Chinook RV

68camaro wrote: December 2nd, 2018, 12:00 pm
Also, any idea what this is underneath back closest? Is for vacuum?

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That is the furnace output duct for the rear of the cabin. There is a duct that runs from the furnace behind the passenger seat through the passenger wall to below the closet for hot air output.

You could consider a charger like the ProMariner (comes in various amperages) or perhaps a Blue Sea P model.

I'm not convinced that the Promariner will charge lithium very well, but I think you could probably say that about a lot of current-crop chargers (that's bound to change). I'm not sure they handle absorb/float like you'd optimally want. But that's no matter if you are going AGM. I have the Promariner 60 amp in my Chinook. If I were doing it again I'd go with a smaller one (maybe the 30 or 40) because as it turns out, I don't really use my generator to charge. (The theory was that if I'm using a generator to charge, I want to listen to it as little as possible; but I don't end up doing that at all. If plugged in even overnight, there is no need for the high amps. Much of the time will be in absorb anyway which could be even a tiny charger.)

Let's say you go out for a weekend and run your 250ah AGM bank down to 50% (you have no solar for this example). So you need to put back 125 amp hours. The last ~40 amp hours of this will be in absorption (slow). Bulk (throw everything you've got at it and the batteries will suck it up) will thus comprise about 85 of the needed amp hours. If you have a few hours' drive home, you could put back let's say 50ah in bulk (alternator, you'd want to beef up wiring). So now you are down to needing about 45 more ah of bulk, and then the 40 of absorb. With a 40 amp charger the rest of the bulk will take say an hour and a half. Absorb will probably take around 2-3 hours regardless of charger size (it's tapering the current from around 12 amps to around 1.5 amps at which point you are full and pop into float). So based on that example, if you plugged in for even six hours a 40 amp charger should do the job. Obviously that will vary slightly if you are also using loads concurrently.

(I used the above example because 68 has a use case scenario with weekends that have not much sun, then a limited amount of time to plug in, then storage with no power.)

Here is a link to a photo tutorial by a good boat marine electrical installer on putting in the Pro-Mariner. Even though you might not do just the same, it's a good illustration.

https://marinehowto.com/installing-a-ma ... y-charger/

OK, got the electrical components where I want them. I replaced the Magnatek converter and Mark 15 Solar Battery Controller, along with new batteries plus appropriate knowledge so I think I am all set. To replace the older technology in the Chinook I did the following:

Had all wires including solar checked for correct sizing.

Replaced Magnatek Single Stage converter with a Boonedocker 4 Stage Power Center and Auto Transfer Switch.

Replaced the Mark 15 Controller with Bogart Engerneering's Trimetric 2030RV Battery System Monitor and their SC 2030 Solar Charger.

To stop parasitic loss when sitting for long time, had installed a master battery cut-off switch located on tray in front of batteries.

Switched out three coach lights to LED - huge difference in amps used, plus LED are a lot brighter. The savings: Large light 1 watt, medium light .6 watts and the small .4 watts. The Trimetric monitor easily allows you to see how much watts or amps each device uses, its really sweet.

Earlier in year went to two 220ah AGM 6-volt batteries, so with new power center I can charge faster and more efficiently, plus occasionally take down below 50%. I may need to disengage low-voltage alarm that comes with Chinook, the Trimetric has its own so once I make sure it works right I will do this.

Returned a 2000 watt inverter as I realized I will never really use it.

I did not install new or additional solar panels, on East coast there is too much canopy where I go so the solar really wouldn't be worth it. I may get suitcase panel in future for rare times I can get sun to it.

However, realized I had leak and it caused some damage, leak stopped but will need to get fixed when I put new floor in next year.

Also, changed all outdoor keyed locks to tube locks that all use same key, installer had to weld longer latch on each one to work properly but now all the locks are butter smooth and I only need one key for all.

Clay, I can see you removed only the bottom white wire from the connection block on the left. What about the ground wires to the top connection block? Did you move any of them? Thanks for all your help!

ngpsaki wrote: September 2nd, 2019, 2:37 pm Clay, I can see you removed only the bottom white wire from the connection block on the left. What about the ground wires to the top connection block? Did you move any of them? Thanks for all your help!

The Progressive Dynamics retrofit Charger/Converter comes with good instructions, and generally you just remove the old connections to the Magnatek bottom unit and replace them with the equivalent wires from the new PD bottom unit. There are three AC wires from below, 1) the white neutral wire (the bottom white wire in the terminal block you pointed out), 2) A green safety ground (or bare copper) that connects to the top terminal block, and 3) the black hot wire, which connects to the "Charger" circuit breaker output (3rd breaker from the right)

For some reason the original black wire in my Magnetek unit had a wire nut and splice to a 2" piece of wire going to the circuit breaker, but I eliminated that and just ran the new unit black wire directly to the breaker.

The new PD unit also has the "charge wizard" wire harness that connects the new bottom unit to the new DC distribution card. That 4-wire goes up through the right hand hole with the DC wires and plugs into the DC circuit board

caconcourse, I got it installed after many hours of feeling my way to make sure I didn't get it wrong. Your suggestions were invaluable, especially the tip about dividing that fat red wire into two "tines." I tried your idea of loosening the strain relief and pulling out more wiring, but I couldn't get more than a half-inch additional length. Anyway, everything seems to be in working order, and I don't smell any smoke, so I guess it was a successful job! Thanks again for your help, and your patience.

Nick

Nick,

Good job! I think everyone posting advice here is hoping to help people, and it is gratifying to know that comes to fruition on occasion. This will likely be one of your most complex DIY tasks, but is one of the most important upgrades. Personally, I love the Chinook in its originally conceived design, but there were some technological constraints back then that can be overcome without affecting the basic "look and feel" that has worked so well for us. This is one of them.

With this experience, you are well equipped to keep your unit in good working order with whatever comes up.

Since two of you have the PD converter/charger, do you noticed that the green LED by the Wizard Mode button flashes when you turn on the DC appliances as if it is charging? It is kind of odd to me, so I want to see if that is normal.

chin_k wrote: September 5th, 2019, 2:32 pm Since two of you have the PD converter/charger, do you noticed that the green LED by the Wizard Mode button flashes when you turn on the DC appliances as if it is charging? It is kind of odd to me, so I want to see if that is normal.

I leave my DC power on all the time without the shore power, and yes, the charge wizard light is always flashing. It never even occurred to me that the PD unit is not charging!

I suspect like all the charger computers, they are controlled by the battery level, so the flashing lights most likely reflect the state the charger would output if it were charging. So at lower voltage faster blinking, and higher (normal) voltage, slower blinking.

The wizard, apparently, is not smart enough to know to turn itself off when there is no charging source available!

Looking for advice:
I was already to purchase the Progressive Dynamics 4600 upgrade converter when a friend says he will give me a new PD9200 he did not use. The 9200 is also a 45 amp model. Looking at the project, buying the 4600 upgrade looks like a plug and play simple install. Using the PD9200 will require some cover modifications and mounting modification. I have read both spec sheets and I am not seeing any differences. Am I missing something? Please advise