MORSNOW wrote:

My 2014 Wolf Creek 850 also came with a WFCO power center. I used to hear people bash WFCO as a ticking time bomb, but in the 11 seasons of use, mine has been perfect. I've also not seen a single person say they have had a modern WFCO failure, maybe they stepped up their game and fixed their past issues?

StirCrazy wrote:



I had a 2000 wfco fail, a 2008 wfco fail, and in My 2016 I never gave it a chance and replaced it with a PD before it even left the lot. most people won't even know they fail because they get stuck in boost, or others find they won't go into boost. in my case they both stuck in boost and killed the batteries.

if I camped with plugins most of the time I never would have known, but I mostly camp without hookups so when all of a sudden, my batteries were losing charge in 1/2 the time that they normally lasted I started wondering what's up.

WFCO is the most widely used converter in the rv business for one reason. They work ok and their cheap. (ok two reasons) you are not getting a high-end converter in a normal rv

pianotuna wrote:

Not all makers use the cheapest. My RV came with a PD converter. It didn't have the dongle--but that was a cheap upgrade.

StirCrazy wrote:



I had a 2000 wfco fail, a 2008 wfco fail, and in My 2016 I never gave it a chance and replaced it with a PD before it even left the lot.

Ranger Tim wrote:

The AGM batteries (2) that I was using are still working. One of them only holds at 12.8 or less 30 minutes after charging to full. I don’t like to wait until batteries are so fatigued they ruin a trip. A third battery from the same batch I bought in 2016 also began showing signs of failure, so I decided it was time to make the change. I said that I was cheap, not broke! While spending big on batts like Battle Born would be great I just couldn’t do it. We’ll see if I blew my money on unreliable cheap stuff and I regret it. I will be sure to report problems.

The WFCO converter in my Wolf Creek is original equipment. It has been reliable and in use continuously - the camper has always been plugged in to shore power during storage for battery maintenance and portable heat to keep it dry during winter. I am ignorant as to the brand’s reputation. I am keeping the original board as an emergency replacement. It’s a simple switch. I am interested to see how the auto-detect performs in recognizing the LiFePO4 batts. Some people report problems getting it to work.

As far as charging voltage recommendations for LiFePO4, available advice was all over the map. I don’t know whom to believe so I just took the batt company’s recommendation that 14.4-14.6 was adequate. I’ll know soon enough if they get full or not. The main benefit of the upgrade is still a significant increase in useable current storage compared to lead acid with considerably less weight. This also makes us less dependent on a generator. Now I will only carry a genny if we want to operate the ac.

Ranger Tim wrote:

It took a second try to get the unit to charge properly (I think) and the batteries are full. First try resulted in the converter fan running too long. It is difficult to tell what the charger is doing without some sort of indicator. I now have the camper plugged in to run the frig. Our first trip will be soon and I want it cold.

Installing a battery disconnect is my next objective. The camper should have come with one in the first place. I need to read about running the converter without a battery connected. Seems I remember it might be a bad move. If I could just retire tomorrow all would be well…