OverTheTopCargoTrailer 7 x 16

[OverTheTopCargoTrailer]

No No No 8ball

Only 1 charge controller is needed
actually if you go to 24 volts - you can double the panels

The rule pretty much is if the panel amps or volts are within 10% then you can slap the stuff together....
what happens is that you then go to the lowest amps or to the lowest volts,
in my case I would drop from 30 volts to 27.6 for all 8 panels

Of course its overkill ....the whole project is overkill
The project does have SMALL cost over runs ...like any home remodel....or NASA project going to Mars
at least its one of a kind & I could always use the stuff on a small house or remove and install on larger trailer...??
I got a friend who's crazy wife is dropping $100k on a average kitchen remodel, believe the old kitchen was great.

Mostly its a fun project breaking my NUT on how to install all that crap....into a cargo trailer vs. a house
There are those people who buy those tiny houses on 6 x 12 trailers for $50k.....
Those guys are much, much, much, much more Fruit Loops then I am

Besides when it comes to ac - its only getting hotter out there
hopefully somebody learns something from all my screw ups - that they can
use on their house or CT project ?

http://overthetopcargotrailer.blogspot.com/

[OverTheTopCargoTrailer]

The new water heater has arrived and I'm starting to install it.
Here are a few pictures for you guys.
This way is easier - but only allows 3 pictures max
But more information is on my blog with the link below.

I figured out if you double click on the pictures below it makes them larger &
you don't need to do the scroll up and scroll down to see them

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Above is the older water heater

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Here are the guts of the newer water heater

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Picture of the water heater bolted to trailer front panel.
This large treadplate metal panel is attached with 1/4" stainless bolts about 1/2" away from the trailer skin
and that sucker will not come off , no matter what.


More pictures and details are on my blog ...as usual - easier to post pics there !!

http://overthetopcargotrailer.blogspot.com/

[OverTheTopCargoTrailer]

I made a little more progress & decided to send my limit of 3 more pictures.....

Plumbing is done....JUST GOOD...there is no government inspector to remind me
that I forgot to install the drain down valves & pressure valve

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Guess which one is the hot The old water heater had 1/2" - this has the standard 3/4" MPT

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Ooops ...I really did forget to add the $150 in drain down valves & PT valve
I wonder if it would work just as well unscrewing the fittings ?

I dont see myself having to flush the tank in the next few years due to scale build up

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Actually I think this heater should be able to function with just 1 tank, I will report back in the future
as it does dot use 180k Btu - till 7.5 GPM and I won't be using more then
1.1 GPM so that should put me around 26,000 Btu max ...
again the reason for the 2 bottles was due to the Propane Dealers recommendation that the single tank would FREEZE over
if just one bottle was used, especially when they were low ....the old heater pulled 150k BTU - and was not that adjustable.


http://overthetopcargotrailer.blogspot.com/

[OverTheTopCargoTrailer]

Houston - OTTCT - reports ignition on all burners @ 5:15 PST


Main water heater burn was successful




all burners are running A - OK

Temperature controller was verified as operational 98-120 degrees

[bdosborn]

Hmmm, I wonder if you get get hot water heat off that thing? It would have to be an open system to keep it from blowing up but I bet you could circulate hot water through your trailer somehow.

Bruce

[8ball_99]

No No No 8ball


Of course its overkill ....the whole project is overkill
The project does have SMALL cost over runs ...like any home remodel....or NASA project going to Mars
at least its one of a kind & I could always use the stuff on a small house or remove and install on larger trailer...??
I got a friend who's crazy wife is dropping $100k on a average kitchen remodel, believe the old kitchen was great.

Mostly its a fun project breaking my NUT on how to install all that crap....into a cargo trailer vs. a house
There are those people who buy those tiny houses on 6 x 12 trailers for $50k.....
Those guys are much, much, much, much more Fruit Loops then I am

Besides when it comes to ac - its only getting hotter out there
hopefully somebody learns something from all my screw ups - that they can
use on their house or CT project ?

http://overthetopcargotrailer.blogspot.com/

I think you took it the wrong way. I really wasn't saying it was a bad idea just cause of cost. By all means spend as much money on your trailer as you want. I myself have around 13k in mine. I did not take the get by with as little as possible approach, But at the same time I tried to keep the costs down with out us having to do with out. Now if you just want to run an AC on solar and battery power regardless of the cost or how practical it is go for it. Add more panels add a couple more batteries, add a good inverter and give it a go..
To me though running the AC in the afternoon for a few hours is not all that helpful.. Everyone camps their own way.. But me for example.. I just got back from a 3 day trip Evarts KY,, About 800 miles round trip. We spend the days outside or gone. We cook dinner sit around the fire then go to bed.. We really only need the AC right before bed in the evening. The only time we are sitting in the trailer midday is if its raining which then the panels aren't that much use. Heck with our little honda generator if we are camping in really hot weather I'll fill the tank half way crank everything up and let the generator run till it runs out of gas.. Half gallon is good for a few hours.

[OverTheTopCargoTrailer]

No 8ball ....

We are cool, no offense was taken..... you, Shadow Catcher , Bruce - aka bdosborn & Gadget Man are my Fav's
I might be coming around to your approach anyway
Your idea & plan is not bad at all
I have noticed if I run the fan which is a 2000 cfm - that I just put on the bottom it really keeps the trailer very cool,
plus or minus about 2 degrees of the exterior temp - that was really a big surprise to me ....
I also have the 4 - 80mm computer fans in the top vent , so everything is supper quiet.....
if the trailer is hot , its usually just a matter of a few hours for the heat to be gone.

Also I'm not real happy with the service of Solar companies ...they really only wanna bother with customers who buy $40k+ systems
if you order on line they are fine...but when you wanna talk to a person who knows + from - then it gets a little dicy.


Bruce you are 100% right

With this system it can be used as a hot water circulation system , the cold does not really bother me as much "less then the heat"
but I was thinking to try it out, by filling my 40 gallon interior front tank with hot water & that would give off a good amount of BTU's for nice slow heat
I would guess one would only need about 30,000 to 50,000 Btu , also my interior on its own stays +10 deg over the exterior temp already "vents closed"
I'm so happy this heater works because its always big stress installing something like this.......the first time,
lots of time the stuff out of the box does not work - missing fuse etc....
AND they "retailers - manufacturer " all wanna give you the finger if it does not work "using the excuse your not a licensed contractor" Yada Yada Yada !!!
what ever sh** will stick in their case....to weesel out of the problem....
I just need to finish the wiring, the heater uses 2 watts on standby, 50 watts while running & 100 watts on Freeze protection when below 32 deg

gotta run now

[8ball_99]

Cool. Yep fans do wonders.. We have two fantastic fans in ours. I set one to in and the other to out. They were the main reason I added solar.. I like to leave them on all day. With the fans on my trailer will stay inside pretty much the same temp as outside in the shade. It just works better leaving them on vs trying to come back to a hot trailer and cool it down. Running both fans all day plus what was used during the night and in the morning would pretty much nock my single battery down to the point it needed charged. So I'd have to run the generator for an hour or two just to recharge.. I added a second battery to give me a larger reserve and added soalar to keep them charged. With my panels the fans running all day pull nothing from the batteries.. And I have enough power to also recharge what was used over the night. I also have a truesine wave inverter that we use to run the TV and bluray. Heck I even run our awning LED lights off it. So far everything has worked great. I kind of wish now I would have got a larger inverter. Mine is only 600 watts and isn't large enough to run the microwave( atleast I dont' think).. So now the only time I ever fire the generator up is to use it. With a larger inverter I really don't think I'd even need a generator 98% of the time..

[droid_ca]

Somebody had posted a while back a lesson they learned from their dog that under the trailer is cooler so they installed a fan that drew the cool air from under neath the trailer sounds like it would be a good set up just have to have screens to keep out the bugs

[Glenlivet]

Somebody had posted a while back a lesson they learned from their dog, that under the trailer is cooler so they installed a fan that drew the cool air from under neath the trailer sounds like it would be a good set up, just have to have screens to keep out the bugs

...And to screen out the dog hair! Not much you can do about the imported dog breath.

Actually I'd have to think that within a few minutes of such a fan operating, the cool air under the trailer will have been drawn away, replaced with ambient air the same temperature as it is outside in the open. The air may be cooler under the trailer, but only if you don't remove it! (unless you have parked the trailer over a creek!)
Besides, wouldn't pulling all that warm air under the trailer upset the poor panting dog?

[droid_ca]

I think if you are half parked in the shade then you will draw the cooler air minus the bugs...it might be worth testing to see if the air moves and it is warm underneath or if it stays cool

[pmowers]

I think if you are half parked in the shade then you will draw the cooler air minus the bugs...it might be worth testing to see if the air moves and it is warm underneath or if it stays cool

I would think that the trailer being over that patch of ground would prevent it from getting heated up by the sun, allowing it to very slightly cool the air coming over it. I am almost always cooler in the shade than I am the sun, even though the air is the same temp. Dog breath on the other hand....that's a different matter.

Pat

[OverTheTopCargoTrailer]

You guys gotta read my blog more...as I have more pictures over there....

Here is the fan I have under the trailer 14" model 2,000 CFM & it kicks BUTT
ONLY USES 50 WATTS ... tested on meter myself
on the upper vent i have 4 x 80mm computer fans for 320 CFM

Everything is supper quiet
this fan was only $49.... funny I was sorta pissed off at the sky high price of the "OTHER FAMOUS BRAND"
strange because I'm spending money like a drunken sailor

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I got the 14" smaller model, even has 3 speeds

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Sorry just twist your head to see the box ...fan is from Lowes, 18" model is $79 I think ??

http://overthetopcargotrailer.blogspot.com/

[8ball_99]

LoL I know you have plenty of power.. But just throwing this out there.. That fan uses 50 watts AC correct? If you do the math on that 50 watts AC @110v =.47 amps AC. That .46 AC amps is like 4.66 amps DC. This is not counting for the inverter losses.. Thats still not bad considering the air moved, But thats still over twice the power then the vent fans most trailers have..
A watt at 110v is much more then a watt at 12v.. Lower voltage always gets you higher amperage.. And the amps your pulling is what matters.

The air under the trailer is cooler because the ground is shaded. So the cooler ground=cooler air.. The problem in my mind with pulling air from down there is the warm air from outside getting pulled over the cool ground should either warm the ground or if pulling the air fast enough it wouldn't have time for the ground to absorb any of the heat.. Either way I don't think it would really help all that much with a small footprint. It wouldn't be any different then opening a window on the awning side of the trailer..

[OverTheTopCargoTrailer]

8Ball

I swear the 50 watt fan kicks ass...it works really good ....
it is 10 x better then my roof vent fans at 320 cfm and about 1.5 amps DC
I used to have a attic fan down there and it was loud as hell & sucked 300 watts & shook the trailer

Here is my newest idea to secure the solar panels to the side of the trailer and still allow tilt up function
I found these patio door locks $11 each .. what do you think

The panels will be installed inside 1/8" x 1.5" x 1.5" alum angle iron on the top with hinges and bottom of the panel
then the locks to hold the lower section in place and locked down

a panel lock.JPG (93.47 KiB) Viewed 258 times

don't know why the dam picture is sideways
The metal lever retracts the 2" bolt all the way down
I will use 2 locks per panel, well they are for honest people mostly.


http://overthetopcargotrailer.blogspot.com/