Good morning! I found Gerald's info below to be most informative and helpful. I recently purchased a '75 Tradewind from an estate, and the original owners were very good about keeping records of all maintenance, which I got with the purchase. Being a rookie at this, and not having the advantage of being able to get out and experiment, not to mention I'm simply in the dark about 12 volt systems in Airstreams, I could use some guidance from some of the experienced folks on this list. I do have the original owners manual, and have been reading as much as I can about the univolt system in our unit, and the reviews that I'm reading here have been rather critical. Among the papers that I got with our Airstream was a pamphlet for a Power Converter made by Converter Systems Inc, out of Battle Creek, MI., along with a receipt and a note stating it was installed in Nov, 1980. The model installed is CS-840, !
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output current 40amps, AC input 6.3amps. My question is this this....Does this unit take the place of the original univolt system? If so, is it better? Does it have an advantage over the univolt? Or does it do something else entirely? I would appreciate any info from those who may be familiar with this unit, or similar units.
Robert
----- Original Message -----Sent: 2/17/01 11:27:18 PMSubject: [VAC] Re: Batteries
Many Univolts tend to be harsh on all batteries. Deep cycle marine wouldprobably fare worse."Best" is hard to define. One can emphasize capacity at the cost ofprice, and needed care, or emphasize freedom from care at the cost ofprice and capacity, or emphasize cost expecting some care needed andexpecting a shorter life. It depends a lot on the needs. One who isliving way from power lines for long periods depending on solar panelsneeds greater capacity and longevity that those of us who make a fewtrips a year and might need battery power for a couple weeks. Thelongest lived batteries and the lowest care batteries don't live betterfrom not being used. The lowest cost batteries may serve the week or twoor month trip quite well and then if they don't last to the next year,there's little lost. The lowest cost (car starting batteries) won't takekindly to many deep cycles, nor over charging. But when the lowest costallows installing a greater capacity than needed, deep discharge cyclesneed not happen often.As for care, that involves keeping terminals clean, battery top clean,and except for gel cells and starting batteries, keeping the electrolytelevel up by filling with distilled water regularly. Allowingovercharging to lower the water level below the tops of the plates costbattery capacity that often does not return when the battery isrefilled.A battery being ignored or stored will self discharge and not survivewell. It needs some activity to last. Shallow discharges by loads thatfollowed soon by charging is better than slow discharges.The Univolt will generally tend to overcharge the battery and producelots of hydrogen and oxygen bubbling up out of the electrolyte that cancarry some sulfuric acid out the vents to corrode the battery'sterminals and surroundings. And that mix of hydrogen and oxygen as itleaves the battery has the optimum ratio of hydrogen and oxygen for theloudest bang that might be triggered by static electricity or a lightswitch. Overcharging is not a healthy thing to do for occupants orbattery. There are more modern chargers that will treat a batterybetter.To unsubscribe or to change to a daily Digest, please go toIf replying back to this message, please delete all the unnecessary originaltext from your reply.
