I drained the battery. (EDIT 6/2010: Add converter to CT.)

[madjack]

...yes, there is a 25A model...there even used to be a 12A model which would probably work as well...the BTP I have is the 5A model which is enough to put charge to the battery even with a moderated draw...I am sure there are models better than the WFCO, just as there are one's of lesser quality...all I can tell ya for sure, is the WFCO is the most widely and happily used unit on this board and they are used in the majority of smaller commercial RV's...the IntelliPower units I have seen have been considerably more expensive and not all included the battery charging module which is included in the WFCO........
madjack

[Shadow Catcher]

Our next tear will have an AGM battery and again at least a 45A converter and inverter. 20A solar cell (will probably have to triple that). The solar cell regulator also monitors battery condition and charge. I have switched over to all LED and a couple of computer case fans for ventilation.

There are a number of very good sources on this web site and I learned a great deal about the care and feeding of batteries. A good source of information is www.windsun.com/Batteries/Battery_FAQ.htm#AGM, or Absorbed Glass Mat Batteries.

[digimark]

I found the WFCO 12A and 25A "power centers", thanks. They seem more polished than the 9800 series, more meant to be on display. The marketing materials for the 8725 says it has both 12V and AC breakers in it, so the box can be a one-stop power distributor. But I already have a 4 breaker AC panel installed into the trailer -- can I just ignore the AC features?

[dreadcptflint]

I was really hoping the thermoelectric coolers, even the smallest ones, would work well enough to keep my younger son's insulin vials (he has type 1 diabetes at age 7) cold, but it's not worth it even for that. I'm putting his vials in a small Tupperware container and stored on top of the ice in the cooler. The air pocket in the Tupperware around the bottles moderates the ice and keeps it cold without freezing, which would ruin the insulin...

Digimark,
Um, you are playing around with medicine. You should look at an Engel or other serious refrigeration. There are some basic guidlines for temperature that you need to maintain. Unopened, insulin should be kept between 36 and 46 degrees. I know that they are expensive however they are worth it.

[digimark]

Since it was the end of the camping season for me, I put off solving this problem until now. I bought a WFCO 9835 converter and I'm ready to wire it in.

On the 12V side, this WFCO has a positive and negative jack, and a ground screw. I'd like to mount the converter inside the trailer, against the front wall near the AC breaker box. The battery is mounted nearby inside a vented box, and the pos/neg wires run through the floor and inside a plastic wire loom to a water-tight electrical box. Also connected to this box is a set of wrapped wires that runs to the trailer 7-pin jack at the hitch, and another set of wires that presumably run through the trailer walls to the lights and 12VDC power points. Here's a picture of underneath the trailer:



(The ridged wire loom running across the underside of the box are the battery cables.)

I had attached the Battery Tender Plus directly to the battery posts.



Is it enough to remove the BTP and attach the BTP's red/black cables to the WFCO? What about the WFCO's ground screw? Or something completely different?



I expect to have an electrician install a fourth AC circuit breaker and circuit into the panel and install another 110V jack under the counter near the panel to plug the converter into.

As always, thanks for any advice. -Gary