Save RV Power - Check Refrigerator Settings

I was unhappy with the battery life I was getting after each recharge so I went in search of the culprit. One of the RV deep cycle batteries was new and possibly defective.

I started by checking the voltage level on my RV deep cycle batteries each night before bed. In the morning I found a significant drop in voltage. That narroed it down to the 5th wheel’s accessories or a bad battery. Switching the voltmeter to the ammeter setting I determined a .72 amp draw on the RV batteries. This was too high a power draw so I discounted the bad battery option and focused on the appliances.

The refrigerator should be the only appliance or accessory running at all times so that was the logical place to start. Pulling a fuse labeled “power Vents” the power drain when down to .02 amps (obviously the clock on the stereo) and the refrigerator went off (obviously the “power vent” circuit).

A propane powered refrigerator should not use that much electric power; I went the Dometic RV refrigerator owner’s manual. After searching I found a minor reference to switch “C”.

Switch “C” (a rocker switch cleverly hidden above the freezer door and under the control panel) is the climate control switch. This little switch heats up the refrigerator door frame to prevent moisture accumulation. Who needs it?

Turning off switch “C” (climate control) lowered my power consumption by .5 amps. Now that may not sound like much but I did the math and found:
a) In a 24 hour period that would run my laptop for 2 hours.
b) In a 24 hour period I would need 4 hours of direct sunlight on my solar battery charger to replace that power.
c) A 100 amp/hr deep cycle RV battery would be depleted in 200 hours or 8 days just to heat a door frame.

So friends if you are living on battery power and want to extend your time between recharges, turn off switch “C”.

Until the next post; Hey! Make power while the sun shines!
OR_M
Deer Mountain Sno-Park, Ca: N 41° 34.255’ W 122° 07.857’ 5,825 ft

Solar Powered Laptops

It is some what of an oxymoron to take your laptop camping but you can enjoy both. To take your laptop to the beach to play games is a bit foolish but if you need to get some computing work done after sundown, than why not. Of coarse living on the road everyday is like a day at the beach.

So you are enjoying your time in the shade of a tall pine knowing you have only 2 hours of battery life. How do you extend your time in the cool breeze? Two options come to mind.

1. Carry a spare laptop battery. This is an easy but costly way to extend your computing time. You are limited to one type of laptop and it has no other functions.
2. Carry a small rechargeable battery pack that can be recharged using a solar battery charger.

What I have done is purchased a Slime rechargeable tire inflator and a Die Hard 140 watt power inverter. For more tech info see Solar Powered Laptop.

This second option works for me because unlike a backup laptop battery, the tire inflator battery can be charged from any AC outlet, any automotive cigarette lighter outlet or my solar charger. The combination extends my computing time longer than an additional laptop battery. Most importantly all components serve dual purposes.

I use the tire inflator to keep up the air pressure in my tires and as a portable 12 volt DC power source for multiple 12v accessories. Adding the power inverter to the battery pack I have a portable 110 volt AC power source for small tools or appliances. Also the inverter can be plugged into any cigarette lighter in any vehicle or RV.

The only change I would make is the Die Hard power inverter. The fan is noisy and runs constantly even when nothing is plugged into it.

If you are a gadget person try this setup.

• Plug a cigarette lighter 2 way adapter into your portable 12v DC power supply.
• Plug a solar charger into one receptacle to charge the battery.
• Plug a 140 watt power inverter into the other receptacle to run a laptop.

For all the details on using solar battery chargers to power laptops and more go to
Info Share Solar Laptop at Search-Hints.com

Until the next post: A wise man say “’tis better to let the fly live than to dump your laptop in the dirt.”
OR_M

No RV Generators Please

I have traveled for many years in RVs and always have hated generators. Many of us escape to the out-of-doors to relax and for some peace and quiet. Generators ruin the experience for me. I am relatively high tech and can run everything I need on battery power.

Over view of running on batteries.

Most RVs today run the essentials on 12 volt battery power. Adding any 110 volt device will require a power inverter. Today’s 12 volt DC to 110 volt AC power inverters are quiet, inexpensive, about 85% efficient and easy to use.

Selecting a power inverter.

Begin at the end! How much power do I need to run all this stuff?

You will need to address two power issues.
Continuous power output (continuous watts of power).
Peak or surge power. All electronic device need an extra boost to get them stared. That boost is called peak power and lasts for mil-seconds. However that peak power must be addresses and an inverter selected that will handle that peak power.

Gather your power hungry devices and group them by task, e.g., to view a DVD you will need a DVD player and TV. Add up the total watts needed to run your devices (most devices list power requirements). If the power usage is listed in amps, multiply the amps times 110 volts (amps x volts = watts). Note the task with the largest watt usage. You will need an inverter that will output more power than the largest task.

What you have just done is to address the continuous power consumption of your devices. To find the peak power consumption you may need to go to the operator’s or owner’s manual. You will not be able to find the peak power listed for all devices. A good starting point is twice the rated watts but 4 times or more is possible.

When using more than one device at a time; turn the devices on one at a time beginning with the device with the highest PEAK power.

In my case the goal was to run a laptop (65w) and printer (20w) total 85 continuous watts.
Hey, why not watch some TV too! TV (54w) and VCR/DVD (30w) total 84 continuous watts. I like to listen to TV while using my laptop (169 w) but to prolong battery power I will do one at a time.

I could get by with a 100 watt inverter and use it to the max. I know better. So I went with a Black & Decker 400 watt 800 watt peak output inverter.

The saga begins!

I setup the inverter using the cigar lighter adapter supplied with the inverter. I plugged in a fan and it worked. I unplugged the fan and plugged in the TV. The internal circuit protection feature shutdown the unit. I did not even turn the TV on. Must be a faulty unit…right? Returned it and same thing happened with the new unit. Conclusion; this inverter is not compatible with the TV. Returned it.

Purchased a Die Hard 400 watt inverter. It was very noisy but did not shutdown…until I turned the TV on. Conclusion; my little 13” 54 watt TV peaks at more than 800 watts. I returned the Die Hard inverter.

As the Die Hard inverter was very noisy, I decided to go back to Black & Decker and I purchase a 750 watt inverter.

This 750 watt Black & Decker inverter did not come with a cigar lighter adapter but must be clamped directly to the battery. This unit was quiet and worked well; all I needed now was a table next to the battery for the TV and a lawn chair to sit on. Solution; make my own cigar lighter adapter. The inverter did not like my idea and shutdown when I tried to use it. It wanted nothing less than 8 gauge wires to feed it over the starting peak even though the continuous draw was only 54 watts. Working Solution; hard wire the 5th wheel with an 8 gauge direct battery feed to the inverter.

Moral of the story.

Get a larger inverter than you think you will need.
Use the largest wire possible for the Battery to Inverter connection.

Until the next post, don’t get your wires crossed!
OR_M