| Author |
Message |
chris (151.199.25.80)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, November 15, 2003 - 2:06 pm: | |
whatsize alt do i need to run an elec refer? i have 4 6v bats.
do i need to add 2 more bats?
will a 100 amp 1 wire gm alt work?
thanx
chris
p.s. refer size to be determind at home depot |
TWO DOGS (66.90.210.147)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, November 15, 2003 - 2:50 pm: | |
those g.m. one wires are GREAT.....everything ought to have them...I know youneed BIGUNS for coach air...but most people remove those for bus conversions...the amount of batterys determines how long you can run the ref. |
chris (151.199.25.80)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, November 15, 2003 - 5:41 pm: | |
two dogs
i am keeping my coach air, i want to run the refer,micro,tv and some lights for a day. if im running down the road for a couple of hours, will the 4-6 bat bank support the items till next day.
the refer at home depot said 1.5 amp cooling and 1.4 defrost.
thanx
p.s- i have a 10kw gen also and a 130amp /2500w inv charger |
TWO DOGS (66.90.216.57)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, November 15, 2003 - 6:28 pm: | |
I'd say you were in fine shape...as long as the batterys are in good condition...I have a friend that makes one wires....he has them on everything,front end loaders,fords,internationals,all he has to have is 1 spare...I'm assumeing you are just going to find a belt somewhere & make a bracket to fit....go for it... |
TWO DOGS (66.90.212.90)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, November 15, 2003 - 8:22 pm: | |
Chris.....there is one (1) thing you need to remember about one wire g.m's....if you just reach over and start the engine and walk away...ya' did it wrong.....after you start your engine ,you must bring it up to about 1500 r.p.m. for 1/2 second...otherwise,it will NOT charge |
christopher (151.199.25.80)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, November 15, 2003 - 9:37 pm: | |
two dogs
thanx
i hink i can get a 100amp alternator from napa for about $100.00.what size wire do i need to run? its about a distance of 20 feet. the current set up has a gm 65amp alt connected to a soleniod which i think is activated by the key
thanx chris |
TWO DOGS (66.90.214.184)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, November 15, 2003 - 10:22 pm: | |
'bout #8 |
Gary McFarland (Gearheadgary) (209.128.99.4)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, November 16, 2003 - 1:05 am: | |
Wait--100A is tiny.
What is the Refer?
Is it a 110v unit that you are powering from an Inverter?
100A X 12V = 1200 VA / 120V AC = only 10 amps of current. and this does not account for losses from converting from VA to Watts, or the losses within the inverter itself.
at about 8 amps (Educated Guess) you will be drawing more than the Alt will put out.
If you're using a 12v icebox or something, forget I said anything.
Gary |
chris (151.199.25.80)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, November 16, 2003 - 6:10 am: | |
gary
how much power does the refer use?
i can get a powerline 230amp alternator out of a hummer for $400.00 but i wanted to keep it simple and inexpensive. will 2 100 amp alt work ?
or whatdo you recommend
thanx
chris |
Craig S (68.218.67.128)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, November 16, 2003 - 9:17 am: | |
Chris,
Your refer at 1.5 amps X 120VAC is 180 watts. That's the answer to your power question. I believe you want to run down the road for 2 hours and then run off battery for a day then run down the road for another 2 hours, etc. There are 3 factors that need to be determined. 1)How much reserve ampacity your batteries have, and you don't want to run them down more than half way. 2)What the charge rate will be to put back into the batteries what is used when they are not being charged and 3)What the amp draw will be through the inverter to your 120VAC devices. Your amp draw for 1 day might be about 30 amp/hours at 120VAC. That would be about 300 amp/hours at 12VDC. The battery bank would then have to be 600 amp/hours. To put back 300 amp/hours in 2 hours you would need a 150 amp charger. Make sure your batteries can take such a high rate of charge.
Craig S. |
Geoff (Geoff) (66.238.120.64)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, November 16, 2003 - 10:02 am: | |
A 100 amp alternator is more than enough to run his refer through the inverter/house batteries while driving, that is Chris's question. Now if he parks for a day he will probably plug in to shore power or run his generator for a while to use his other appliances, which would then activate his battery charger. Chris's set-up is similar to mine, except I an using a truck 130 amp 12v alternator on the engine and 4ea Grp 31 batteries. Chri's system is alright but if he has more room for house batteries the more the better.
--Geoff
'82 RTS CA |
Craig S (68.218.67.128)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, November 16, 2003 - 11:00 am: | |
This is my reference...
"i want to run the refer,micro,tv and some lights for a day. if im running down the road for a couple of hours, will the 4-6 bat bank support the items till next day."
Craig S. |
jmaxwell (66.81.44.183)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, November 16, 2003 - 1:29 pm: | |
The 100 amp unit is sufficeint. There is no conversion factor from VA to Watts that I am aware of, as they are merely different expressions of the same value. The norm for these 10-12 cf reefers is about 120-130 watts, running load. I have put meters on 3 of them and found each to consume less than rated amperage for running. Mine, a GE 11.6 averages 1.1 amps running, over a 24 hour period. The start may require 2.5 to 3 times that, but is very momentary, perhaps 1-2 seconds. As I recall, the 110v heater in the 7.5cf Dometic is in the range of 375 watts and the 12v model heaters are up around 450 watt.
The average 19" CRT tv consumes about 75-85 watts. LCD's are slightly higher, abt. 5%, size for size, and large screen plasmas border on absurd for a boondocker, abt. 350 in the 42" category to well over 500 watts in the bigger ones. Add a VCR for another 25-30 watts.
The microwave, while high in consumption, 750-1350 watts, is somewhat short-term and sporadically used, and a couple of 60 watt 110v bulbs add another 120 watt. |
Gary McFarland (Gearheadgary) (209.128.99.4)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, November 16, 2003 - 2:25 pm: | |
Hey Chris,
Craig's answer is the same as mine would be.
My next step for you is to list all your devices, with power requirements, to get your full draw.
When I'm calculating power requirements, I actually double them, it's never a good idea to run at max capacity. Code is to never run more than 80% of of capacity.
In the same line of thinking--you didn't answer my question on Inverters, but I presume you are using an Inverter--The ones I've seen in WalMart and Costco are from 20% to 50% duty cycle. You have to be careful to oversize your Inverter, not only to keep a sustaiined current rating, but to handle the full-load draw of Induction motors, etc...
I think you will find that the 100A is "Almost Enough", but you'll end up with flat batteries sooner than you like.
Make a list of all your devices and we can work from there.
Gary |
Gary McFarland (Gearheadgary) (209.128.99.4)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, November 16, 2003 - 2:29 pm: | |
VA does not directly transfer to Watts.
Watts = Volts·Amps·Power Factor
Rather than do all the Power Factor Algebra, I just figure an extra 20 - 50% and call it good.
Gary |
christopher (151.199.25.80)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, November 16, 2003 - 7:35 pm: | |
gentlemen
i really apreciate everyones input. it is mighty helpful. i have a tv,vcr,playstation, sproradic use hairdryer and microwave. i have the freedom marine 2500watt/130amp invertor charger. my stove and water heater are gas. i plan on charging the 4 6v batteries(x mins @ 75 amps i will call tomorrow to see what x is) on day of travel then run the gen the next day for an hr in am and hr in pm.
thanx again
chris
p s i will look at each appliance and read the label then do the formula you gentleman recommend |
Gary McFarland (Gearheadgary) (209.128.99.4)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, November 16, 2003 - 7:59 pm: | |
Damn. I see where you told us about your Inverter--Sorry. After this last week, my brain is jello.
We can skip all of the other math then, there's your design requirement. 130A.
I'd keep everything at that level..Say 130 - 150.
BTW: I found GC145 batteries at the local Kragen for $49.95 today. 1/2 of west marine.
Gary |
chris (151.199.25.80)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, November 17, 2003 - 3:21 pm: | |
gary
my batterys are 6 volt -4 batterys 125 minutes @ 75 amps = 250 min @ 150 amps.
what do i need? 2 more batterys and the 100 or 130 amp alternator?
thanx
chris |
TWO DOGS (66.90.214.225)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, November 17, 2003 - 4:24 pm: | |
still say it depends on how many things you want to play with,try it with 4 batterys....if you find you want to play longer /with more things,t.v. vcr...lights buy more batterys,I'd still go with the 100 amp one wire,just hook-up that 'one wire' to your positive side of the battery bank...hopefully you are hooking two together to make 12 volt.. |
Gary McFarland (Gearheadgary) (209.128.99.4)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, November 17, 2003 - 5:04 pm: | |
It sounds like You have GC125 batteries.
You're equation sounds funny though, f they are 125 mins @75A, you should be 62.5 mins at 150A.
You should have your charging system match your Load. so if your Inverter is 130A (This is your load), you should be able to meed this demand with your charging system (Or mabe a bit more).
that way, while you are running, your loads will not Impact your batteries at all. Ideally, you should be able to run forever from the engine and never draw from the batteries.
The battery capacity will dictate how long you can run "Quiet". I have enough room for six batteries, I just found these GC145 batteries, for $162.79 http://www.batterysales.com/trojan.cfm
These batteries are wired "Series-Parallel" in that enough batteries are cabled together in Series to give you the final voltage, then the groups are cabled togeter in parallel to give you more amp-hours.
So, if you have a pair of GC125s cabled together for 12v, connected in Series with another pair, you should have 250AH of batteries.
Divide this number by what ever your load is to get an estiimated run time.
More Batteries = More Run Time.
You should be fine with 4, and in fact the the "One wire" should "Work" but you would be in a situation where you could potentially run down the batteries, with the engine running.
Gary |
TWO DOGS (66.90.216.61)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, November 17, 2003 - 6:11 pm: | |
YEESH...THE REF. DOESN'T RUN ALL THE TIME |
chris (151.199.25.80)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, November 17, 2003 - 9:22 pm: | |
again guys thanx for the info
i will give it a try
chris |
Tom Caffrey (Pvcces) (65.74.64.127)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, November 17, 2003 - 10:14 pm: | |
Gary, I take it that your reference to GC125 batteries means golf cart T-125 Trojans or the equivelant in another brand.
I looked at your link, and it looks to me like the main difference between the T-105 and the T-145 is the ability to live with different rates of discharge. The amp hour ratings of all three of these golf cart batteries is 220 or a little more.
If Chris discharges these batteries at 11 amps each, he should get 220 amp hours or better out of them. The difference between them will show up with high discharge rates, the T-145 giving better results than the T-105. At least, that's the way I understand these tables.
By going with big banks, any discharge rate will be divided among more batteries, so the cheaper batteries can do pretty well. If he wants to use fewer batteries, then the more expensive battery will give better results.
For what it's worth.
Tom Caffrey PD4106-2576
Suncatcher |
Gary McFarland (Gearheadgary) (209.128.99.4)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, November 17, 2003 - 10:59 pm: | |
Actually, I didn't even look at the chart, just the prices. I can't quite figure out the RC (Rate of Charge?) 25AH/75AH figure.
GC105, GC125, GC145 mean Golf cart, 105AH, 125AH and 145AH or I'm nuts (A distinct possibility).
I think he'll get by with the four he has, my point in this thread, is that he should size his Alternator to match the rest of his system, in this case, a 130A Inverter. I'd say go with a 150A alternator, that way, even if he is using all of his Inverter capacity, he still has some reserve to charge his batteries.
Gary |