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Itinerant1

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  1. Once you have the lfp in and the charging/ discharging parameters in place the punishment the batteries can take and performance it can deliver is just amazing even after 6 years fulltime use.
  2. That's the easiest thing to do. I put mine in the front 5th wheel compartment, added insulation on side walls, added 2" foam board/ Reflectix and rubber mat to floor, tapped into the end of the heat duct above the batteries and dropped a tube down to the batteries/ compartment. If heat is needed I'll open the end of tube cap. During the hotter months it stays relatively cooler in there, if running air conditioner off of batteries/ solar/ inverter I'll open the top portion of front compartment to let the inverter heat out.
  3. 4/13 made 6 years of continuous use of our system with 500ah lfp (Elite Power Solutions-GBS cells) of fulltime boondocking and the days that we were on a power pole I would turnoff the charging from inverter and let the power pass through so only solar was charging the the batteries if needed it from misc 12v loads (fridge, furnace).2016_ 200 of 261 days2017_ 365 of 365 days2018_ 365 of 365 days2019_ 344 of 365 days2020_ 282 of 365 days2021_ 349 of 365 days2022_ 104 of 104 daysTotal of 2,009 days boondocking.Everyday there are high draw appliances being used from 5-20 minutes (coffeemaker, microwave) to 2-3 hours (15k air conditioner) or just the idle draw of the inverter with a humidifier always going 24/ 7 of 7ah. We live off of the system almost like being on the grid. There are over 2,000 cycles of 35-45% dod at various SOCs.The Magnum SCC and inverter/ charger are set to the same settings of 14.1v absorb (10 minute max, 6 minutes is the normal time till it switches to float), 13.6v float. Our daily power consumption can range from 175ah to 275ah just depending on the season. Shorter the day light hours the more power consumed from batteries. This is running everything in the trailer (not at once). Coffeemaker, microwave, air conditioner, vacuum, ice maker, fridge, air compressor, and other misc hand tools. The inverter is set to 12.0v cut off and never have had it shut down yet due to low voltage even when drawing 150a load at 30% SOC for 5 minutes.If I have lost capacity I can not tell yet in my day to day use of the system. I have not had to break the system apart for rebalancing of cells but had to replace 2 senseboards on 2 cells a couple years back. The cpu/ bms shut my batteries down and after bypassing the cpu/ bms was back up and running. Ran it like that for 2 months till I got south to replace them. The 1,280w solar mounted flat on roof has been through a couple hail storms with the hail the size of mothballs or a little larger. No damage to the panels but the shower skylight didn't do so well.
  4. If you can get over the initial up front cost you'll never look back. Add a little solar and you have your own little power plant running quietly in the background.
  5. I came across this thread at another forum last year when having starting issues with my Honda generator (I let the gas stay in the carb and it would not start), even pictures to help if needed ;). Easy diy job. https://www.rv.net/forum/index.cfm/fuseaction/thread/tid/29903263.cfm
  6. Chad I posted in your thread when you first started it, here are some recording for the past month, we are in the same general area of AZ that you were in. My panels are like yours in a 2s4p configuration even though Magnum recommends that it should be in 3s. I will get a P04 code on the display = Power Limited (Internal Frequency) The controller includes a variable frequency converter this power status displays if the output current is being dialed back to prevent the frequency from going either too high or too low. During the summer which limits the max solar wattage to about 1,150w instead of 1,280w or 76a in stead of 80a. You might have seen this on you display? I was going to add 1 more panel for a 3s3p but the system put out all I need with the 500ah lfp. Having lfp certainly gives the ability to use high draw items at lower SOC and not worry about getting back to full. Example; still making morning 12 cup coffee (84a) or microwave (145a) use at SOC of 27% with the inverter showing 12.2v, batteries showing 12.56v. Almost 5 years of everday use of 35-40% +/- DOD in various SOC or 1,600+ cycles. Going back through recordings from past years I haven't notice a difference in voltage readings using the same appliance and same DOD, if the pack has loss capacity I haven't noticed it in everday use. When the day comes for your switch to lfp I'll bet you'll thinking why didn't I do this sooner. Generator is a eu2200i.
  7. Sping, summer, early fall pretty much all the time unless there are poor solar production days. Panels are mounted flat in a 2s4p configuration. 3.5 kwh is average, 7.1 kwh was maxed production in a day. Late fall, winter, early spring 2.5 -3.5kwh is average depending on the sun. In a year I might run the generator 12 times for 1 or 2 hours just to put a hold over charge in till the next day when solar can do it's thing. I'll set the incoming ac to 15a loadshare on the me-arc which will charge at 100a, so every hour the generator runs its charging at 100ah (20% soc boost). Max total hours on the eu2200i generator per year is 24hrs. Worring about getting to full with lfp isn't a concern like with lead. We're going into our 5th winter season of long partial SOC (psoc) use before getting back to 100% with solar. 40 days is the longest run of psoc from a couple years ago. Right now we're on day 23 of psoc with 25% lowest and 95% highest, today it made it to 69% soc. We use 175-250ah daily and this is making a couple pots of coffee every morning and using the microwave when ever is needed throughout the day, even if the SOC is at 25-30% besides all the other normal items of charging phone, tablets, laptop, watching tv plus we have a humidifier that runs 24/ 7 at 7ah. The inverter has a 2ah idle draw.
  8. Going on 5 years of these settings with our Magnum 3012 inverter and me-arc 50 using these settings with 500ah GBS & 1,280w solar. System has been on 24 /7/ 365 with over 1,640 cycles on batteries of 35-45% DOD in various psoc. Boondocking 98% of the time. Favorites (can be changed to personal taste) F1_ Bat amps - PT ADC (present be produced) F2_ AC output - 121 VAC/ 60.0 HZ F3_ AC input - Amps= 30a (adjustable with incoming power) F4_ Load amps - 0 amps AC F5_ AC Amps - -2 amps CRTL 01_ AC in Control - Auto Connect 02_ CHG Control - Multi Stage 03_ Gen Control - Off 04_ PT Control • a_ PT Chg CTRL 1 - Multi Stage • b_ PT Aux Relay - Control= Disengage • c_ PT Alarm - Control= Off • d_ PT Mppt Ctrl - 15 min sweep METER Inverting_ DC (present time reading) 01 DC Meters • a_ DC volts (present time reading) • b_ DC amps (present time reading) 02 AC Meters • a_ AC output (present time reading) • b_ Load amps (present time reading) • c_ Input AC (present time reading) • d_ Inv/ Chg amps (present time reading) • e_ Input AC1 (present time reading) SET UP 01 System Set up • a_ Set Clock • b_ Screen set up (press select) _ Brightness (50%), Contrast (100%), Power save (1 min) • c_ Temp select - Fahrenheit • d_ Max charge- Amps 200 adc • e _ Link PT Chg - setting - yes 02 Inverting/ Inverter set up • a_ Search watts - Off • b_ LBCO setting - 12.0 vdc • c_ AC In time - 6:00am-6:00pm • d_ AC In VDC - 11.O-14.1 vdc • e_ AC In SOC - 80%-100% SOC • f_ Power up - Always off SET UP INVERTING 03 Charger Set up • a_ AC Input - Amp= (can be set to available shore power/ generator incoming power) • b_ VAC Drop out - 80 VAC • c_ Battery type - Custom (with in here absorb voltage can be adjusted) • d_ Absorb done - Time= 0.1 hrs (minimum, can't be turned off) • e_ Max charge - Rate= 100% • f_ Max charge - Time= 12.0 hrs • g_ Final charge - Stage= Multi • h_ EQ Reminder - Days= Off 04 AGS SET UP - No AGS Present 05 BMK SET UP - No BMK Present 06 PT SET UP (Magnum pt controller follows Magnum inverter settings) • a_ Battery Type - Linked • b_ Absorb Done - Linked • c_ Maxed Charge - Rate= 100% • d_ Max Charge - Time= 12.0 hrs • e_ Bulk Start (press select) - select Bulk Start, Daily / sun up= yes - set Bulk Start, Volts= 12.0 - set Bulk Start, SOC= 80% • f _ PT Aux Relay - 10.0 to 14.0 • g_ PT Alarm - 10.0 to 14.0 • h_ Power Save PT - Display= 15 min TECH 01 Temperatures (press select_ scroll) - Inv BTS (present time reading) - Inv TFMER (present time reading) - Inv FET'S (present time reading) - AGS Sensor 0ff - ACLD Temp 32f - PT BTS (present time reading) - PT Inductor (present time reading) 02 Versions (press select_ scroll) - Inverter: 1.2 - Remote: 4.0 - AGS: 0.0 - Router: 0.0 - ACLD: 0.0 - PT: 1.1 03 Inv Model - MSH3012H (3000w hybrid) 04 Fault History 05 Set up pin 06 Ext Control - No ext control 07 Show all - Menus= No 08 Load Defaults The following parameters are for programming the ME-ARC Version 4 advanced control. Setup 02B LBCO Setting: Volts = 12.0 Setup 03C Battery Type: = Custom Set Absorb Volts: = 14.1v or 14.2v (depending on season) Set Float Volts: = 13.6 Set EQ Volts: = 14.1 Set EQ Done Time: = 0.1 Setup 03D Absorb Done Time: = 0.1 (minimum) Setup 03E Max Charge Rate: = 100% Setup 03G Final Charge Stage: = Float With Battleborn you would probably have to raise absorb higher (14.4 -14.6) for their cell balancing.
  9. 60 gallon bladder does the job, fold it up when not in use. Dually handles the weight just fine when full with the 5th wheel hooked.
  10. The 3012 (3000w hybrid) shows it could be mounted on a vertical surface (wall) with the DC terminals to the right, but as you said the manual doesn't show this for the unit you're looking at using. I'm near 4 years now using it like this.
  11. My water lines to the outside shower are in the basement which is heated but I put a wool blanket folded to fit nicely in the outside water compartment.
  12. Your bms is the last line of protection, your charging sources are the first line of protection and be set to stop charging or lower voltage which ever way you go. If your battery bms fails it should shut your system down.
  13. maggie have done an energy audit that mptjelgin suggested? That will give you an idea what you use in a day that will need to be replenished. I'm sure there are many out there and if you haven't here is just an example that could help you. https://www.rvsolarelectric.com/index.php?route=directory/directory&directory_id=3 All of us giving you the size of our system we have really doesn't mean much till you know what you use. We fulltime and going on 840+ of continuous days boondocking and 200 days before this with 1,280w (flat mounted) and 500ah lfp live like being plugged into a power pole. Nightly use 150-200ah. Run a 2,000w generator for a hold over charge for 2 hours less than a dozen times in a given year. After the first few days of boondocking it's like groundhog day over and over again.
  14. The cells (prismatic, pouch, cylinder) come from China from various companies then they are assembled here in America and made into a "drop in" style battery by various companies like Battleborn or others with their name on the case. You just don't know who actually manufactured the cells though.
  15. Chad the system looks like it doing a great job. I've been boondocking the past 7 days in an area that had no tv stations or Verizon signal talk about internet withdrawal but it did give me a lot of time to learn the system and components better. You probably already know that the ME-ARC has a record of usages and such for the past 255 days. From the manual. Using a PT Controller: Operation/Monitoring 10.2.2 Monitoring the PT Charge Controller The ME-ARC remote’s METER button has additional menus that are helpful for the proper opera- tion and monitoring of your PT controller system. 10.2.2.1 ME-ARC Remote’s PT Controller METER Menus Press the ME-ARC remote’s METER button, rotate the SELECT knob to the 07 PT Meters menu, and then press the SELECT knob to access the 07 PT Meter read-only menus. Rotate the SELECT knob to view the various PT meters. METER: 07A PT Status This read-only menu allows you to scroll through three separate screens to display: the PT’s charging status/fault, the Power status, and fi nally the Relay status. Info: This menu is used to determine if the PT controller is working correctly and for troubleshooting. For any fault mode displayed in the status menu, refer to Section 10.3.2 This is a sample from mine that I've been recording. Plus it show lifetime to batteries. After 11 months so far mines at 1.36 MWH.
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