The schematics below are for the power distribution only and do not include any circuitry for the converter/charger portion which can be found at http://home.comcast.net/~rabarber/magnetek2.htm

A few notes about the Magnetek:

The IntelliPower 9140 has a maximum capability of 40 amps output for charging and/or operating 12 volt loads, and the 9160 has a 60 amp capability. Unlike the old Magnetek type converters, up to the maximum output is available for charging, minus the amount you are using to operate lights, blowers, etc. If you are upgrading the old Magnetek unit, either the 9140 or the 9160 will work and physically fit in the space currently occupied by the old Magnetek converter/charger section, so the choice is yours.

There are two main benefits from this upgrade: 1) If you order the optional plug-in Wizard for $25, you will have 3-stage charge capability, and 2) It will now make sense to run your genset to recharge your batteries, whereas before it was pretty much a waste of time and fuel.

The actual charge rate you get, as with ANY battery charger, will depend on the state of charge at the time you recharge, and the output voltage of the charger, so it wouldn't matter if you had a 10,000 amp charger, the batteries will only draw just so much at a given charger output voltage. Typically, a 12 volt, 100 AH battery will pull an initial charge of up to about 20 amps when discharged 50% (battery down to 12 volts), so if you are running two 100 AH batteries for cabin power, you could expect up to an initial 40 amp charge rate, which will taper off as the battery charges and it's internal resistance increases. A nearly full charge would be put back in about 3 hours or so of genset run time. If you don't pull your batteries down that low before recharging, (and I recommend that you don't to prolong battery life), you may only have to run the genset an hour or so a day to recharge.

Make sure that you get the Charge Wizard option, its money very well spent.

Without the Wizard, the 91xx output voltage is fixed at the "normal" rate of 13.8 volts, which will not give you the maximum charge rate available, and is a little bit high for float charging the battery while stored and hooked up to shorepower.

However, WITH the Wizard option, you have three modes of operation: "boost mode", (14.4 volts), "normal mode", (13.8 volts), and "float mode", (13.2 volts). These modes are all automatic, and require no intervention on your part, however with a press of the Wizard button, you can force the modes back and forth between "boost" and "normal" if desired. When the battery is left on charge, and is fully charged and inactive for several hours, it will switch to the "float" mode, and this will maintain your batteries at 13.2 volts, so it is safe to leave your charger "permanently" connected to shorepower while at home. (I would still recommend that the battery water be checked every one or two weeks just to be sure). Every 21 hours, the Wizard will also switch to the "boost" mode for about 15 minutes (if I remember correctly), and then back to "float", to de-sulphate the batteries, which is another good thing for extending the life of your batteries.

That's pretty much the scoop on the IntelliPower. There are other chargers out there that will do pretty much the same thing, and I'm sure that are probably just as good, but I can only speak from experience on the IntelliPower.

Rick