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Good choice, given the new PD charger is 45A. I believe the original ones were 30A and ours usually read between 20-25A when plugging into shore power. The Blue Sky SC is 25A so 6AWG is just fine. When I upgraded, I found the ground bus (the one on the floor with many yellow jacketed wires connected) only had one 6 AWG connection to the batteries. Our new inverter/charger is rated at 120A, but i have it set for 50A. Instead of replacing the 6 AWG, I merely added a second 6 AWG wire. Together two 6 AWG cables are equal to one 3 AWG cable. This may be an option for you too. You need 4 AWG (or 2x 6 AWG) wire size on both sides, the B+ Red and B- Yellow connections from your new charger to your new Epoch battery. See these links the first one is to calculate wire size, and the second one allows you to calculate the combined AWG of multiple wires: 1) Wire Size Calculator (wirebarn.com) 2) Wire Combination Calculator (wirebarn.com)
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Houghton AC-installing a Honeywell PRO 1000 Thermostat
Nan replied to Nan's topic in General Discussion
Just read your post! Thank you so much for the information John!!! -
OK, let me try to get through everyone's good advice! π My new PD converter/charger module is the PD4045CSV, which puts out a max 45 amps. My solar array is 200 watts (Elite 1 remember). I think the newer models are a bit more.... I hope to add an aux 100 watt panel in the future, so 300 watts of panels. Yes, my Blue Sky charge controller is for the solar panels, and there is already a schunt installed that communicates with my Blue Sky IPN Remote display. It sounds like 6awg works for the solar side of my battery charging, but is lacking for the increased amp output of my new converter/charger? According to Snackchaser"s chart, 4awg wire would be the correct size, for the 45amp output of my converter/charger. I think I have enough OEM 6awg wire to install new crimp connectors and keep that wire in place from my charge controller . Some of the old ones were not so great. Even have some exposed wire on two connections that were over stripped and then the heat shrink was cut too short..... For the new converter/charger, I'll run new 4awg to the battery. Sounds like a plan is emerging! Not a lot of room in my trailer's electrical space under rear dinette seat, so glad I don't have to break in to my BS charge controller, it's kind of buried in there. Thanks again everyone for helping me through this. I'm good with the tools, but with the design side of electrical work I'm a bit lacking. Best, Dave PS. guess I'll also have to check the fuse from the converter/charger to battery to make sure it's rated for 45 amps.
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Sherry, the water heater works fine..it is the refrigerator that was not working on gas, but working on 30 amp. I am going to try turning on the stove the next time I am over at the camper and then see if the refrigerator will fire off.
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And, then, there was the Wally Bee. Looks a bit like a UK fiberglass trailer of its time but, hey, it's very cool. Aluminum was cheaper, back in the day. Fiberglass was a newer, expensive process https://www.airstream.com/blog/airstreams-foray-into-fiberglass/
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Yes. Those are really nice, and many of us have them, @jd1923 Thanks for the update, as it's been reported before, but newcomers don't always look at older posts. None of us have bodies that are getting "younger", unfortunately. A few $$ to ease the process is often appreciated.
- Yesterday
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Nan, which water heater do you have? If your water heater is a standard six gallon, it could be set to electric, not gas, and work if you have hookups, but no propane. Try the stove and see if it will light. I always did this first, before trying to run the fridge on gas, when we had a 3way. The stove top uses more gas, helps to clean out any "air bubbles," in my opinion. Every 3way I ever had in the last few decades could throw error codes on the main panel. Number and letter, or just numbers. Which fridge do you have?
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rich.dev started following Factory installed DC to DC charger
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Dave, I didn't do a great job at answering your question, so here is some better detail . #6 is the correct minimum wire size for a 30 amp charger, which would be a small charger for your battery. Verify which PD model you ordered because the higher amperage models charge faster, but they require larger wire. There are on-line βdcβ calculators to determine minimum wire size based on amps, volts, and length of cable. I ran the numbers for the PD 30, 45, 60, and 80 amp lithium chargers. This was based on an guess-estimated one-way cable run of 8β, and a targeted voltage drop of less than 2%, these are the results: 30 amps = #6 awg 45 amps = #4 awg 60 amps = #3 awg 80 amps = #2 awg These numbers might vary slightly depending on the actual wire length and other factors, but if in doubt, go large! I hope this helps. Cheers! Geoff
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I was recently asked about Oliverβs Email offering of a DC to DC charger, how long it takes to charge, and whether itβs worth it. I can provide thoughts about the one I installed, but I donβt know anything about what Oliver is doing. This seemed to be a good topic for the forum because it would nice to find out more details of what Oliver is installing, and what other folks think about it. I think the DC to DC chargers are great if there is limited solar, no hook-ups, and you are frequently driving. I donβt think they are good for regular battery charging while parked, but they are a great emergency back-up if needed. If you use a lot of power like TV, internet, toasters, hair dryers, microwaves, cappuccino machines, etc., itβs nice to know that you will be charging on the way to the next camp. Charging times depend on a lot of factors. But for a rough idea, a typical factory setup with 340 watt solar panels puts out roughly 26 amps, which theoretically can charge the 390 amp hour battery from 0% to 100% in about 15 hours, or 7.5 hours from 50% to 100%. A 30 amp DC/DC charger would take about 13 or 6.5 hours respectively, if my math is right. Of course I donβt know how many amps Oliver's DC to DC charger is. I installed a Victron 30 amp DC/DC charger because the solar was not keeping up with my old power hungry Starlink, and the battery would run down after a few days. I originally assumed it was a lack of sun for the solar, but it later turned out that the solar charger had become disconnected somewhere in my travels. After re-connecting it, I realized that the solar probably would have easily kept up with the Starlink, particularly with the new ones that donβt use that much power. Please donβt ask me why I didnβt recognize this problem sooner. . . I donβt have a good answer. My other justification for a DC/DC charger was air-conditioning. Although the ac can run from the battery, itβs only for short periods. We plan on doing some desert boondocking and my idea is to run the ac from the DC/DC charger while driving - so that the trailer will be cool when we get to camp. It works, but it still uses a little battery juice also. Itβs nice to have a cool trailer for camp set-up, but a generator is still needed for long periods in hot weather. IDK, it might be a bad idea. FYI, I added cooling fans on my Victron DC/DC charger because it derates 3% for every degree over 104 to the point where it shuts down. That would likely happen in the desert and I could end up draining the battery with the ac running while driving down the road. See my βMore DC to DC charger installation Tidbitsβ post for details on the fans. Anyway, Iβm interested to hear others thoughts on this because it's becoming a growing trend. Cheers, Geoff
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Here is the article on upgrading hull 505. it included new inverter and batteries. https://4-ever-hitched.com/ggs-blog/f/lithium-battery-upgrade?blogcategory=Electrical+Upgrades
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Sea Biscuit Rear Basket and Storage Boxes
jd1923 replied to Steve and MA's topic in Ollie Modifications
Do what I do. Always leave the sewer hose attached while on the road! π€£ Put the cap on the end of the hose. It must still be a reach with a big-a basket like this one. Nice product, but the back of my 8 ft pickup truck bed would have to get awfully full, for us to spend this kind of money for extra storage, and with the extra weight behind the trailer. -
Just found this today and could have used it yesterday! To grease the inner tie rods on my truck, I had to turn the steering all the way left to get the driver side and then all the way right to get the passenger side. I really dislike crawling under a truck and not having everything I need. Crawl out, back in, again and again. It's getting harder on the older body! Next time, I'll have this and perhaps it will allow me to grease the Oliver with the wheels on. Glad to see LockNLube makes this. Just bought one! Amazon.com: LockNLube 90 Degree Grease Coupler Adapter : Automotive
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Sea Biscuit Rear Basket and Storage Boxes
Boilermaker Chemist replied to Steve and MA's topic in Ollie Modifications
How is access to the sewer hose termination fitting? Looks like it might be rather difficult. -
We have used our Beech Lane at every stop this trip. Not bad for $80 and it has been dead on. Handy for sure!
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My bet is we were with an Oliver ha! π
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This weekend I installed a HP Billet Alum water pump on our Ram. The WP is one known weakness of the stock Cummins. New antifreeze, changed oil and filter, new air filter too. Jacked up the front to make getting under her easier. Lastly, I greased the front end using the new Dewalt with LockNLube fitting. Adam walked by, βwhatβs that?β (He has a half dozen Dewalt power tools.) nothing cooler than a power grease gun, btw. TV ready to head to Tejas! π€£
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Air conditioning condensation drain ?
Boilermaker Chemist replied to kurtv's topic in General Discussion
I just installed a LevelMate Pro myself, pretty handy. -
Dave, 6 AWG is all you need. The ONLY reason for anything heavier is when running an inverter. OTT uses 6 AWG to connect the PD charger, the 12VDC fuse panel and everything else. Make sure all B+ and B- connections are clean and tight. I cut 1/2β off each end to bare new copper in the buses, but if you have good eyelets to the batteries, just steel brush them Blue Sky SC in our hull also uses 6 AWG in and out. Check my upgrade link re configuring the Blue Sky for LiFePo4. Good battery choice, btw! π€£
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That is correct. Keeping our trailer level is a high priority. ππ» During this trip we have been using the Beech Lane leveling system. It works excellent. https://www.beech-lane.com/wireless-rv-leveling-system-1
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Air conditioning condensation drain ?
Boilermaker Chemist replied to kurtv's topic in General Discussion
I have the same issue. When I had my OE2 in for service at the factory Jason told me that the drain pan on the Truma is very shallow and can easily overflow at the front without flowing out the drain line. Note Truma manual states operation at an incline of over 4% can cause damage to the unit due to running the compressor dry. -
I'm no expert, but If you're not installing an inverter, then minimum wire size would be dictated by your Progressive Dynamics charger output which is probably around 60 to 90 amps depending on the model. Iβd personally go with 4/0 wire. This will cover large amperage chargers and/or an inverter if you ever wanted to upgrade. I think Oliver uses 4/0 in their lithium systems. Is the BlueSky charge controller for solar? If so, then it's probably around 30 amps for a 340 watt panel. You can re-use your #6 wire for that. Battery shops or Battery Cables USA will custom make different size/length cables with straight or 90 degree lugs. Plan your run, measure lengths and verify the stud sizes you need, probably all 3/8β. For cost perspective, I ordered a 24β x 4/0 cable with lugs in January for $30 including shipping. 2/0 was a couple of dollars cheaper per foot. I also highly recommend that you install a Victron smart shunt on the negative lead so you will know your battery charge percentage level. Something to think about if your ordering pre-made cables. They use 3/8 studs too. Hope this helps, Geoff
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Just saw your post, sherry. No error codes. I do not think I have any place for error codes on my fridge. The HW tank worked great while camping. I did notice when I turned on the tank the gauge showed red and green at the same time..this happened on both tanks. I will try the stove and see if it lights. Thanks.
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Dump Station