Owner`s manual

15
PFC-40 Wiring
The PFC-40 is shipped with a NEMA 14-50 on the AC input cable. Please leave this
attached and make adapter cords if you intend to change what it plugs in to. The 14-50
outlet is very common at RV parks, electric ovens and some public charging stations.
To attach the PFC-40’s input cable to a common 110/120V three prong 5-15 or 5-20
plug purchase a 14-50 receptacle and make an adapter exactly as shown in figure 08. If
you wish to make an adapter cord to connect your PFC-40’s input cable to a 220/240V
three prong plug (like a NEMA 10-30, 10-40 or 6-50), use a 14-50 receptacle and
simply disregard the middle straight neutral prong. Run the green wire to the ground
prong and then the white and black wires to either of the two hot prongs. Since there is
no neutral in the older 3 prong 220/240V plugs simply disregard the fact that your PFC
charger has a 4 prong plug on it.
Note: Any Manzanita Micro PFC-20, 30 or 40 charger can be plugged into a NEMA 14-
50 outlet. The 50 amp rating is just what the outlet is capable of and the charger will
only draw as much as it is designed to use. (See figure 08.)
Running Your PFC Charger on DC instead of AC
You may have heard that Manzanita Micro chargers can run from both AC and DC
power. This is true under the right circumstances; in fact the PFC40HM is designed to
run on both AC and DC in the Pi Prius conversion kits.
NOTICE! The Manzanita Micro chargers were really designed to run from an AC power
source. If you are planning to run one on DC power and it is damaged, repair work will
likely NOT BE COVERED UNDER WARRANTY! It should be noted that the primary
on/off circuit breaker on the charger is only AC rated. For this reason, we
recommend installing an appropriate DC rated breaker or fuse on the input side
when powering any Manzanita charger with DC.
There are three Manzanita Micro PFC charger models which can be run off DC power
without having to make any internal adjustments to the unit. These unique models are
the standard PFC-20, the PFC-40HM and the standard PFC-50 (none of them have
buck enhancement).
If you are running a charger on DC power, it is advisable to keep the input voltage
between 100 and 390VDC. The lowest voltage that will get the charger to turn on is
about 60VDC. The absolute highest acceptable DC input voltage is 400V. NEVER
EVER EXCEED THE 400VDC MAXIMUM INPUT VOLTAGE!!
NOTE: The buck enhanced chargers including the standard PFC-30 and PFC-40 and
the PFC-50B and PFC-75 chargers can be modified to run on DC by disconnecting the
buck sensor unit and adding a jumper over two pins on the main power board. Contact
Manzanita Micro for more information if you if you are really determined to run a buck
enhanced charger from a DC power source.