Back in April and May I decided I had to have one, so I built it.
I purchased a 125AH Marine Deep Cycle battery to allow me to boondock with my newly built teardrop.
My current electrical installation on my teardrop is as follows:
Fantastic Fan
Two incandescent porch lights
Two LED interior strip lights
12v Accessory Outlet for charging two USB devices at once (my phone and my eReader Nook Color tablet)
My battery was able to last for two days in medium heat (mid-80s) without any issues, allowing the fan to run in cycle mode with the thermostat, and the lighting to work without issue.
When I finished that trip, I used a voltmeter and determined that my battery was at about 50%. The perfect level to connect my brand new power converter and test the charging system built in.
The Progressive Dynamics PD9260c includes a built-in 4 phase "intelligent" battery charger.
Boost mode provides a quick power recovery for a battery or group of batteries. It charges rapidly, bringing the batteries back up very quickly without cooking them. Boost brings the battery(ies) up to approximately 90% of full charge. Then it switches to Standard mode.
Standard mode lowers the charge voltage by a small amount and brings the batteries up to full capacity over a longer period of time. When the battery is full, it switches to maintenance mode.
Maintenance mode: Just like you'd use on your hot rod, this mode keeps a voltage nominally above the battery "at-rest" voltage, thus maintaining the battery charge, and helping prevent winter freeze-up.
Desulfate mode switches the system to Boost mode for 15 minutes every 21 hours. This prevents the plates from sulfating, causing lowered capacity and life.
I connected my PD9260c to my electrical system in my teardrop.
I am using the "Super Simple" electrical system for my 110v Shore Power, and I simply plugged the power cord into the power strip in the electrical compartment. The positive and negative sides connected accordingly.
I plugged my Teardrop into shore power, and then using the attached remote pendant that is optional, I made sure it was in boost mode.
I checked on the system every 15 minutes for 6 hours. The last time I checked the system before it switched to standard mode from boost, it was approximately 5.5 hours.
The system auto-switched to Standard, and within 3 hours, it was in maintenance mode. I disconnected the converter from the 12v side, and verified the battery was fully charged using a voltmeter.
The converter barely got warm during the charge period.
I then reconnected the converter, and turned on all of the lighting, and turned the vent fan to maximum.
I ran the teardrop this way for 4 hours to test the heat output of the converter. The integrated cooling fan never kicked on. It barely warmed up.
I shut the lights off overnight, and slept with the fan on maximum all night long while plugged into shore power.
This thing kept up with no issues. Sure, it is 60 amp and designed for a full sized RV, but considering I paid 100 dollars for it, the price was well worth it, even if it is a bit overkill.
The actual review:
I found the build quality to be great. The case is built like a computer power supply, steel chassis with several rivets and/or screws holding it together.
A very large aluminum heatsink with an integrated cooling fan helps keep things cool when things heat up.
The fan was extremely quiet and only cycled when needed on the few times I did get it warm enough to need it. (Enclosed environment in direct sunlight.)
The power output was fantastic. Again, 60 amps is overkill, but for my total draw of 8 amps (Lights, fan, accessory outlet with an electric motor and/or devices charging), it means I will be under-utilizing it. Which is a good thing for longevity.
Emails to Progressive Dynamics for more information resulted in quick, informative responses.
My grade: A+
Pricing is between 100 and 170 for the 45 or 60 amp units on eBay.
