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Australia, Canberra
1 Level
748 Review
37 Karma

Review on ⚡ 55 Amp PowerMax RV PM3-55 12V DC Power Supply Converter Charger - 110V to 12V by Bob Kussmaul

Revainrating 3 out of 5

Instructions are poorly written

UPDATE 12/26/19 I found a good setup guide. Disconnect the charger from the incoming AC power. There is a micro switch on one side of the charger to set the charger to "FIXED” or "3 STAGE” position. Get a flashlight and a twister (a small screwdriver, Phillips is best, a very small straight slot will work). Set the DIP switch to the fixed position. With the charger connected to the battery(s) and nothing drawing current from the batteries (this is referred to as no load) and AC power connected to the charger, set the multimeter to read volts. Direct current (VDC) read from two output terminals. If the output voltage is not 14.4VDC, there is a setting next to the Fixed/3-Step microswitch. Carefully! These regulators are delicate and pressure sensitive! Gently turn the knob counter-clockwise while monitoring the DC voltage at the charger output terminals. Once the voltage is set to 14.4 VDC, unplug the charger from the AC input. Set the micro switch to the "3 steps" position. Reconnect the charger to the AC power source. Your charger should increase the battery voltage to 14.4V DC and then switch to float mode. Mine is working correctly now. Now everyone is happy! I hooked this up to a bank of 3 deep cycle batteries. The charge stops at 13.2 volts. The information indicates that the charger has a boost (normal charge brings the battery to 14.4VDC) float that works like a jet charge when the voltage reaches 14.4VDC. Equalization (causes batteries up to 14.7 V DC to mix acid and water and also desulphate). This charger stops at 13.2 VDC. This is from the manual: SET FIXED VOLTAGE DESCRIPTION: Initially, the device is in a three-stage charging mode. Based on this statement, I believe the charge is factory set to provide the 3 stages of charge described above. Based on other customer reviews, I would not recommend this converter.

Pros
  • 14.4vdc range
Cons
  • repair