Amperage of Pod converter 45 or 55
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Topic: Amperage of Pod converter 45 or 55
Posted By: Tibof
Subject: Amperage of Pod converter 45 or 55
Date Posted: 30 Jul 2018 at 1:21pm
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Trying to help kids at a distance. Seems the converter has gone out. All fuses good, no 12 volt power unless hooked to the truck. None with land line either. What amperage is the existing WFCO WF-8900 Series Power Center Converter Charger - 45 or 55.
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2015 Pod Hood River Edition
2012 Tacoma Crew Cab 4 Liter
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Replies:
Posted By: Richand Cindy
Date Posted: 30 Jul 2018 at 3:07pm
Do not know the amps but we had the converter break on a trip and the battery would not charge and died. Went to Sears and bought a battery charger and hooked it up (we were at a campsite with electric). Trip saved. We were good to go and had converter replaced under warranty when we got home
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OLD 2017.5 RPOD 180 + 2015 Jeep Cherokee Trailhawk
NEW: 2018 Passport Elite 23RB + 2017 Ram 1500 Diesel
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Posted By: mcarter
Date Posted: 30 Jul 2018 at 3:34pm
Tibof,
Have you opened the front cover? There is a large spec decal on left hand side. I have a 2015 and it has a 8955 convertor - 55 Amps. Unless it has been changed in past the WFCO and most others have that spec decal. I read a post where a newer Pod had a 35Amp Convertor. That is best answer to your question.
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Mike Carter
2015 178
" I had the right to remain silent, I just didn't have the ability."
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Posted By: GlueGuy
Date Posted: 30 Jul 2018 at 3:36pm
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bp
2017 R-Pod 179 Hood River
2015 Ford F150 SuperCrew 4WD 3.5L Ecoboost
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Posted By: GlueGuy
Date Posted: 30 Jul 2018 at 3:38pm
Originally posted by Tibof
Trying to help kids at a distance. Seems the converter has gone out. All fuses good, no 12 volt power unless hooked to the truck. None with land line either. What amperage is the existing WFCO WF-8900 Series Power Center Converter Charger - 45 or 55. |
The WFCO we have in our 2017 RP179 is a 55 amp charger, but that's the DC (12V) side. On the AC (120V) side that translates to roughly 5.5 amps.
So it depends on whether you're talking about the AC side or he DC side.
You did not mention the model you are referring to, so if it's an older model R-pod, it might be 45 amps on the DC side.
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bp
2017 R-Pod 179 Hood River
2015 Ford F150 SuperCrew 4WD 3.5L Ecoboost
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Posted By: TheBum
Date Posted: 30 Jul 2018 at 3:41pm
As far as I know, all converters are rated by DC amps. AC amps are dependent on how efficient the voltage conversion is.
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Alan
2022 R-Pod 196 "RaptoRPod"
2022 Ram 1500 Lone Star 4x4
Three cats
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Posted By: mcarter
Date Posted: 30 Jul 2018 at 3:48pm
OMG - can't believe where these posts go, if you buy a WFCO it by model number is the rated amps, an 8955 is a 55A convertor, who cares about AC and DC amps. That is all the PM is asking.
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Mike Carter
2015 178
" I had the right to remain silent, I just didn't have the ability."
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Posted By: furpod
Date Posted: 30 Jul 2018 at 4:12pm
Originally posted by mcarter
OMG - can't believe where these posts go, if you buy a WFCO it by model number is the rated amps, an 8955 is a 55A convertor, who cares about AC and DC amps. That is all the PM is asking. |
Quoted for truth.. and want to add.. If the converter is toast, I recommend NOT replacing it with the WFCO replacement. Go with the Progressive Dynamics PD4655.. only a couple dollars more and a hella better reputation.
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Posted By: GlueGuy
Date Posted: 30 Jul 2018 at 5:08pm
Originally posted by mcarter
OMG - can't believe where these posts go, if you buy a WFCO it by model number is the rated amps, an 8955 is a 55A convertor, who cares about AC and DC amps. That is all the PM is asking. |
Sorry. I took him literally. He asked amps, and all I was doing was asking which one.
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bp
2017 R-Pod 179 Hood River
2015 Ford F150 SuperCrew 4WD 3.5L Ecoboost
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Posted By: Keith-N-Dar
Date Posted: 30 Jul 2018 at 6:42pm
Originally posted by mcarter
OMG - can't believe where these posts go, if you buy a WFCO it by model number is the rated amps, an 8955 is a 55A convertor, who cares about AC and DC amps. That is all the PM is asking. |
No reason to get ugly. The OP asked a question that others tried to help with. You don't make the rules here. Let others talk.
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Keith-N-Dar
Boris & Betty (Boston Terriers)
2011 R-Pod 177
2010 Ford F-150
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Posted By: Tibof
Date Posted: 30 Jul 2018 at 10:53pm
Be cool everyone and thanks for all the help. I should have been clearer. Converter is toast for a 60 cents reason: one of the high temp cement resistors simply fell right out. It was inside on the floor. Hold it back in place and things work. Can’t easily be soldered back in. Originally done by circuit board machine. Real junk! We will replace with Progressive Dynamics converter. I am familiar with them. Ruined trip in a one week window of summer opportunity.
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2015 Pod Hood River Edition
2012 Tacoma Crew Cab 4 Liter
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Posted By: furpod
Date Posted: 31 Jul 2018 at 7:27am
Originally posted by Tibof
Be cool everyone and thanks for all the help. I should have been clearer. Converter is toast for a 60 cents reason: one of the high temp cement resistors simply fell right out. It was inside on the floor. Hold it back in place and things work. Can’t easily be soldered back in. Originally done by circuit board machine. Real junk! We will replace with Progressive Dynamics converter. I am familiar with them. Ruined trip in a one week window of summer opportunity. |
Doesn't have to be a ruined trip, run to wally world and grab a battery charger, use it to keep the battery topped off. In the future, loan it to a fellow camper and be the hero that saves their trip.. I have loaned ours twice now..
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Posted By: Tibof
Date Posted: 31 Jul 2018 at 10:44am
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Good suggestion, but not quite that easy. Three days invested in trying to get the issue diagnosed. And original presumption was that with the converter out, the batteries would not feed the Pod.
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2015 Pod Hood River Edition
2012 Tacoma Crew Cab 4 Liter
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Posted By: Happy Tripping
Date Posted: 31 Jul 2018 at 11:11am
Originally posted by Tibof
Ruined trip in a one week window of summer opportunity. |
I am very sorry for the ruined trip.
Maybe a little consolation (?) is that some of us are now seriously looking at getting battery chargers.
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Posted By: Richand Cindy
Date Posted: 31 Jul 2018 at 1:45pm
This new section "I need help" can be a real lifesaver. Within two hours of posting there was an answer to the issue and the trip could have been saved. It helped us when our converter broke while on the road and saved our trip and that was before there was this "help" section. Lesson learned is try to have access to this forum while on the road and post a question as soon as you get into trouble. In this case we realize that Tibof asked the question on behalf of his kids so there was three days time lost. Its great to have this resource. Wish the Keystone forum was this good. Its terrible, mostly because it deals with all products and so there is one general board for all Keystone travel trailers so many posted answers to not apply to your unit.
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OLD 2017.5 RPOD 180 + 2015 Jeep Cherokee Trailhawk
NEW: 2018 Passport Elite 23RB + 2017 Ram 1500 Diesel
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Posted By: Tibof
Date Posted: 31 Jul 2018 at 3:31pm
BTW, the American source for the WFCO converter (which is now a year out of warranty) acknowledged that it was very unusual for a heat resistant ceramic resistor to fall out of the circuit board; not something they see. Yet it "must have had to do with how I was using it, overheating it and contributing to the resistor desoldering itself." Really? This product is junk. I will replace it with a Progressive Dynamics unit, with which I've had long and dependable experience.
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2015 Pod Hood River Edition
2012 Tacoma Crew Cab 4 Liter
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Posted By: mcarter
Date Posted: 31 Jul 2018 at 3:49pm
Hmmm. My Pod has the original WFCO convertor, almost 4 years old. It's never been replaced. I understand electronic components fail, even bad manufacturing runs, maybe. End of the day pretty easy to diagnose if components are on the floor. Find it hard to beleive how you used it had anything to do with failure. The PD unit is probably way to go, but it could fail someday too. I think because yours failed doesn't make them all junk.
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Mike Carter
2015 178
" I had the right to remain silent, I just didn't have the ability."
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Posted By: GlueGuy
Date Posted: 31 Jul 2018 at 5:09pm
Originally posted by Tibof
BTW, the American source for the WFCO converter (which is now a year out of warranty) acknowledged that it was very unusual for a heat resistant ceramic resistor to fall out of the circuit board; not something they see. Yet it "must have had to do with how I was using it, overheating it and contributing to the resistor desoldering itself." Really? This product is junk. I will replace it with a Progressive Dynamics unit, with which I've had long and dependable experience. |
It could be as simple as the high-heat resistor being improperly mounted too close to the circuit board. Any time you're using high heat (ceramic) resistors, there needs to be an accommodation for that by mounting it with long leads (to keep it away from the circuit board) and/or using a clip-on heat sink. Ceramic resistors are expected to get hot. They just need to be managed. Circuit boards are not designed to get hot.
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bp
2017 R-Pod 179 Hood River
2015 Ford F150 SuperCrew 4WD 3.5L Ecoboost
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Posted By: TheBum
Date Posted: 31 Jul 2018 at 6:37pm
Or, could have been a cold solder joint. If one end came loose, then with the bouncing of the Pod in transit, the other would probably shear off.
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Alan
2022 R-Pod 196 "RaptoRPod"
2022 Ram 1500 Lone Star 4x4
Three cats
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Posted By: Tars Tarkas
Date Posted: 31 Jul 2018 at 7:04pm
Originally posted by Tibof
BTW, the American source for the WFCO converter (which is now a year out of warranty) acknowledged that it was very unusual for a heat resistant ceramic resistor to fall out of the circuit board; not something they see. Yet it "must have had to do with how I was using it, overheating it and contributing to the resistor desoldering itself." Really? This product is junk. I will replace it with a Progressive Dynamics unit, with which I've had long and dependable experience. |
I agree with Mike about this. My converter is the original WFCO from 2010. Never a hint of trouble. (Knock on wood.)
From everything I've heard, the PD converter is better and that's the way I'll go if the need ever arises, but I don't know if a few failures out of thousands of WFCO converters out there indicate that they are junk. I did hear also that there were a batch of low QC WFCO converters on the market a few years ago. I think WFCO took care of most of those under warranty.
TT
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2010 176
FJ Cruiser
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Posted By: Tibof
Date Posted: 31 Jul 2018 at 9:22pm
If this converter is reliable and has little trouble, then it would be very inexpensive and good public relations to stand behind a product that is only 3 years old. However you look at it, improper mounting, cold joint, or bad batch, reputable companies stand behind company defective items, especially when it costs so little to do so — unless there are a lot of bad items out there. I've found, for example, that Dexter is outstanding with regard to backing their products. And there are other companies out there I've experienced with similar integrity. Some Pintos never caught fire, and some GM ignitions didn't lock up while in motion — not all were junk, but something to be wary about. Parts in a converter should not just fall out. BTW, both ends of the resistor just fell clean out.
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2015 Pod Hood River Edition
2012 Tacoma Crew Cab 4 Liter
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Posted By: Tibof
Date Posted: 06 Aug 2018 at 10:34am
BTW, when working on one of these converters, touch the positive and negative of the 12 volt side together to discharge the capacitor or you may be treated to a nasty jolt. Learned the hard way!
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2015 Pod Hood River Edition
2012 Tacoma Crew Cab 4 Liter
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