| Author | Message | ||
| Jim (Jim_in_california)
Rating: N/A |
Gents, it looks like I've got a rig. Big surprise to me, it ain't a bus...but it's built on a solid commercial chassis and has what I need in a reliable and affordable package. See also: http://truckhome.com/eve/ubb.x/a/tpc/f/7146069053/m/8491051972 ...for details. While it ain't a bus, y'all know more about retrofitted electical stuff than any other group regardless of "RV" type and if y'all don't mind, I'd like to tap into that for the electical add-ons. At present, the electical system consists of the following, all original to 1988 and in perfect shape: * A 30amp in-line surge suppressor behind the shore cord. * 30-amp "converter" to a single mediocre deep-cycle 12v battery in good shape. Battery drives 12v interior lights, water pump, etc. and is also the generator starter battery. This is all separate from the main engine start battery. * Onan propane 4.5kw genset with remote start. * Proper set of circuit breakers, etc. This was a pro-built critter vs. homebrewed. Wiring is simple, sanitary and in good shape in all aspects. * All interior electric is DC (mainly lights, water pump) and the interior 110v wall plugs and single A/C overhead all work ONLY when genset or shore is live. No inverter (yet). To go from shore power to genset, you manually plug the shore cord into the genset. House battery bank is also charged off of the 460FI's alternator...which doesn't appear to be all that powerful though I don't know the specs. All DC systems are 12v at present so I guess I'll stick with that. Right. So what I need is: * Inverter/charger. I'm considering splurging on an Outback, possibly either a 2000w or 2800w critter. That way, if I run a bigger alternator I can use that to power the battery bank and run the rooftop A/C while the genset is off. Haven't decided though, as the rig also has dash air. I'll have to see how well that works versus overhead A/C while rolling...if the overhead works better, I *might* pull the belt on the dash AC and run a bigger alternator instead. I'll also have to sort out the mileage implications of each and would VERY much welcome opinions. A 2000w Outback with separate LCD remote control panel is about $1500, pretty comparable to a Prosine 2.0 with included controller. The next jump up is the Prosine 2.5 or a 2800w Outback, again ballpark similar in price and these would have enough "extra" to power a decent amount of computer gear plus the A/C. Anybody have an opinion as to the quality/durability of the Prosine vs. Outback? * BETTER HOUSE BATTERIES! I might use the current solo as an isolated genset starter batt. A pair of 12v Surrette 5000s would run $1200 for about 700amp/hrs, probably enough, or I could run three at 1050amp/hrs...still not quite the capacity of four L16s but not half bad and these puppies are rated at WAY more discharge cycles...and this ain't a very big rig. Or...a pair of 6Vs giving 820AH would do: http://thesolar.biz/Surrette_Batteries.htm Thoughts? * Solar charge controller. * Panels/mounts...as the roof of this thing is a solid sheet of unbroken aluminum I'm seriously considering the "peel and stick" Unisolars...maybe four 116watt or 125. I'm also going to put some big secondary water tanks in (there's a TON of leftover room under there!) and maybe a bigger propane tank. There's a ton of lockable real-steel storage bays all around, not quite on a 4107's scale but BIG by motorhome standards. Setting one aside for batteries and another for misc. electrical stuff will be easy. (Yes, it can carry all this. It was designed as a *car* carrier for God's sake  .) Now. There seems to be a whole pile of vendors of this stuff concentrated in Arizona somewhere...I forget where but I'm sure somebody here knows. Would I be better off going on a "shopping trip from hell" in the rig itself, save all the shipping costs? Or should I mail-order? ---------------- I can think of one viable alternative to solar. Pull out that clunky Onan, get ahold of a 3.5hp Changfa water-cooled diesel motor, put it in one of the bays with a quality alternator on a belt. Use that to power the battery bank, power the A/C unit and such via a big quality inverter. | ||
| FAST FRED Rating: N/A |
If your going to spring for a big $$$ inverter the ones with the pass thru seem to offere the most versatility. It will alow your genset to easily run 2 air cond , and whatever else with no problems. Best is the ability to use lots of juice on a 15A line , when that becomes necessary. If You get a set of real good deep cycles a Link or similar should be FIRST , so you can know what the state of charge actually IS , and try to run them on the top 30% ,,,to have them last for 12-15 years . Put them on a slide or get Hydrocaps for EZ maint. If you only need gen set air cond for a few days a month ,(under 50 hr a month operation) the propane is better than a diesel. If you need it 24/7/30 the diesel will be cheaper to run , but you will need to spend about $4000 for the inverter to run 2 air cond on 24V. If you have the area , the unisolars are nice as they will still put out if partially shaded , most std units wont. But they take more area and $$$ for the same output. Check out Home Power magazine , free download on line , as they have very competative advertisers, so you can know If the price from the locals is fair. FAST FRED | ||
| Jim (Jim_in_california)
Rating: N/A |
Fred, Sounds about right. But there's an odd thing about what my rig's final state will be like compared with a similar overall size bus - the forward living quarters is fairly small (equivelent to about a 22ft bus but with good space utilization) and there will be a separate garage at the rear. With an air seal between. I'm considering having a small 6000btu "apartment size" A/C mounted in the back wall that's to be constructed from scratch anyhow. I would be running either that (while wrenching in the back) or the single unit now present up front. I think (hope?) this will keep my power needs down to something fairly modest, in the 3000w range absolute tops when using power tools and one A/C. My "electronics power needs" will be modest too...about 400w total peak, except for brief shots to 500ish while printing or scanner (high end inkjet). ---- Which true sine wave inverters in the 2000-2800w range have pass-through? | ||
| Sean Welsh (Sean)
Rating: N/A |
Jim, I think you'll be happier with the Outback than the Prosine. I read the ad for this rig, BTW, and I think the best part of the whole deal is that it came with a "wench." Is she cute? -Sean | ||
| Jim (Jim_in_california)
Rating: N/A |
Heh. Yeah, I caught that and asked the guy about that "feature" . The guy fabricates race cars for a living...good spelling doesn't seem to be a factor . | ||
| Tom Caffrey (Pvcces)
Rating: N/A |
Jim, does the Outback feature power sharing? I know the Heart and the Trace do, in different forms. I don't know if the Outback or the Prosine have that feature. Does anything but the Trace have power supplementation? I've done some looking at these brands, but I didn't learn the answer to these questions. In my case, it's just idle curiosity; I asked the questions to get you to be sure of the specs for these units. Most inverters have sightly different mixes of features. I would consider power sharing as a required feature. I haven't been willing to go the cost of power supplementation, yet. For what it's worth. Tom Caffrey PD4106-2576 Suncatcher |