, Calif.

Richard Hayden wrote:

> Curt,
> Where did you put the new charger? Is the space vented?
>
> Dick Hayden - '87 PT 38 - Lake Stevens, WA
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Curt
Sprenger
> >
> To:
WanderlodgeForum@yahoogroups.com
>
com
> >
> Sent: Thursday, July 27, 2006 2:06 PM
> Subject: Re: [WanderlodgeForum] battery charger replacement
>
> Dan,
> Our 1987 PT has that squirrel cage blower for the chargers. I
> disconnected it when the upgraded/newer charges with cooling fan were
> installed. No problem in over a year.
>
> Curt Sprenger 1987 PT38, Anaheim Hills, Calif.
>
> dlefty12 wrote:
>
> > I have a '87 fc, and am replacing the original iota chargers with two
> > iota DLS-45 chargers. The squirrel cage blower in the adjacent
> > compartment is frozen. I have removed it and wonder if it is necessary
> > to replace it. The new DLS-45's have colling fans that cycle depending
> > on temp. The screened opening in the floor where the blower unit is
> > housed should provide a good convection air flow to the charger room.
> > Any thoughts. DAN
> >
> >
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>
>





[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Curt,

I have purchased 2-iota DSL-45 controllers (45 amp output each)
which was recommended by Blue Bird, but I just removed the old
chargers and found they are Triad-utrad 75 amp units. I now wonder
if the 2-45 are sufficient?

Dan 87 35fc sb Somers NY

--- In WanderlodgeForum@yahoogroups.com, Curt Sprenger
wrote:
>
> Dan,
> Our 1987 PT has that squirrel cage blower for the chargers. I
> disconnected it when the upgraded/newer charges with cooling fan
were
> installed. No problem in over a year.
>
> Curt Sprenger 1987 PT38, Anaheim Hills, Calif.
>
>
> dlefty12 wrote:
>
> > I have a '87 fc, and am replacing the original iota chargers
with two
> > iota DLS-45 chargers. The squirrel cage blower in the adjacent
> > compartment is frozen. I have removed it and wonder if it is
necessary
> > to replace it. The new DLS-45's have colling fans that cycle
depending
> > on temp. The screened opening in the floor where the blower unit
is
> > housed should provide a good convection air flow to the charger
room.
> > Any thoughts. DAN
> >
> >
>

I run 1 turcharge 40 plus it is rated at 45 amps total and it is more
than suffiecient to charge my 3 banks of batteries
2 coach and 1 Generator
Stpehen 77fc35


--- In WanderlodgeForum@yahoogroups.com, "dlefty12" wrote:
>
> Curt,
>
> I have purchased 2-iota DSL-45 controllers (45 amp output each)
> which was recommended by Blue Bird, but I just removed the old
> chargers and found they are Triad-utrad 75 amp units. I now wonder
> if the 2-45 are sufficient?
>
> Dan 87 35fc sb Somers NY
>
> --- In WanderlodgeForum@yahoogroups.com, Curt Sprenger
> wrote:
> >
> > Dan,
> > Our 1987 PT has that squirrel cage blower for the chargers. I
> > disconnected it when the upgraded/newer charges with cooling fan
> were
> > installed. No problem in over a year.
> >
> > Curt Sprenger 1987 PT38, Anaheim Hills, Calif.
> >
> >
> > dlefty12 wrote:
> >
> > > I have a '87 fc, and am replacing the original iota chargers
> with two
> > > iota DLS-45 chargers. The squirrel cage blower in the adjacent
> > > compartment is frozen. I have removed it and wonder if it is
> necessary
> > > to replace it. The new DLS-45's have colling fans that cycle
> depending
> > > on temp. The screened opening in the floor where the blower unit
> is
> > > housed should provide a good convection air flow to the charger
> room.
> > > Any thoughts. DAN
> > >
> > >
> >
>

While a truecharge is fine it is not satisfactory for those who want their
batteries to be efficiently charged in the quickest manner.

The rule of thumb is to have a charger that is capable of supplying
current at 25% of your battery bank capacity. That means for a FC35
for instance with 4 Trojan 6 VDC deep cycle batteries (450 amp hrs)
you should have a charger capable of supplying 25% of or 112 amps and
it will take approximately 2.8 hours to recharge them if you use the
50% rule to discharge. Increase the charger to 130 amps such as in
the Heart 2500 that I have and it would take about 1.7 hours of
generator running to recharge the battery bank.

It becomes more critical when you own a PT or increase your battery
bank size in a FC. My PT 40 is getting 6 new deep cycles now for a
total 675 amp hrs and recharging them with a Truecharge 40 it would
take 8.4 hours to recharge them if they were discharged to the same
50% level. Charging them with a 130 amp charger would then take 2.6
hours of generator time to get them back fully charged.

These figures are a little off since the chargers never charge at
their full rate due to their charge curves. Mine is fully on at 130
amps until the battery terminals reach 14.2 voltrs and then the
current tapers off since it is a 3 stage charger.

Everyone should consider this depending on your life style and how
you use your battery power.

In closing some have asked me to post information on converting from
the old battery boilers to a new 3 stage charger/inverter. I will do
that when my installation is complete. Installing a charger/inverter
in a forward control is a little trickier then in a PT because of the
long distance between the factory charger location and the batteries.
Installation in a PT can be very efficient since the batteries and
charger are very close together. However with that said if you want a
nice installation with the capability to monitor everything by
installing a Link 1000/2000 then the cables for the link have to be
run the length of the coach over 60 feet. In addition Bluebird ran
charging cables ina very strange way (they used the starter as a
contact point for cables from the batteries and chargers. Bad idea.
I have reconfigured everything in the battery area and am running new
4/0 cables from the charger directly to a new termination point just
above the batteries. This will really clean up the area nicely and
provide lots of current to the Detroit diesel (originally supplied
with a 2 gauge wire to the starter?





tom warner
Vernon center,NY
1985 PT 40


At 11:19 AM 7/29/2006, you wrote:

>I run 1 turcharge 40 plus it is rated at 45 amps total and it is more
>than suffiecient to charge my 3 banks of batteries
>2 coach and 1 Generator
>Stpehen 77fc35
>
>--- In
>WanderlodgeForum@yahoogroups.com,
>"dlefty12" wrote:
> >
> > Curt,
> >
> > I have purchased 2-iota DSL-45 controllers (45 amp output each)
> > which was recommended by Blue Bird, but I just removed the old
> > chargers and found they are Triad-utrad 75 amp units. I now wonder
> > if the 2-45 are sufficient?
> >
> > Dan 87 35fc sb Somers NY
> >
> > --- In
> WanderlodgeForum@yahoogroups.com,
> Curt Sprenger
> > wrote:
> > >
> > > Dan,
> > > Our 1987 PT has that squirrel cage blower for the chargers. I
> > > disconnected it when the upgraded/newer charges with cooling fan
> > were
> > > installed. No problem in over a year.
> > >
> > > Curt Sprenger 1987 PT38, Anaheim Hills, Calif.
> > >
> > >
> > > dlefty12 wrote:
> > >
> > > > I have a '87 fc, and am replacing the original iota chargers
> > with two
> > > > iota DLS-45 chargers. The squirrel cage blower in the adjacent
> > > > compartment is frozen. I have removed it and wonder if it is
> > necessary
> > > > to replace it. The new DLS-45's have colling fans that cycle
> > depending
> > > > on temp. The screened opening in the floor where the blower unit
> > is
> > > > housed should provide a good convection air flow to the charger
> > room.
> > > > Any thoughts. DAN
> > > >
> > > >
> > >
> >
>
>

Dan,
My '87 FC35, same as yours, has a phantom current
useage of 6 Amps. (no accounting for internal use)

All I need to keep the batteries up is a 6 Amp charger,
in reality my charger is then supplying the phantom drain.

Now if I have allowed the batteries to drain down
by dry camping or without replentishing the 6 A drain.
I need more charger capacity, a 12 Amp charger will get
me back to full charge in time. Am I willing to wait?

A 20,40,60,80 or 100 Amp charger will work, however,
they should be of the "smart" charger concept so as
not to output a voltage/current supply that would
exceed the charging rate of the batteries and cause
overheating and boiling.

Remember also that as soon as the engine is started
the alternator takes the charging responsibility of
batteries producing 13.5-14.5 regulated output.

I can sum this up by saying that the shorter time
period you are without charging, or use, equates
to less charger capacity needed, vice versa.

The chargers you have will be connected in parallel
so the current capacity output is addative. You
should have the capability of 90 Amps, more than
adequate for any charging need.

Bob Janes '87 FC35 Greenville, SC

--- In WanderlodgeForum@yahoogroups.com, "dlefty12"
wrote:
>
> Curt,
>
> I have purchased 2-iota DSL-45 controllers (45 amp output each)
> which was recommended by Blue Bird, but I just removed the old
> chargers and found they are Triad-utrad 75 amp units. I now wonder
> if the 2-45 are sufficient?
>
> Dan 87 35fc sb Somers NY
>
> --- In WanderlodgeForum@yahoogroups.com, Curt Sprenger
> wrote:
> >
> > Dan,
> > Our 1987 PT has that squirrel cage blower for the chargers. I
> > disconnected it when the upgraded/newer charges with cooling fan
> were
> > installed. No problem in over a year.
> >
> > Curt Sprenger 1987 PT38, Anaheim Hills, Calif.
> >
> >
> > dlefty12 wrote:
> >
> > > I have a '87 fc, and am replacing the original iota chargers
> with two
> > > iota DLS-45 chargers. The squirrel cage blower in the adjacent
> > > compartment is frozen. I have removed it and wonder if it is
> necessary
> > > to replace it. The new DLS-45's have colling fans that cycle
> depending
> > > on temp. The screened opening in the floor where the blower
unit
> is
> > > housed should provide a good convection air flow to the charger
> room.
> > > Any thoughts. DAN
> > >
> > >
> >
>