Direct hookup to 110v? No battery

[greasywheats]

I haven't finished reading my book on 12v electrical systems yet and this thought just popped into my head, so I thought I'd just float it out there rather than actually think about it myself (which will undoubtedly produce better results than my thinnking!)

So- is it possible to wire up your TD for 12v and then not wire it directly to a battery, but instead wire it directly to the charger/ converter. I want to be able to add a battery (small or large) at some point for camping off the grid, but in the meantime be able to run it off the electrical hookup at the state parks.

[mikeschn]

That's exactly what I do. All of my 12v lights, fantastic fan, furnace etc run off of my converter. There are wires if I decide to add a battery, but currently I have to plug into shoreline.

Here's a pic of the converter I am using...



Mike...

[greasywheats]

Mike... great answer! Thanks!
I need to refer to some earlier posts about the aspects of a battery charger vs. a converter, but for now....
So that box is an actual battery charger not just a converter? Is the heavy gauge black line coming in from the left of the picture connected to an AC outlet on the side of your TD where you would plug into a 110v hookup? And then all your 12v appliances run to that bus bar and then hook up to the battery charger?
If the box is a battery charger, what make/model is it?
Thanks!

[mikeschn]

No, the box is not a battery charger. It does one thing and one thing only. It converts 110v into 12v.

Yes the heavy black wire on the left is the ac coming in from the shore line, on the side of the teardrop as you mentioned.

The the black line out goes to the bus bar, and the red line out goes to the fuse block.

I bought it on ebay. You have to do an internet search for s-250-12. I think I did that for another thread. I'll see if I can find it...

Mike...

Okay, it's in this thread...
http://tnttt.com/viewto ... r&start=30

[greasywheats]

Do you know of any way to do the same thing through a battery charger? For $40, I don't mind setting it up like you have for now and buying a battery charger later, but if I can cut a step out and set it up to a charger now, that would be ideal. Thanks!

[JunkMan]

There are some converters that are also battery chargers. My 5th wheel has one. Unfortunatly I can't tell you where to get one, maybe a RV shop? I think that they are quite a bit more expensive.

[madjack]

greasy...you can't run your 12v system offa regular battery charger...the output is "dirty" and will burn up electronics and shorten signifigantly the life of lights etc...a charger such as the Deltrans might be usable by its self but you would still want a battery in line to keep it from running constantly...it will work well as a charger.power supply in that configutation...if you want to go with a RV converter/charger/power distibution center then try and get one like these from Best Converter if you look in the electrical secrets section of this board you will see many electrifying discussions on this subject
madjack