Looks great. I like the airflow around the converter. My setup would drop the voltage to 11 without engine being on. As long as your input wires are not getting too warm you should be good to go. If charging while driving, your voltage will most likely increase which should help the converter to run cooler. I got the most heat when my voltage was lowest.
I think this set up is much more desirable than running an AC inverter to get 400 watts of charge via the brick. You can always add an inverter and dual charge with the AC brick at the same time if desired
Great job!
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Forgot to mention. Checked current with a clamp on ammeter. 26.5 amps from one of the 40 amp upfitter switches and 25.5 amps from the other into the 12-48 converter. 12.11 amps output from the converter to the AC200P.
Went for a 50 mile 2 hour drive today. AC200P started at 23% and ended up at 76%. Some stop & go and some on the highway. The aviation cable and the 10 gauge output from the converter got only slightly warm. The bundle of 10 gauge wires from the upfitter switches to the converter got warm. Need to check where they are buried under the seat on the way from the switches back to the converter. The converter got very warm. I could put my hand on it for a few seconds before I had to take it away. We’re heading out for a several week trip in June, so I may get another converter as a spare. Maybe the 20 amp version.
If you ugraded the 10 ga. input to 8 ga and went with the 20 amp converter that may help. My 24 to 48 volt converter that I had tried earlier got hot, but I could still touch it all the way around. The higher you can keep the voltage at the converter input the cooler it will run. If I were you, I would order the 20 amp converter, connect it up and do the same trial to see if you get cooler temps since it will not be operating at such a high percentage of capacity. Then…you could return the 15 amp if the 20 amp performed better or return the 20 amp if there was no difference. I also thought about buying a small squre box fan (computer fan. Lots available on Amazon) that operated on 12 volts and mount it to blow lengthwise along the converter body. It could be simply wired directly to the converter input and would come on any time the converter was switched on.
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Replacing the two 10 gauge switch outputs and grounds (4 wires) from behind the front dash back under the floor mat, under the front seat, and back to where the converter is mounted would be a not insignificant task. I can mount a 12VDC muffin fan underneath the converter rather easily. I think I’ll go that route first.
I found a couple of 20A 12-48 converters on Amazon. One is the same manufacture as the one I have, just at 20A instead of 15A. The other is Daygreen. It’s about $60 cheaper, but in the comments, they say to not use it as a battery charger. Not sure why. What do you think? Would it be OK to use it to charge the AC200P?
Daygreen
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07KQSSWSR/ref=ox_sc_act_title_2?smid=AQUOPUUWMO7B7&psc=1
Knacro
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07BMRXZ2W/ref=ox_sc_act_title_3?smid=A1OB26G8TSLEZQ&psc=1
I think they are both the same unit. Most likely the comment about battery charging is due the voltage would not shut off as would a battery charger and would just continue charging. Since the charge is controlled by the sogen, I would think this would not be an issue.
I’ve ordered the 20A converter and 15ft of 8 gauge 4 conductor cable to replace the 10 gauge. And I ordered a couple of small 12VDC muffin fans that will fit nicely below the converter. I’ll let you know how it all works.
A couple of questions:
What is the wire size in the aviation cable?
What is the efficiency of the AC200P inverter?
Thanks
Jim K
16ga wire in the aviation cable. Around 90% inverter efficiency on my AC200. If you find the 20 amp converter works with significant less heat, I will probably swap over to that model as well.
Bought a small 110VAC 700 watt microwave with 1050 watt input for the van. Ran it through the AC200P inverter and the wattage used was 1250 watts. That’s efficiency in the low 80’s.
I would not assume that the displayed wattage on a sogen screen is accurate but more of approx. wattage
The a C 200 should wake up and start charging even if it is in the off position whenever received an incoming charging wattage. It should work exactly the same as solar charging
You may have found the holy Grail. If you have the ability to feed it with sufficient amperage to dry out the 575 want incoming charge rate and the fan keeps it nice and cool while operating at roughly 50% of a traded capacity you may have found the perfect answer.
Took it out for a drive with the 20A converter and the 3" muffin fan. I.5 hours about 60 miles. Stop & go and some highway. 571 watts charging. AC200P went from 52% to 100%. And the converter was not perceptibly warm to the touch. Looks great so far
Perfect:+1:
. I thought the larger unit may not heat up as much. If you get bored someday, try the same test with the fan unplugged. That will determine the fan effectiveness or its need for sure. Your setup looks like a great cost effective way to fast charge without having to mess with an inverter or AC power brick
I’ve read this thread several times and don’t want to be a troll, But I would also like to do this with my chevy colorado overlandering rig. The recent elimination of the 12v socket and hard wire has been working great, but the prospect of 575 vs 100 watts of charging while driving, makes me want to push my skill set. So I need the 20 amp converter- 8 gauge wire directly from truck battery to converter and fashion a xt90 pigtail from converter that plugs into aviation adapter cord. ?'s would I really need the fan, and why 8 gauge wire when at the end of the stream the aviaton cord is 16 gauge wire. Not the brightest light bulb here, but I’m great at replicating things. Thanks for any input Quitter
You want the 8 ga. or even 6 or 4 ga. if you have to mount the converter farther than about 4 feet from the battery. The closer the better. This wiring (12 volt) will be carrying the greatest amperage load and requires the thickest wires. The input side of the converter will be running 50 amps while the output side only runs about 12 amps.
You want the 20 amp converter so it will not be running at max all the time and heat up excessively.
The output side of the 20 amp converter is 48 volts and does not require as thick a wire as the input side since it only carries 1/4 the amperage. The thickness of the wire is dependant of the amperage and distance carried. You will be fine running 10, 12 or even 14 ga. on the output depending on how far you will be running the XT90 connector from the converter. If it was me, I would run 10 ga unless you are running more than 10 feet.
The 16 ga. wire in the Aviation input to XT 90 cable that came with your AC200 is only carrying the 600 watts of power over about three feet or so so that is well within the capability of 16 ga. If I were making the cable, I would use 14 or 12 ga. but the current 16 ga is fine for this application. Basically the small wire size is OK due to the short length.
You want the fan because two people have already tried this and determined that the 12 volt DC to 48 volt DC converter heats up quite a bit during extended operation. Extended operation is exactly what you are going to be doing charging the AC200 at 575 watts. We do need someone willing to run their converter with no fan that is willing to risk destroying their converter if you want to volunteer and report back your results.
ha maybe, I’m pretty paranoid and would be stopping every 30 mins to check it. I wouldn’t necessarily need the anderson connections would I. Just for convenience.
sorry , another ?. The converter would shut off once the AC200p stop calling for power or was charged up , correct?
Ordered all the parts off amazon. Mid June for converter. thanks as always for the Infomation.
Correct, no anderson cable needed. I just had it laying around with ring terminals already on and it connected directly to my battery so I used it. You may want to put an 80 or 100 amp circuit breaker in the positive lead from the battery to the converter. This would act as both a switch and a circuit breaker for safety.
