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Date Posted |
Forum
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RE: Trade offs of DC-DC vs. PWM for Absorbtion and float
Has anyone seen these PWM pulses with their metering equipment?
With the Turnigy, I have not seen any.
HTH;
John
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full_mosey
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05/09/13 08:38pm |
Tech Issues
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RE: Is I-40 in Oklahoma still a very bad road?
Has anyone been on I-40 west of OKC recently? I haven't gone through there in two years. Last time they were repaving parts of it, but it was nasty in others. I am considering the back roads to avoid that bruising again, but maybe it is fixed/better than two years ago?
I live in OKC. I have travelled recently and there has been improvement inside Oklahoma County which covers about 40miles. Downtown OKC is four new lanes each way. If that was your trouble area, it is now in great shape.
HTH;
John
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full_mosey
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05/09/13 05:30pm |
Roads and Routes
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RE: Trade offs of DC-DC vs. PWM for Absorbtion and float
Hi John,
Doesn't the ts-45 pwm have a temperature sensor? If so, the volts are controlled by that part of the unit.
Yes, I do use an RTS cable attached to the neg battery post, and yes the Volts do vary according to temp after the stage 1 - bulk all the way through float.
Does that mean that the pulses are Amps? I use a Turnigy to observe and I don't see evidence of pulses either way. Amps only seem to vary according to the amount of sun.
HTH;
John
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full_mosey
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05/09/13 05:03pm |
Tech Issues
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RE: Trade offs of DC-DC vs. PWM for Absorbtion and float
When my MS TS-45 PWM controller is in stage 2 - Absorption, the Volts read steady and the Amps taper until Float stage.
Is PWM responsible for the Volts or the Amps?
HTH;
John
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full_mosey
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05/09/13 04:47pm |
Tech Issues
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RE: Small (5W) solar panel does work to keep batteries okay
At Lat 45, as you would find in Ottawa, ON, Canada, any type of battery can sit disconnected between Nov and May due to low ambient temps.
No solar of any Watts are needed.
HTH;
John
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full_mosey
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05/09/13 04:29pm |
Tech Issues
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RE: Does Travel Assist cover RV return criteria question
Hello Tree House,
That is correct if you are not medically cleared to drive your RV, then the RV Return portion of the Good Sam TravelAssist will be useable.
Wes Robinson
Marcus' Rapid Response Team
goodsamcs@goodsamfamily.com
Does 'you' stand for one person? What if your 'travelling companion' refuses to drive, even though capable?
The Good Sam Travel Assist policy says "If you and your traveling companion aren't able to drive, Good Sam TravelAssist will send out a professional driver to get your vehicle home. Indeed, this is one of the most utilized benefits in the Good Sam TravelAssist program."
Is it y'all, all y'all? :)
HTH;
John
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full_mosey
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05/09/13 01:05pm |
Good Sam Insurance
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RE: ?'s for the seasoned campers re roof top solar panels
Well that settles that sounds like panels on the roof are a good idea does anyone have any suggestions for mounting panels without putting holes in the roof like using glue on the brackets for mounting
I have an aluminum roof.
I ran 1" sq tubing rails across the roof and fastened down at the ends with lag bolts into the walls along the same line where the roof is screwed down. There are no roof penetrations. The panels are then fastened to the rails which also provide a 1" air clearance.
HTH;
John
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full_mosey
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05/09/13 08:14am |
Truck Campers
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RE: ?'s for the seasoned campers re roof top solar panels
My planned area of travel is 'out west'
thanks
We took an 11,000 mi trip in the SW which I subtitled "Looking-for-Shade". Some places are like hundreds of sq mi of the beach, minus the water.
You'll get plenty of sun out west. :)
P.S. FL born and wearing my Gators t-shirt right now!
HTH;
John
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full_mosey
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05/08/13 04:53pm |
Truck Campers
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RE: Tri-Metric programming help
I would use less than 10% of the 440CCA, or less than 44AH, and that is surely too high!
My Optima AGM is a dual purpose hybrid with 750CCA and only 55AH where 10% would be 75AH.
I have a Deka AGM dual purpose with 525CCA and 79AH, or more than 10%.
It is a starting battery. Try 55/750 x 440 = 32AH.
Better yet, get a proper battery!
HTH;
John
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full_mosey
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05/08/13 10:36am |
Tech Issues
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RE: How often have you had to add to your house batts?
electrolyte (distilled h20)
That is like saying jumbo shrimp!
Distilled water is what you want as it devoid of any electrolytes.
The acid stays in the battery and does not evaporate with the water that is lost. So yes, distilled water is what you add.
HTH;
John
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full_mosey
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05/07/13 05:51pm |
Class A Motorhomes
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RE: Small Solar - Inexpensive
I have a small(14 ft) trailer with 300W of solar and can boondock until the holding tanks are full!
If you are wanting to add days to your battery, 80W or more solar is all you need. Depending on your usage, of course! Anything smaller may not cost any less.
Without more info, no one will be able to tell what you need to charge it.
HTH;
John
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full_mosey
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05/07/13 01:05pm |
Tech Issues
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RE: Help with converter and battery charging...
I almost exclusively boon dock. I have a honda eu2000i and was wondering what is the best way to charge my batteries. I have read that some converters are 3 stage and some trickle charge. I have a WF8935ANP converter. Does this have the ideal charging or would it make better use of my time to buy a battery charger and power it with the generator to top of the batteries. Charging time currently seems very slow. If i should get a battery charger does anyone have any recommendations? Thanks
The best way to charge your batteries is to ensure that the charger can maintain 14+ Volts during stage 2-Absorption of a 3-stage charger. A good charger will have separate cables to sense the battery's volts and temperature and adjust Amps accordingly during all three stages. This is rare for a converter/charger.
The WFCO and so many other converter/chargers only use 13.6V during Absorption. Absorption is the stage where Amps are tapered downwards until float conditions are met.
13.6V will ruin a flooded battery if the Amps are not regulated.
The 13.6V during Absorption is a dead give-away that the primary purpose of the converter is to be a power supply of a nice safe regulated voltage for your RV's electronics.
Be sure to read the charger's manual to ensure that 14+V are applied until the battery reaches float condition.
Float for a battery is when it is time for the charger reduce the Volts and AMPs so that the battery is in stasis. Stasis is when just enough Amps are applied to replace current draws. The 13.6V is ok for float to maintain stasis.
HTH;
John
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full_mosey
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05/07/13 09:03am |
Tech Issues
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RE: UPG 250 amp hour agm batteries
There's a caveat to this though. FLAs work perfectly for high wattage draws. There's tons of people here that do this all the time. The advantage with AGM's in this situation is if you only have room for TWO batteries but want to repeatedly use the MW or other high draw device with a partially discharged battery (say less than 60% SOC). 4 6V's (FLA's) work just fine for high draws IF you have the room for them. Also, 12V FLA's only have a little less sag than AGM's. It's the 6V's that have the biggest sag but you can simply add more then there's no problem.
Well said!
Just realize that when you use 4 x GCs or better, you are lowering the Amp draw per battery, and therefore moving towards another low Amp draw where I agree that deep cycle FLA will run longer.
In the two battery case, the higher draw capability of the AGM shows up in longer run times.
E.g., In a capacity test, I used a 900W elec kettle to boil a a qt. of water in 7 min with a single Deka 79AH 53lb AGM. That represents a ~100% C20 draw, or 78A. The battery was 4+yrs old. In 6V GC terms you would need a 220A draw for 7min to match that.
Compared to a pair of GCs, a pair of equal weight 100AH AGM 12Vs or 6Vs is a reasonable choice and would give a more dynamic usage.
Almot;
In my recent research re 6V GCs, I learned that 30A/battery is normal for golf carts, therefore wouldn't that be exactly how those batteries are designed? Why wouldn't they last longer?
westend:
I guess I misunderstood your meaning for dynamic. I viewed it as the ability for a bank to do a days camping in the manner the RVer desires.
If you meant life cycles, a person may find no valuable difference between battery types on an 80% drawdown life cycle(discharge-recharge) basis.
Suppose we did a study and found that AGM cost $1/month more. Is that a valuable difference? If one type does 1000 cycles and the other does 500 cycles is that valuable? 500 weekends is 10 years!
HTH;
John
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full_mosey
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05/06/13 07:08am |
Tech Issues
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RE: UPG 250 amp hour agm batteries
...
There is little information to prove that AGM batteries will last any longer than FLA batteries in a very dynamic situation like an RV, where current draws are high relative to the capacities involved. Most of the anecdotal information I've read points to the FLA, larger plate batteries, like GC2 or larger deep cycle batteries garnering the longevity crown.
...
To be fair, running a fridge is not exactly a dynamic situation re comparing AGM to FLA. It is simply another low Amp draw that accumulates AHs over a long period. This is exactly the usage that gives a deep cycle FLA a decided advantage.
AGM does have the advantage whenever dynamic includes high wattage inverter draws. That is, draws that cause the deep cycle FLAs to sag and precludes desired use of the bank by the RVer.
Each RVer needs to choose the battery type that fits their style.
HTH;
John
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full_mosey
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05/05/13 08:01pm |
Tech Issues
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RE: Solar Install on Roo 23SS roof
I have given this a lot of thought and came up with the idea of putting my panels on top of my TV which has a topper and ladder rack so I can lock them down.
...
I do that. Look at my profile pic and you will see the frames of the solar panels on the van.
Also, the panel on the ground is now on the TT.
HTH;
John
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full_mosey
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05/05/13 10:13am |
Hybrid Travel Trailers
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RE: Deep Cycle vs Regular Starting Batteries
You mentioned in the other thread that you have two Duralast Marine Batteries. Those are known as "dual-purpose" batteries that can be used for both starting and deep-cycle applications.
Miles
Some marine batteries are starting only.
Marine could mean that there is a larger space under the plates to catch shedding from the plates. In this context, marine means the battery can tolerate pounding or rough riding better without shorting out internally.
The two terms to look for on your dual-purpose battery are deep cycle or trolling along with a prominent display of AH or a label like DC27.
HTH;
John
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full_mosey
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05/05/13 09:29am |
Class C Motorhomes
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RE: Anti-virus recommendations.....
Linux
Take a look at #1. Try the live CD/DVD which makes no changes to your system while you try it out.
I have used Slackware, Ubuntu and Mint in that order since 1996. Never a virus or malware.
HTH;
John
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full_mosey
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05/04/13 03:31pm |
Technology Corner
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RE: Need recommendation for tire pressure for TT tires
1. ~4800lbs / 4 tires = 1200/tire, or 30lbs(1300lbs). The safety margin is in the tongue weight that is excluded from the axle weights.
2. Watch the tread wear. Edge wear inflate, center wear deflate and adjust until wear is even.
3. Max psi on the sidewall cold.
All could be right and all could be wrong!
HTH;
John
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full_mosey
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05/04/13 03:07pm |
Travel Trailers
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RE: The best photovoltaic solar panels
The MPPT is easier to understand if you accept the premise that the MPPT is trying to make the best use of panel watts.
If your battery is at 11V and the panel is 220W, the MPPT will try to send 220/11 = 20A to the battery. The magic smoke in the MPPT will make best use of the panel's available watts in the attempt to accomplish that.
It has everything to do with the quality of the magic smoke in the MPPT.
This has nothing to do with the cost, size, or efficiency of the panel.
HTH;
John
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full_mosey
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05/04/13 02:17pm |
Tech Issues
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RE: Is a battery required?
We have never camped anywhere there wasn't 120v. I'd like to remove the battery from the front and install a second LP bottle with an automatic changeover valve like our TT had. I ask the question because years ago I helped a guy out at the campground that also had a pup and when the furnace kicked on all of the lights would dim or go out. They had just purchased the pup and when I looked at it the battery was there, just not connected. I connected the battery for them and everything worked as advertised. Also, if I keep the battery, is the converter compatible with an AGM type battery? I have an Optima blue top I'd like to install instead. It is one I had left over after changing trolling batteries on my boat and I know that these usually require a special charger.
Your situation is similar to when I had a PUP. I moved the AGM battery to inside the PUP. This freed up space on the tongue.
The AGM went into the back of one of the storage bins, out of the way and somewhat inaccessible. I ran a red 10GA wire from the converter charge line down through the floor, under the PUP and up to the battery + with a 40A fuse in line. Battery - went to the trailer frame. I joined all of the 12V + wires behind the converter with the charge line so that they had a battery connection even without any 120V power to the converter.
HTH;
John
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full_mosey
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05/04/13 06:42am |
Folding Trailers
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