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RE: Voltage protector 110V?
A curve-ball question: 1000-1200W PSW inverter with auto transfer switch that transfers when AC drops to adjustable 90-105V, not when AC disappears. Long recovery delay would've been nice, I'd rather keep it on inverter longer than switch on-off repeatedly. Is there such a thing, or at least a 30A switch with these features?
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Almot
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06/03/23 07:08pm |
Tech Issues
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RE: Voltage protector 110V?
Opinion: At $14 it must be a great device. :S
Sure :)...
I like HW30, don't like the price.
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Almot
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06/03/23 01:04pm |
Tech Issues
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RE: Voltage protector 110V?
Don, you probably have 30A 110V breaker already, $14 gizmo takes 40A, should work for you - if it will work.
AllegroD: 90V is the low voltage cut-off, it can be adjusted. You don't want to run AC devices at 90 or lower. Looking to protect the whole rig.
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Almot
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06/03/23 12:27pm |
Tech Issues
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RE: Better/brighter interior bulbs?
Wow. 1000 lumens per 1.5" board is really bright. 2000 lumens per fixture could be more than I need, but at $1 per board might as well try it. Thanks joedeb720.
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Almot
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06/03/23 09:58am |
Do It Yourself Modifications and Upgrades (DIY)
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Voltage protector 110V?
Not an auto-transformer, just an auto-disconnect when it drops below 90 or rises above 140. Limits are adjustable to >90 or <140 accordingly, i.e. to a narrow-er range if needed. Recovery voltage is also adjusted. Brown-outs can do a number on 110V devices when grid power resumes at 80-90 and stays like this for some time.
There is a plug-in single-receptacle protector on Amazon: $24, 15A, 2200W. 15A @110V is not 2200W, but close.
Or a whole-trailer protector on Aliexpress, I like this idea better: $14 with shipping, 40A. The usual doubt with this source - will it work as it should. Don't see it on Amazon.
Any suggestions?
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Almot
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06/02/23 06:28pm |
Tech Issues
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RE: Better/brighter interior bulbs?
C Schomer, I hear you about head basher hood.
For under cabinet (not under counter) I found 20" bar 20"x1.5" 8W, "should be" ~1,000 lumens, now need to choose btw this or this 20"x6.5" 1400 lumens. The latter is much pricier but also much wider, good to illuminate the counter from low height.
Edit: corrected typo - it's 8W LED bar, not 8A of course.
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Almot
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05/28/23 01:22pm |
Do It Yourself Modifications and Upgrades (DIY)
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RE: Heated mat?
I like the idea of the mat, but it would be better if you could put a rheostat on it to control the power going to it. that way you could adjust it to say 85 degrees which would be perfect for a floor temp.
Looks like heated mat is a no-go. 5 ft long snow-melting mats are too powerful and those with less power are 3 ft long or shorter. Many complaints on horrible smell of indoor heated mats. Snow-melting 5ft mat looks like made from the same rubber-ish material, should smell too.
Under-carpet heated mats in hardware stores are not made to be walked on, they are to be laid under carpet or tiles. Too bad, I like the idea of heat coming up from the floor, lived once in apartment with heated floor, loved it.
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Almot
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05/27/23 10:51am |
Tech Issues
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RE: Heated mat?
Good suggestions. My thoughts have been running along these lines already.
Remote thermostat for space heater should work, if heater fan switching on won't wake me up. But this will work fine for dark hours before and after bedtime. You're right, there is no good place for oil-filled heater.
Snow-melting mat 730W translates into 145W per linear foot, not only it may damage the linoleum but could be too hot to stand on. There are mats 45W per linear ft but I can't find a 5-6 ft piece. Discoloration of linoleum doesn't bother me as long as it won't melt.
No-power mats will keep the floor warmer but when it drops to 52 outside I don't know if this will help much. Poor walls insulation. One window (and often the door too) are open most of the time, nice fresh air, but in pre-dawn hours it can get too fresh :). One thing I can try is filling the floor ducts with something like styrofoam peanuts since I don't use furnace. I suspect a lot of cold is coming in through the ducts - big open holes/registers and no insulation "wool" under the ducts.
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Almot
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05/25/23 12:56pm |
Tech Issues
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RE: Heated mat?
Your post brings all sorts of issues to mind. First if you have an electric hook up, why are you suffering with a cold RV? Why are you not using a space heater? Second, when you get up in the morning, why not use your furnace? Mine does a good job in a few minutes.
This is a separate issue, but I cannot imagine spending an hour making breakfast. Coffee and oatmeal just require some boiling water. Eggs are even quicker.
Didn't have grid power for many years, lived off solar. Don't use the furnace, hate it, loud, propane hog (and 12V power too), last time I checked it didn't heat at all, just blowing dust. Have a silent catalytic heater for such occasions, works like a charm, a bit slow, and need to keep windows slightly open - but I like fresh air anyway.
My diet includes several items, takes time to prepare and consume. Coffee and oatmeal is a snack, in my books :)
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Almot
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05/24/23 06:30pm |
Tech Issues
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Heated mat?
Something like this: 110V, 730W, 5x2ft. Did anybody use it? When you have a grid power and morning temps inside are in mid 50s (12C). Near floor it's a few degrees cooler. Thick duvet keeps me toasty but need all my willpower to get out of the bed in the morning. It gets warmer when the sun goes up, but need to stand/walk for an hour while making breakfast. Small trailer, main habitat is the 6x2 ft "corridor" btw the table and kitchen counter, with a coach on one end and toilet on another. Looks like the place for a 5ft mat.
Or maybe put a space heater with fan, they usually have a power regulator: 750-1500W space heater. "Thermostat" is a BS, I suspect. At best it would measure the casing temperature and work on-off in either 750 or 1500W mode. Would love to have a real wall thermostat like in shore home.
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Almot
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05/24/23 05:55pm |
Tech Issues
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RE: Better/brighter interior bulbs?
C Schomer, LED shopping is VERY time consuming. Most sellers don't bother with full specs, some quote watts or a number of diodes instead of lumens. Some LED come in different wattage like 2835. It can be either brighter than 5050 or dimmer, depending on wattage.
Incidentally I am looking for a complete under-cabinet fixture too, ~1000-1200 lumens spread over 2-3 ft length, preferably with matte lens to avoid casting shadows in pots and pans. With a switch on the fixture so that I won't have to look for a remote. My current light is 700 lumens double dome, I could add another dome but this is inconvenient, 2 switches. Amazon has interconnecting 300 lumens 1ft panels but interconnects are cables, not rigid end-to-end connectors, and switch is in-line on cable. Can you give a link to your under counter light?
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Almot
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05/20/23 08:58am |
Do It Yourself Modifications and Upgrades (DIY)
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RE: Better/brighter interior bulbs?
Thanks, people. m4 LEDs is a nice store, I like how they grouped and specced everything there, no guesswork. Double sided tape should work, yes.
With trailer being that small and with low ceiling I think I will upgrade different "pancakes" in a different way, in some will put more powerful square SMD boards and some would be nice to replace with flat panels like this one: Dimmable 1800 lumens 12" panel. Dimmable and changeable color temp, imagine that.
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Almot
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05/18/23 05:25pm |
Do It Yourself Modifications and Upgrades (DIY)
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Better/brighter interior bulbs?
Long time ago replaced interior incandescent bulbs with SMD LED boards with 10mm wedge base, ~20W equivalent, ~320 lumens. Was happy, now want something brighter but can't find anything more powerful in this form-factor. Here is a typical offer, scroll down to specs with 24 LED: board 4.4 cm diameter, 370 lumens: 24-5050 SMD
Double pancake dome light would probably accommodate a larger diameter board, but I can't find any. Don't want to overpay for a whole new fixture when just the "bulb" needs replacement. Or should I give up the idea of a wedge base fixed rigidly to the SMD, and look for a rectangular board like 48-5050, with wedge base dangling on the wire. Can such a board be drilled through, to attach it to the dome fixture, did anybody try?
I prefer a board, not a "cob", because a cob would have 30-40% of LED diodes illuminating the ceiling behind them. Any suggestions are welcome.
PS: would be nice to find a source with proven quality. Ebay is huge same as the China itself and full of cr-ap, with some more reliable sellers like the one in the link.
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Almot
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05/16/23 07:22pm |
Do It Yourself Modifications and Upgrades (DIY)
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RE: Square wave inverter to LFP battery?
Almot,
You won't find a 1000 watt inverter that can reliably do a 1400 watt microwave, with the exception of the units that have their own built in inverter--so you can "dial them down"
Let's start with the size of the battery bank, and the chemistry.
Don, this is going to be a backup for short periods at a time. I am on grid power now, seasonal setup, but, being Mexico, there are blackouts nearly every week. Usually 1-2 hours or less though locals reported that there was 2.5 days blackout once. I am running 120 AH LiFePo battery now with 500W solar. In blackout I will scrap the luxuries like microwave but compressor fridge is important.
Solar (slightly tilted) easily harvests 1000-1200 WH a day, sun is not a problem most of the time. Fridge and a few minor loads would draw 1300-1500 WH/day. Only fridge requires an inverter, other gadgets can wait. In normal operating mode fridge won't need more than 200 W but starting power could exceed 1000 W. Battery-wise neither 20A constant nor 100A peak shouldn't damage LiFePo and a humble 120 AH bank with 100 AH usable charge should last ~ 2 days. I would have to buy another 120 AH LiFePO if the fridge comes to be - Murphy law, rain and clouds just when the blackout starts, who knows... Anyway, looks like 1500-3000W PSW inverter.
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Almot
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04/27/23 11:01pm |
Tech Issues
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RE: Square wave inverter to LFP battery?
Most batteries hate heat. MSW inverters do cause batteries to get hotter when charging at least on my laptops.
What sort of wattage do you want to run? I got a very nice 700 watt psw inverter from Victron for $109.00 about 5 years ago. They may be cheaper than that now.
Here is a 375 watt:
https://www.amazon.com/Victron-Energy-Sinewave-Inverter-VE-Direct/dp/B01N0W4H34/ref=sr_1_3_sspa?crid=31YUZ7H28E0TD&keywords=500%2Bwatt%2Bpsw%2Binverter&qid=1682215042&sprefix=psw%2Binverter%2B500%2B%2Caps%2C514&sr=8-3-spons&ufe=app_do%3Aamzn1.fos.f5122f16-c3e8-4386-bf32-63e904010ad0&smid=ALRPFGEN62HZC&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUEzUjlSQ0ZYVlVURFZXJmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwNjg5NjA5M1BPTUFPMVlQREtLSCZlbmNyeXB0ZWRBZElkPUEwMDIyNjUxMzQzVUxHWEY3QkhSNCZ3aWRnZXROYW1lPXNwX2F0ZiZhY3Rpb249Y2xpY2tSZWRpcmVjdCZkb05vdExvZ0NsaWNrPXRydWU&th=1
Point about heat is taken, thank you Don. I would be interested in something over 1000W if I get around to adding a residential fridge and possibly a separate small freezer. I hear that compressor start-up wattage could exceed 600W - and if both machines start at the same time and I happen to run a small microwave at this exact moment (1400W input), I don't even know what could be the total wattage, 3000W?
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Almot
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04/23/23 09:57pm |
Tech Issues
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RE: Square wave inverter to LFP battery?
I was mostly concerned about battery charging with MSW. LFP battery in laptop and phone, NiMH in cordless drill. I am not running any electronics on MSW. The only piece of electronics that I've been running on it was a corded electric shaver, it has an AC-DC converter hidden in massive 110V plug.
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Almot
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04/22/23 06:22pm |
Tech Issues
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Square wave inverter to LFP battery?
I've been charging small electronics with a small $20 SQ for years. Laptop, phone, toothbrush. Don't have much use for a bigger/better one. Other than slower charging due to intermittent DC, is there a reason why this might be a bad idea?
Small motors like electric shaver or water flosser do work on SQ wave, but quieter and "rougher" - it's like I can almost hear intermittent work at 30 HZ pulses.
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Almot
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04/21/23 11:36am |
Tech Issues
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RE: LFP battery absorption and float - report
Victron MPPT won't start Bulk charging again until it can't sustain 13.2 Float anymore - which is usually the last few minutes before sunset - doesn't make much difference.
As a result the battery was getting lower every day, with plenty of sun.OK so I would expect the re-bulk to start about 30 minutes earlier each day if the state of charge was dropping each day.
Didn't notice, not saying yes or no. With my very low draw any sun, even minutes before sunset, results in keeping the battery above 13.2. It has to drop below Float for at least a minute for Victron to start re-Bulk.
What I did notice was progressively lower pre-dawn voltage day after day, as witnessed both by checking voltage on the app before dawn, and Victron records of "minimum voltage" for each day.
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Almot
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02/10/23 07:01pm |
Tech Issues
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RE: LFP battery absorption and float - report
Don, input for Victron was 60V from 490E solar.
Also the controversial Float matter with LFP. It might not be strictly necessary but in camping there is always discharging going on, at least 1A standby current of fridge, radio, LP detector. I consider Float a continuous (in daytime) charging of battery that is being discharged continuously and thus is never really full. By setting Float to 13.5 I am getting 1 or 2 amps above the standby current in daytime only, ensuring SOC close to upper 90s by the evening.
3 tons - yes, the harvest was less than daily draw, because with zero Float current the controller stops charging shortly after the Bulk is reached. I set it up this way according to the LFP manufacturer recommendations - zero or short Absorb time, zero Float current. This is not a controller defect. Just wanted to note that contrary to the manufacturer's promise this LFP was not getting fully charged just by reaching Bulk 14.2V (my mistake, it was 14.2 not 14.4). Not even close to full. After reaching Bulk it was drawing same 8A for almost 2 hours when I set Absorb time to longer.
Again, Victron factory pre-set for their "Victron Smart LFP" is 2 hours Absorb time and 13.5 Float so I can't blame my particular LFP either. Makes me wonder about the popular mantra "no Absorb time, no Float".
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Almot
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02/10/23 09:57am |
Tech Issues
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LFP battery absorption and float - report
Bought this 120AH LiFePO4 a while ago https://www.lynaclithium.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/12.8V-100Ah-True-Series-Quick-Sheet-USA.pdf. 120AH marketed as 100AH.
Don't see this now but on the older page (and most other LFP manufacturers) recommendations for LFP are - very short or zero Absorb time, no Float or set ~13V (for 14V battery). Now I see them recommending Tail Current 2A-5A, this is where you should completely stop charging, be it Bulk or Float or whatever but I doubt this would work for me (see below).
Set Victron MPPT to Float 13.2, Absorb time 10 min, controller wouldn't accept values <10 min.
Was drawing ~ 30-40 AH a day. Was harvesting slightly less, because it wasn't fully charged upon reaching Absorb 14.4, and there was zero Float current. When loads kicked in, Victron increased Float current to slightly below the load demand - ex. fridge thermostat 2A, Float 1.5A , pump 10A, Float 8A etc - so no joy here.
Victron MPPT won't start Bulk charging again until it can't sustain 13.2 Float anymore - which is usually the last few minutes before sunset - doesn't make much difference.
As a result the battery was getting lower every day, with plenty of sun.
Interestingly, Victron pre-set mode for some "Victron Smart LFP" is 2 hours Absorption time and 13.5 Float.
Set Absorb to 3 hours to see how long it takes to bring tail current to zero. After a few days when battery was finally fed well and was getting some charge during Float to compensate for Loads draw during the day, it took 1 hour 45 minutes to stay in Absorb to drop the current to roughly what loads demand. Well, at parallel 28 it's still winter, max 20A current from a modest array (8A when it became getting full charge every day).
Same story with Renogy DC-DC converter - when set to Li, it was getting lower every day with 6-7 hours driving and the only load - 4A fridge at 60% cycle. Set Renogy to Led Acid battery. Hopefully it won't try running equalization.
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Almot
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02/09/23 06:23pm |
Tech Issues
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