7'*18' V-Nose Cargo Trailer Toy Hauler Conversion

[flboy]

Ok.. Not trying to rub it in...

Weather is very nice at 73F . Expecting rain tonight however. Got some good riding in. Been nice and relaxing



Happy New Year!





I am parked in alot of shade so trying to scavange whatever rays I can get with portable panel.



View from the hammock. :-)






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[flboy]

I look forward to hearing about how your batteries and charge controller are working ... and your new Victron monitor.

The new Golf Car batteries and Victron Monitor worked perfectly with the existing 40A MPPT Controller. I had to run the gen for 2 hrs total for all 3 days and I was in partial shade. This is not conserving energy at all. The lowest I got was about 80% with 125ah drawn. I turned the Gen on the second evening to top off since the sun did not catch up that day.

I will let you know how long it runs to get to 50%, but right now I am running the AC on solar with some good sun at an angle to the trailer (lower in the sky during winter) and solar is contributing ~17A. I have been running for 30 minutes so far and only down to 95.5% from 100%

This was part of my original design to run the AC a few hours on Solar and Batteries only when pulled over on the road and napping or etc..

These batteries seem to handle the load along with my 1500W pure sine inverter. Only catch with this 8000 btu model AC is I need to turn the fan on and leave it on to make sure it does not try to start with the compressor. Both surges cause the inverter to trip overload. No problem if you start fan first.


AC... compressor kicked on a few minutes ago and already reading 57.4 deg out..



Yes, it is this warm here in FL. today. I am in shorts. Just turned the AC on via Solar/Batt power. Starting to pull down the temp .



The State of Charge I started when I turned the AC on.




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[featherliteCT1]

Thanks for the great write up … I really like that Victron monitor!

Am I correct that you are drawing a net 42.9 amps out of your batteries (per the display on your Victron direct smart monitor) while you are running your AC?

If so, I am thinking that your panels are sending around 17.0 amps into your batteries (per the display on your MPPT controller) in which case your AC would be drawing around 59.9 amps.

Does this make sense or am I all wet?

[flboy]

Thanks for the great write up … I really like that Victron monitor!

Am I correct that you are drawing a net 42.9 amps out of your batteries (per the display on your Victron direct smart monitor) while you are running your AC?

If so, I am thinking that your panels are sending around 17.0 amps into your batteries (per the display on your MPPT controller) in which case your AC would be drawing around 59.9 amps.

Does this make sense or am I all wet?

You got the idea. There may have been some fluctuations in the solar contribution from Phone Pic given the timing of the pics. The actual Victron meter and the Phone App read the same thing in real time. The AC was not the only draw. I had some lights on, other electronics on in standby mode, the stereo, and the Inverter and cabling itself has some losses. It is all in the ballpark and in the realm of what I'd expect. The AC runs about 630W according to the Kilowatt meter reading AC power.

BTW... I ran for an hour and only got down to about 87% charge... but then I had to shut it all off and go to dinner. I did not want to leave it on while I was away. The AC was cycling off at that time... so I imagine with good sun.. I could go 3 or more hours running the AC before I got to the 50% on the batteries. I probably wouldn't do that often at all.. but nice to know I can if needed.

[McDave]

Data! Lots of Data! I love Data. I like nice weather too, but... Sunday night. Livingston/ Paradise Valley MT. 19 in of snow, peak winds @85mph, temp 10f, wind chill,... They won't tell us. But still warmer than today! Currently -16f winds @22mph wind chill -44. On the bright side, only 4 months till spring. Maybe 5 months.
Happy New Year Mr. Smith.

McDave

[flboy]

Data! Lots of Data! I love Data. I like nice weather too, but... Sunday night. Livingston/ Paradise Valley MT. 19 in of snow, peak winds @85mph, temp 10f, wind chill,... They won't tell us. But still warmer than today! Currently -16f winds @22mph wind chill -44. On the bright side, only 4 months till spring. Maybe 5 months.
Happy New Year Mr. Smith.

McDave

That is brutal! Happy New Year McDave!

[flboy]

I have some material(wire, lugs, etc.) on the way to do some wiring upgrades on the CTC to eliminate some cable losses I am experiencing under heavier DC loads. Basically going to double up the 6ft runs of 4Ga wires (12VDC and Gnd effectively making it 1 or 0 gage) going to the inverter and increase the wire gage to from 8 to 6 on the converter. I am dropping about 1V to 1.5V on the inverter wire when running over 1000W. It is not getting hot, but I can feel that it is warmer. The gage would probably be fine for a real short run, but I cannot get the inverter closer to the batteries the way my compartment is and I do not want to change that as I like the layout.

I have also decided to wire up the TV with 6 gage wire coming back from the Alternator/Battery to the rear bumper (properly fuse protected and etc.) I need 12VDC power at the rear bumper for my portable air compressor(tire inflator) and a 12VDC water transfer pump. Because I am putting in the wiring, I am considering adding some house battery charging capability from the TV just for some redundancy or for faster charging if I decide to take the batteries down to 50% at a rest stop running the Air Conditioner off the batteries for a few hours as I nap. Depending on when I resume the trip or the cloudiness in the sky, solar may not have the time to catch up before I get to stop for the night. I may as well take advantage of the Heavy Duty Alternator in my TV.

I have not decided on which type of DC to DC charger I want to put in line. I am afraid if I just put a continuous duty solenoid in and I really run the battery bank down, that I could draw more than 50A through the wiring.. I'd like to to limit the charge to 30A and certainly not more than 50A for that run of 6Ga wire, however, I am not sure I want to spend about $300 for a Sterling DC to DC charger or something similar that limits the charge current for the rare event when I would use it.

I am not clear what the max current draw from the alternator would be if I have drawn the 430aH bank down to 12VDC (~50%) since, as I understand the alternator, it regulates the currents it supplies by the voltage it senses to get it up to 13.4VDC for proper charging. Anyone have any idea? If I knew it would be less than 50A, I may just put in an isolation relay and be done with it, else I need to scrap the idea or get a Sterling charger. Thoughts anyone? I read somewhere that a lead acid battery (bank) can draw 10% to 30% of its rated capacity depending on its State of Charge.. if that is so... I need a proper DC to DC charger in line. 10% would be okay.. but I would not want to see more than that.

My alternator is 225A capable.

[dirtsailor2003]

Phewww! Finally made it through all 145 pages!! Great build and lots of good information!

I find it funny that you are talking about AC in the middle of winter and I am installing a wood stove in my CT so I can go biking and camping this month!

[flboy]

Thanks. Yes all the early build info is in the first 30 pages or so. It has really just turned into a blog as I upgrade, finish certain things, or discover new stuff. I hope it helps in any case.

It has been a warm winter here. Cooling down into the 50s tonight. Burrrrr! ;-)

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[flboy]

Well.. I know why my Exide batteries were weak just before I switched them out... and it is my fault. One battery had dry cells and was reading 11V by itself. The other two had more water, but tops of plates were exposed. They read 12.8V. Bottom line, I did not keep up with the water. I thought they were maintenance free, but guess not. They obviously were venting some over the two years. I am topping them off with distilled water. If the one battery looks like it recovers, I will keep it.. if not, it is gone. In any case, I am going to keep this bank for a hurricane power source for radios and etc.. Live and learn. I will be keeping up with my new Duracell Golf Car Bank! Bought a filler!



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[JRAnt74]

Flboy,

About you using your TV to charge the house batteries, it can be done without a dc to dc charger, however as a diesel mechanic I would not recommend it. We have several trucks with dual battery banks, one for starting truck itself and another to run the no idle hvac system. Trucks do not have any charge controllers, but are isolated so starter can not use the "house batteries" and it seems to kill the alternators faster in those trucks. I'll be honest, I'm not an expert on the system, just giving my observation on what I have had to diagnose and repair.

Hope this helps with your situation, if not I apologize in advance. If anyone else has more solid info to work from, I'm gamefor learning new stuff.

James

[Rainier70]

I was kicking around the idea of using an inverter off of the truck and plugging in a battery charger to go to the CT's batteries.

Discussion was here: viewtopic.php?f=30&t=71172

[pchast]

I wonder about losses gong through an inverter and then a charger.
I set up my batteries with a line from the start battery to a solar
charge controller. No trouble yet after a few years and roughly
12000 miles( i guess ).

Caution these are not at all scientific results.

[JRAnt74]

I was kicking around the idea of using an inverter off of the truck and plugging in a battery charger to go to the CT's batteries.

Discussion was here: viewtopic.php?f=30&t=71172

Rainier,

I read the thread you linked, some great info in there! I most certainly learned something from it, thanks! Gave me a few ideas for down the road on my trailer build.

Hope everyone is enjoying their weekends,
James

[ris]

Not sure if the Sterling would be worth it to you but we used it a lot on our journey of almost 14,000 miles. We did get the 30 amp charger and we went up 1 cable size for the length of run at 30 amps. We used 50 amp rated quick connects from truck to trailer. It was nice to always arrive with battery charge of 100%. We had 4 six volt trojan 105 batteries. We watered them every 30 to 35 days and the water level was never near the top of the plates. I know you are going to enjoy Moab if you are still going there. It has been crazy warm here in Florida lately as you know. McDave knows he has a place to stay in Florida, he just loves that cooool Montana weather.
Richard