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jcussen

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Everything posted by jcussen

  1. jcussen
    You are never too old for an EV, bought a used Tesla Model 3 two years ago for less than what I have been paying for the used Porsches and MB's I usually buy. Paid about $9000 for a house solar system to charge the car and run fridges and freezers, and a small AC.. Figure 3 years to pay off the solar in gas and grid electricity savings, then another 4 or 5 to make the car free. I might not make it that far, but the kids will be happy I made the investment.
  2. jcussen
    You concentrator may even us more power at higher altitudes. http://nsbri.org/researches/evaluation-of-oxygen-concentrators-at-altitude/
  3. jcussen
    Battle Born claims 3000 to 5000 cycles at 100% discharge. Of course if you do not go to 100%, you will get many more cycles. Lithium will take a 1C charge, in battleborn's case 100 amps until fully charged, so they will charge 4 or 5 times faster that a lead acid. If you can afford it, would go to 4 battleborns with 4800 watt hours, this leaves you some cushion and will extend your battery life to 5000+ cycles. This will give you over 13 + years of service if you are full timing and dry camping. Agree with John T solar and a small generator would be the best way to go for recharging. Of course lithium never has to be brought to 100% like lead acid, so you can charge at your convenience. https://battlebornbatteries.com/faq/
  4. jcussen
    For the price of the Pro Package, you could get 3600 watt hours out of 3 battle born 100 a/h and still have $500+ to put into a small inverter and a improved converter for charging lithiums. Lithiums charge much faster than lead acid, so will cut down on you gen run time..
  5. jcussen
    Post the Joule Case model you want, and post the amp or watt draw of the concentrator and we can figure it out.
  6. jcussen
    If it will supply the required power, it will probably work, but no free lunch, you will have to recharge it and replenish all the power the Joule Case used to power your concentrator.
  7. jcussen
    Actually John, most LiFePO4 battery manufacturers do not recommend keeping SOC at 100% if at all possible. Lithium never really has to be brought to 100% like lead acid. Battleborn told me 60 to 80% was optimal.. I do this by turning on and off one solar array. Tesla recommends keeping SOC below 85% for best battery longevity, if not going on a trip where max, mileage is needed. I liked my smartgauge when I had lead acid, but found that the smartgauge algorithm will not work with lithium, so had to go to a shunt type battery monitor. Agree with equal load and charge balance, I used the same size wire and length when wiring my batteries to common busbars.
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  9. jcussen
    Agree with more frequent transmission oil changes. I also change mine at 30000 miles and use only Honda transmission fluid.
  10. jcussen
    Yes, would not worry too much about surge, that will probably be less than a second. I size for the normal full output of the inverter, but bare in mind you will seldom be running at full output of inverter. I have a lot of gear in my coach, and seldom draw more than 2000 watts off my 3000 watt inverter. I use this chart for sizing wire. https://www.bluesea.com/support/articles/Circuit_Protection/1437/Part_1%3A_Choosing_the_Correct_Wire_Size_for_a_DC_Circuit
  11. jcussen
  12. jcussen
    Lot of variables here. Hard to tell from pictures. Probable best to put batteries inside coach if possible, inverter and charge controllers as close to them as possible. Need to consider high voltage runs also, compromises will have to be made any way you do.
  13. jcussen
    Agree with John, having panels sticking out farther that coach width is asking for problems. Lot easier to run 120 volt wiring to and from your inverter than running 12 or 24 volt cables. I would try to put all my low voltage equipment in one compartment and just modify your 120 volt lines to your inverter.
  14. jcussen
    Towed a 02 all wheel drive and a 08 front wheel drive for many miles. Believe 14 was the last year because Honda went to the CVT transmission. Thinking by the amount of CRV toads I see on the road, they might be the most popular toad.
  15. jcussen
    Best I have had for boondocking was a 34 ft diesel pusher. 102 fw, 110 gray, 52 black, 42 gal propane and 148 fuel with an 8 kw generator. Small enough to get into tight spots, but enough tankage to stay a while. A 25 ft sprinter style or small class c would probably be the best for getting there and back, but the small tanks really curtail your staying power.
  16. jcussen
    Have a 12 volt Victron multiplus 3000 hybrid, so load sharing with shorepower if necessary, bluetooth control. best inverter I have ever used, programmable to any type of lithium or lead acid battery. Been used by boaters for many years, only in the last 5 years have they become popular with rvers. I routinely run my 15000 btu ac off of it with no problems. https://www.victronenergy.com/inverters-chargers/multiplus-12v-24v-48v-800va-3kva
  17. jcussen
    Funny you mention that. Was in 110 f Arizona heat last year sitting outside, Set up my misting fan, felt good, but my two rescue dogs thought it was too cool and crawled under the coach.
  18. jcussen
  19. jcussen
    Temp may or may not be a factor when using lithium. Coaches and trailers with batteries out in the open may present a problem, but on many Class A's, and 5th wheels, batteries will be in a compartment that can be insulated and heated if necessary or in the coach itself. Low wattage heating pads on a thermostat work well. I have mine in a compartment with a 200 watt cube heater on 42-35 degree thermostat. Have not been in extended below 0 temps, but have never seen my heater come on. Battleborn's for example, claim a discharge down to -4 f and charging down to 25 f. Their BMS will prevent discharge or charge if not in the proper range. When charging or discharging, there is alway some heat generated inside the battery, so outside temps are not always an indicator of battery usefulness. Storage temps, with no activity are -10 f to 140 f, so if you are constantly below -10 f, would be a good idea to store batteries in a warmer place, but at 30 lbs each, pretty easy to move.
  20. jcussen
    I looked at both, the 2005 dynaquest I looked is of course much bigger outside, but did not like the fold out bed taking up half the interior space, leaving no chairs, did not lay down on it though. the small 210 hp mbz engine did not thrill me either, ended up with a sprinter with rear twin beds, and usable seating even with slide in. But paid well over twice as much for a new sprinter which has the 7 speed transmission. Don't know about newer Dynaquests, if they still make them though, there were none for sale when I was looking.
  21. jcussen
    In most cases, original wiring to 12 volt panels and loads will be fine, I also run 6 battleborn's and run 4 gauge from each battery to busbar. [limited by bms to 100 amps charge/discharge] My original wiring to inverter was 3/0 and with a heavy load got warm, so swapped it out to 4/0, but I have a 3000 watt inverter. Depending on how many amps are coming out of controllers, 2 gauge is probably overkill, I run 50 amps out of one controller and 30 out of the other and use 4 gauge. Alternator will not put out the 14.4 volts your BB's like, so you will probably need a dc-dc charger if you want to fully utilize your alternator. I use this one. .https://www.invertersupply.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=195599&gclid=Cj0KCQjwhb36BRCfARIsAKcXh6EWPk4xNbhlFY07PT8CpAo8em9wmyCVK51xnT3J7MYeUBnuTIW With enough solar, you may be able to run one ac [with easystart] running down the road without running generator. Don't forget a good battery monitor, very important with lithium, I like the BMV 712, bluetooth so no wires to run. Most Victron solar controllers are also bluetooth, so you can do settings and read amps and volts all from your phone.
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  23. jcussen
  24. jcussen
    House is a separate 48 volt system on my house to charge my car and run fridges and freezers.. Sorry for the confusion. On coach am running two series strings, one at 120 volts down and one at 60 volts down. Solar charge controllers will take that high voltage and reduce it to what my batteries require, in my case 14.4 volts. My coach battery system is 12 volts only, if I had a higher voltage would have to reduce it to handle the 12 volt loads and modify alternator charging to charge higher than 12 volt batteries. Like I said, wanted a 48 volt system in my coach, but after figuring out all the extra cost associated with going back to the 12 volts the coach needs, found it not a fiscally practical. Your case may be different though. For my house higher voltage was more practical.
  25. jcussen
    Other than an inverter, what other dedicated 24/48 volt devices are used in a motorhome. I hear there are some 48 volt ac's on the market, but have not seen one. Efficiency on a 48 volt inverter is about the same as a 12 volt one. Wiring will be smaller, of course, but if you have your controllers, batteries, and inverters in close proximity, and use the proper size wiring, can't see much difference.
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