RE: Which batteries power in dash radio?
Two point two options depending on motor home
1: Dash devices run off CHASSIS battery
2: Switch (Somewhere) Selects
3: bi-direcitonal isolator, when hooked to shore power or running genny, charges all batteries in parallel so it runs off both when you have 120vac.
Of course last night.. I only had 120vac when Mr. Onan was making it.. Seems Consumer's power did not provide.
RE: How do we keep 2 yr old from opening screen door?
Not to be a wet blanket but I believe that by blocking the door with the assist handle that also blocks the door for 'everyone' in case of an emergency. RV's are fire hazards at best with limited exits.
You make an excellent point.
I'm 6'3" by over 300 pounds and routinely pick up a 250 pound scooter and load set it on the tray on the back of the house.
If you have the assist bar over the door and I need to exit BAD (Say a fire) it's not even going to slow me down. You will be needing a new bar and door though. (of course in the example cited.... You'd need a new RV to go with them, but hey.. That is what insurance is for)
RE: Cell Phones.. did you know??
Do you know: As a matter of fact yes I did.. You see, the phone number for the office I used to work in is all over this thread.. All 3 digits of it.
It happens to be a federal law.. Any carrier receiving a 9-1-1 call has to send it to the nearest (or proper) call center.
So, let's say your phone is authorized on Carrier A, but A has not roam agreement with B. but only B covers the area where you happen to be pressing SEND, if it's 9-1-1 B has to transport the call.
Or if its a pre-paid out of minutes.. Same thing, No charge for 9-1-1 it does not add to or subtract from your minutes.
PLEASE... When calling 9-1-1 be prepared to tell the ESO (emergency Services Operator) WHERE you are.. He (or she) may need to forward the call.
One (slightly laundered and way shortened call)
Phone: Ring
Me: State Police
Caller: I'm at the corner of walk and don't walk and I'm not feeling well, I'm trying to get to hospital but I don't think I'll make it (he did by the way but not in his car).
Caller describes textbook symptoms of heart attack. and goes on "It can't be my heart I'm only 27"..
I talked him (And EMS cardiac care unit) into the same parking lot where he secured his car and transferred to EMS which got him to the hospital in time.
Yup, that was my phone number we are talking about.
RE: securing an external RV cable
Is the rear cap on the trailer a true or false rear cap? (my Motor home it's a false cap, the true cap is like 4" farther forward the cable is in the gap).
Running it down the ladder is the best idea I've seen to date. or buy white cable, or both.
RE: Winterization: wet or dry?
3 Methods
WET: come spring you have to flush all that******out of your fresh water lines. Major job. I did this the first winter NEVER AGAIN
DRY: Do not blow just one time, Blow several with a few minutes between blows, Come spring, nothing to flush out, and if air freezes, the RV won't be on your list of things to worry about (just one worry at that poing.. UP or Down). Use antifreeze in the traps and toilets.. Flushing them come spring is no tribble at all. (Yes, David Gerrold is on my Facebook friends list).
NOTE: Some folks yammer about "That little bit of water that clings to the sides of the lines" First, it won't bother the pex tubing (only the hard plastic fittings and it won't settle in the fittings) second. The multiple blows gets rid of nearly all of it. I never had a problem the winters (Several) I used the dry method.
S... What I use (Drive south and forget the above methods)
RE: Cruise Control
Several ideas.. One is the brake pedal/light switch. If any of the following conditions exist the cruise will not work.
1: Speed too slow (Not sure what the cut off is, 20 mph it won't work)
2: Foot on brake pedal
3: Brake light switch stuck ON
4: Brake lights burned out
5: Brake light fuse blown
6: Bad speed sensor. (Should affect speedometer).
and then there are computer and control issues, bad parts and so on. On Drive by wire motors like the modern 8.1L ... there are fewer parts unique to the Cruise.
MOST common causes of Cruise malfunctionb are brake pedal/switch related.
RE: Generator not starting on Natural Gas
Was the generator set up for propane or NG.. There is a metering jet or oriface, (What it is called depends on it's use) that is different for these two applications. They are NOT interchangeable.
RE: Why won't 2000w inverter run 900w microwave?
We are at four pages but as I recall he said the inverter DID run the microwave, for a few minutes.
That may be all the battery he has
RE: Blocking Access To Gas Stations
This is a true story:
UPS driver (deliver route driver not a semi) was delivering to an office building, instead of backing into the dock like a good little deliver driver he just pulls up in front of the buliding and runs inside.
Cop is writing him a ticket
I approach the officer and ask if he's writing the UPS driver a ticket, He is a bit hesitant but admits he is. I profess my pleasure at hearing that "GOOD, they need more of them" and he then gets much more chatty.. Seems he'd also written this same driver a speeding ticket about half a mile back.
UPS seems to think parking and traffic rules do not apply to them. It always makes me happy to see them reminded they do.
Now USPS. on the other hand.. Does enjoy some special rights road wise.
but... If you read the constitution, you will know why.
(The constitution gives the government the right to build POSTAL roads. thus all the roads are technically property of the post office)
RE: Receiving Multiple Signals from Satellite
First, forget all existing switches and cables.
Run RG-6 from the Antennas to the Sat Receivers (The VIP-211K) do not go through any existing switch or splitter.
NOTE: you may have ONE usable cable from the roof to the sat-receiver compartment, but for the other receiver(s) you will have to run your own cable.
The switch in the convenience center can accept a signal from the RF-OUT (To Television) coax fitting on the back of the VIP-211K, for distribution.
But that switch is not good for Sat side of the VIp-211K.
Recommendation: in the LNB lead on the 211K< put an A/B switch
A goes to the roof antenna up ABOVE
B (Via new RG-6) to either a Bulkhead (Through wall) or basemounted ground block.
Mine is on the brake bell crank bracket.
When parked under the "Evil signal eating tree" set up a tripod antenna "Away" from the RV and hgook to the ground block/bulkhead connector, then SLIDE the switch to B, and do a check switch (After pointing the antenna) If you can not get to the antenna pointing screen, when the error message finally appears, Press * on the remote.
Be sure to return to "A" before unhooking.
RE: air conditioner noise
They may have been small but they were big enough.
You don't need 30 amps. if you have a 12ga Extension cord (Sears or K-mart is your best source) and turn off EVERYTHING else in the RV you can test it on 20. Either turn off the breaker to the converter, or plug in for like 12 hours before testing.
RE: fridge again
Running the fridge on 120 volt needs 300-400 watts. that's 30-40 amps at 12 volt DC (to power an inverter) some alternators may object to that much additional load long term. (Or so I'm told).
I have tried it, the alternator did not keep up and I had to switch to gas.
RE: Shocking! AC power tingle between frame and (real) ground
Regarding your question about it being dangerous ............
Ever grab a 500VDC line with your bare hand? (Let me tell you I was kind of glad my reaction to a shock is to throw instead of clutch)
RE: House batteries.
Are these good batteries: Yes.. Now a Trojan would be better, at a much higher price..
But.. There are two ways to "Rank" the batteries.
One: Total bank (Quality alone) Trojan is best
Two: Bang for your buck (Value for your dollar) Sam's has the lead there.
In short.. GOOD CHOICE
RE: Why won't 2000w inverter run 900w microwave?
Three possible answers.
1: Inverter is too far from the batteries. You want it as close as possible without actually breathing the same air.
2: Cables between inverter and batteries are TOO SMALL. Manu use 4ga, That's good but 4/0 (0000) is better for this job. And if it is more than a couple feet, add more zeros.
3: This one is a multi parter.. Bad (Dirty) connection or bad batteires not putting out as well as they should. Take two voltage measurements under load
One at the batteires. one at the inverter.
RE: Electrical question please.
I understand where the neutral wire is connected to the 50 amp rv plug, but can someone please explain what the neutral wire is connected to on the other end of the wire? The ground is connected to "earth" right? Is the "neutral" connected to earth too? Thanks for any clarification.
Larry
Using ASCII it is very hard to draw a proper transformer.. But I will try
\||/-------- L1
/||\
\||/________ Neutral
/||\
\||/
/||\________ L2
P S
R E
I C
M O
A N
R D
Y R
. Y
The Primary winding (\/\/\/\/) is connected to the high voltage mains either above or underground
The Secondary winding is the 240 Volt winding that provides power to, for example, your house
The Neutral, is the center tap on the 2ndary winding.
Why is it called neutral?
Well. That is a good question, but if the two legs are PERFECTLY balanced, Say two Advent 1500 BTU Air conditioners, both in identical condition under identical conditions, and NOTHING else on in the coach, Then L-1 is providing 13.5 amps to the air conditioner (one of them) so is L-2 (to the other) but due to the phasing of the two legs.. The neutral is carrying a grand total of nothing at all, if it were to break, you'd never know. OF course that only applies in a perfectly balanced system (not practical)
Why is it done this way?
Let's say it's 1,000 feet from you to the transformer.. That is a long haul and a lot of voltage drop from the aforementioned 13.5 amps, since it has to travel not 1,000 feet, but 2,000 feet, (out and back)
But with the 240 volt system, you effectively do not send it back, Since it travels out 1,000 feet, then runs through the other A/C and travels back.. So the voltage drop is now divided into two halves.
So if it is say a 5 volt drop, each way, (10 total) if you had just one A/C running and 120 volt at the transformer, you'd have 110 at the A/C.. but with two of them running they each loose half, so you have 115 at teh A/C. Much nicer.
Now.. if you are a bit confused.... This is taught at the college level. I took the course (like 40+ years ago) and recently took a refresher (like 7 years ago) So do not feel bad.. Some of the concepts I figured out in that refresher had me a mite confused for the better part of 40 years. (But they are not covered here)
RE: Everything dead after we disconnected from power!?...
Most modern RVs with 3 stage power converters the converter is parallel with the battery however there is a Battery disconnect, usually just inside the door (So you can reach it when standing on dirt) it may be marked ON/OFF. Connect/Disconnect or Use/Store.
Mine the switch failed, it would Store just fine but it would not USE (Connect) I fixed it by cleaning, ask if you need to know how to do that, it is easy, no tools or materials needed save fingers. And perhaps a key.
Some Older RVs may be "Blessed" (Or is that cursed) with something like the Magnetek 6300.. This device has two 12 volt circuits. one is connected to the battery direct (it powers things like radios and the winegard antenna) the other is powered by a 12 volt unfiltered supply when plugged in (lights, water pump and the like) and a relay that connects the two together when you unplug. This relay, like my switch, can fail.
