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Old 09-06-2016, 10:16 AM   #1
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Wfco converter

Hello everyone , while the A is plugged into shore power, we all know that one of the functions of the converter is to charge your battery, and it does in three stages. Bulk, absorption, then float or trickle. My question is this: Does the charging always start in bulk mode? I ask this because when I plug the A in and use a multimeter to check the battery it shows the voltage in absorption mode, now my battery has really never been below 90 percent charged , so does the converter sense that and skip bulk? How low does the battery have to be to activate bulk mode? Or is my converter crap?


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Old 09-06-2016, 10:46 AM   #2
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That's a good question...Bulk and absorption voltages are usually the same, the difference being that, while in bulk, the charger sends max amperage to the battery. After the set-point is reached, absorption stage will hold that voltage while tapering off the amps until nearly zero. Not sure what your converter set-points are.

My charger, for instance, does a 1.5A slow charge until it verifies 10.5V then 7A until it sees 14.5V and then holds until it sees .1A. After that, it switches to maint. and measures voltage drop over time to make sure it's holding a charge then holds 13.7A for ten days. At that point, it goes to a pulse charge any time it drops below ... 12.8V I think.

But...to the question, you shouldn't notice any voltage difference between bulk and absorption modes on any of the chargers I've come across.
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Old 09-06-2016, 11:14 AM   #3
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According to WFCO manual , bulk mode is at 14.4 volts, while absorption is at 13.6 volts, then finally 13.2 volts for float or trickle, to my knowledge and their website that's how almost all WFCO converters operate.


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Old 09-06-2016, 11:32 AM   #4
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8900 series owner manual states (I'm guessing about the same for all):
Absorption Mode:13.6 Vdc range. This is the normal operation mode. This mode provides the 12 Vdc and current required by the 12 Vdc RV appliances, as well as slow charging the battery.

Bulk Mode: When the converter senses that the RV system voltage is
less than 13.2 Vdc (equivalent to less than 50% of battery charge) the
converter will automatically go into the “Bulk mode.” In this mode, the
output voltage of the converter will switch to 14.4 Vdc for a maximum
of four hours. If the converter cycles between “Absorption and Bulk
mode,” there could be a shorted battery cell or other issues.

If the output voltage drops below 13.2 Vdc, the converter automatically
changes to a “Bulk mode” 14.4 Vdc (unless the converter is in overload
condition). There are two signs of an overloaded converter:
Low output voltage, and full converter fold back or shutdown. In both
cases, the converter will automatically turn ON, once the complete load
is removed. For low output condition, removing the extra (over the
current rating) load will be sufficient. If it is impractical to remove all
the load, resetting the main breaker will have the same effect.

Float Mode: If the RV is not being used for approximately 48 hours,
with a “no load” condition and the shore power is plugged in, the
converter will automatically go in to the “Float mode.” In this mode,
the converter is charging the battery with a trickle voltage of 13.2 Vdc.
When the converter senses a demand (by turning on lights), the
converter automatically returns to the “Absorption mode” 13.6 Vdc.
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Old 09-06-2016, 11:41 AM   #5
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There's the answer! So the battery has to be less than 50% discharged got it to switch to bulk mode(14.4)
Thanks


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Old 09-06-2016, 11:42 AM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by f5moab View Post
Bulk Mode: When the converter senses that the RV system voltage is
less than 13.2 Vdc (equivalent to less than 50% of battery charge) the
converter will automatically go into the “Bulk mode.”
I wonder if that's not a misprint...12.2V sounds much closer to 50%.

But that would explain why it's not reading more than 13.6V. Good to know.
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Old 09-06-2016, 12:17 PM   #7
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Good point, must be a misprint in their manual. Certainly not the first, or last misprint in an owner's manual.
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Old 09-06-2016, 12:21 PM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Jaydubya81 View Post
There's the answer! So the battery has to be less than 50% discharged got it to switch to bulk mode(14.4)
Thanks


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I have been throw two WFCO until I decided to go with Progressive, I did a lot of testing before I throw the towel in on the WFCO. Your Wfco will never go into bulk mode. I let my batteries run down to 12.1 volts and turned on the convertor. I have meter installed in my panel so I can see what it is doing. It only went up to 13.6, never 14.4, It also never dropped to 13.2 float either. With a WFCO it calls for no load readings for 42 hrs I think or it was 48 hrs. Any parasite like your radio CO or even your refer will keep it out of 13.2. So what happens I was filling batteries every month from boiling out because it always stayed at 13.6. I got the direct replacement for the 55 amp WFCO with the wizard. Progressive will read parasites and still drop to float 13.2. Every 24 hrs it will go into desal/equalization 14.4 by itself then drop back to what your were at to keep your plates clean or you can select any mode you want by pushing the wizard button. I have not added water in over a year. I said this before and I will say it again WFCO is JUNK. Also the progressive has two fans not one like WFCO, they are so quite it you can't even hear them. I lost the bearing on one unit and the other just made so much noise I decided to make the switch. It is well worth it, and I leave my unit plugged in 24/7. Hope that helps, I tested the WFCO for 2 weeks recording what happened. so Trust me they are junk... PS: People do not like me calling them junk, but they are, and those people are not buying my batteries either.
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Old 09-06-2016, 03:01 PM   #9
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I just tested this about an hour ago . My WFCO does in fact go to trickle mode after about two days or so, this I've checked. So today i pulled my good battery and put an old pos battery that I knew was dead, I checked with meter and the battery was 11.8 volts in other words dead! After I hooked it all up, I then plugged my camper up and low and behold my converter was putting out 14.4 volts! So I have found that my WFCO works exactly like it's supposed to! Go figure. The problem was that my batteries have never really been discharged below the threshold to kick in bulk mode. So thanks everybody all is well! So my WFCO is apparently better than yours! Lol


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Old 09-06-2016, 03:32 PM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Jaydubya81 View Post
I just tested this about an hour ago . My WFCO does in fact go to trickle mode after about two days or so, this I've checked. So today i pulled my good battery and put an old pos battery that I knew was dead, I checked with meter and the battery was 11.8 volts in other words dead! After I hooked it all up, I then plugged my camper up and low and behold my converter was putting out 14.4 volts! So I have found that my WFCO works exactly like it's supposed to! Go figure. The problem was that my batteries have never really been discharged below the threshold to kick in bulk mode. So thanks everybody all is well! So my WFCO is apparently better than yours! Lol


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That's great yours is first one that I have been told works. I know mine would never ever did that and had two. What model WFCO converter do you have in your unit? When you went into bulk charge did your cooling fan kick on? Did you disconnect all your parasites? I would be interested to know. Thanks
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Old 09-06-2016, 03:58 PM   #11
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I just had a thought that you might want to check, since you got yours to go into bulk mode 14.4 I would recheck it about 4 hrs and see what voltage your at then. If your cooling fan is stopping it could be shutting off on you because those are variable fans. which could cause your unit to heat up and shut down. Then you would know for sure that your not having a problem. Just a suggestion to you.... glad you got it going...
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Old 09-06-2016, 04:56 PM   #12
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There are WFCOs that work according to spec. Like others, it took a lot of measuring to figure why my batteries were taking such a beating, and that my WFCO was not meeting spec.

I got my WFCO (8735) to go into bulk mode once. The second time it should have gone into bulk mode, it blew the 30 amp battery fuse without me noticing. The WFCO I had would also never go into trickle mode - I tried everything to coax it over a 4 week period, including dumping every parasite load. I learned to disconnect my battery while at home to prevent boiling water away.

Replaced it with a Progressive Dynamics 4135 converter/power center (alleged drop-in replacement for WFCO 8735). Except for being 1/2" narrower, and not having a 40 amp reverse polarity fuse, it was a true drop-in. The PD uses all 3 modes appropriately, and will hold bulk mode to about 90% for faster recharging. It does make some barely audible squeals (from the capacitors) when under heavy load. The fan is much quieter, and comes on sooner, than the WFCO fan. The fan will cycle itself as needed. I am very happy with the PD.

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Old 09-06-2016, 11:13 PM   #13
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You are lucky that your WFCO seems to be operating in 3 way mode. I have had several WFCOs and none of them ever got out of 13.6 v. I dealt with this by installing a battery cutoff switch so that the batteries would not dry out.

I also upgraded to the PD 4135 which is working perfectly as described above.
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