Power converter

A power converter does the opposite job of an inverter: instead of turning battery power into household AC, it takes incoming 120V AC from shore power or a generator and steps it down to 12V DC. That 12V output runs the RV's lights, water pump, fans, and control boards while also trickle charging the house battery whenever you are plugged in.

Older or basic converters use a simple, single-stage charging profile that keeps the battery topped up but charges slowly and is not ideal for deeply discharged batteries. Newer multi-stage converters adjust voltage and current through bulk, absorption, and float stages, charging faster and more completely, and some are configurable for lithium charge profiles.

A frequent issue after a lithium battery upgrade is discovering the existing converter cannot be set to a lithium-appropriate charge profile, which either undercharges the battery or trips its protection circuitry. Checking converter compatibility before or during a battery upgrade avoids a second round of troubleshooting later.