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True Induction Stove Top will not turn on
jd1923 replied to Lamar's topic in Mechanical & Technical Tips
This should be @Lamar’s goal in negotiating. And for OTT it’s the right thing to do! -
Geoff, from what I've observed over the last couple years, you know more about electronics than most of us who posts on our Forum. There is electronics in brake controllers but NONE at all on the Oliver side brake wiring. I do not mean to offend either, but is there such a beast as an "Auto Electric Specialist?" Some believe in Bigfoot! 🤣 We don't have this kind of service in our area, so are you offering a solution? So, how does this point to a trailer wiring issue? Why not a bad ground or faulty controller on the truck side? Aren't you just guessing without at least touching the Oliver, running the most basic tests with multimeter or clamp ammeter in hand? The U-Haul rental idea was a simple binary test to see if the error would occur towing another trailer. If the error could be reproduced it would eliminate the Oliver wiring as cause. Of course, the rental trailer must have brakes and 7-blade connection. Only one U-Haul counter person thought the 7-to-4-pin adapter would fit the need! 🤣 Also, in trailer wiring the white wire is ground, the black is 12V+ which is why in the picture the black is fused in the junction box. Am I wrong on this? If there is a ground issue on the Oliver side and there very well could be but we just don't know that. If it was my issue, I certainly wouldn't spend more money on specialists, just replace the ground. Attach a new ground wire at the junction box, test for continuity to the ground on the 7-blade plug, then run the new wire directly to the main ground bus under the rear dinette seat. This would eliminate trailer ground as cause in an hour with 10 ft of new wire, a simple solution. There are only 3 places where a connections, positive or ground, could be bad on the Oliver: 1) the 7-blade plug and wire harness back to the junction box, 2) the connections in the junction box and Oliver brake (blue+) and ground (white-) wiring from the junction box back, and 3) the wiring to the streetside brakes and through the axles to the curbside brakes. I would do some current and ground testing in these 3 areas and replace the most likely culprit. The entire trailer brake wiring, on the Oliver side, could be replaced in a day with $200 in parts. However, simple current and ground testing would determine one of these 3 areas to be at fault. It could be determined the factory brake controller is defective or has wiring issues. Four (4) GM dealers already struck out in finding a solution here, too much money spent. If true, I would bypass the factory system and install a reliable Tekonsha P3. There are only 4 wires in this controller harness, install new wire with +/- connected directly to the battery. Yeah, it's "piece-meal" but simple. But I can hardwire all of this at home (or any trailer shop) with hand tools and when done count on its reliability for many miles to come! 😎 I don't expect we'll agree on this one and that's cool. When I do yardwork, the weed-whacker is my tool of choice. I'm not planting a new flower bed. It's just not me. I know you like electronic switching systems, and you have demonstrated some great ones! Very cool, but some are a bit too complex for my liking. When I restore a used vehicle, like our Oliver, with factory or prior-owner aftermarket additions, once again I reach for the weed-whacker! Love ya, Geoff! Please let us know what you think. 🤗
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Kevin A joined the community
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True Induction Stove Top will not turn on
Snackchaser replied to Lamar's topic in Mechanical & Technical Tips
Although you certainly could run the stove from the 2000w inverter, you would have to accept some compromises and operational limits on how you manage your power: You obviously can’t run the stove and microwave at the same time, but just running the stove at full power is pushing the 2000w inverter close to its limits. Adding another small plug-in appliance, hair dryer, coffee pot, toaster, would likely trip the inverter. Inverter trips are a design function, but it creates wear and tear, and manufactures strive to avoid this kind of customer inconveniences and distress. A 2000w inverter charges 50% less than a 3000w (100a/150a). This it to make up for the higher power consumption of high wattage appliances. These are reasons enough why Oliver didn’t connect the induction stove to the 2000w inverter. The 3000w inverter has 50% more capacity and you wouldn’t have the same restrictions. Oliver’s real mistake was overlooking the boondocking aspect. Bottom line; I would never accept a solution to connect the induction stove to the 2000w inverter, I doubt a new trailer would ever leave the factory that way. In my opinion, they should upgrade the inverter and wiring to 3000w to give you what you contracted for. A propane stove would be second choice because why should you settle for less than originally promised? I wish you the best in your negotiations, and I hope that Oliver will try to make it right. Cheers, Geoff -
True Induction Stove Top will not turn on
jd1923 replied to Lamar's topic in Mechanical & Technical Tips
Yep, by design a cooktop is basically for quick meals on a skillet. Of course, the more Ahs available the longer you can cook. But as you well understand, all campers should know the limitations of their rigs. You're welcome, Lamar! My goal was to provide you with correct information for your decision making. I'm always very happy to help and this forum is the best! 😎 Steve, I agree with the points you made, but you may be giving OTT too much credit in your first statement. It was stated as more of a "1750 watts with a 2000-watt inverter" simple comparison without full understanding of the dynamics I presented. I would love the be the fly on the wall as @Lamar explains induction cooking usage to OTT Service! 🤣 OTT and all RV manufactures wire microwaves to 2KW inverters all the time along with the 110V wall outlets. My wife uses a blow-dryer after washing her hair. The 1800W blow dryer pulls a hard 1800W which is the same load as the Dometic P2, or FreshJet 5 for that matter. You can't keep the dumb from being dumber, but those of us who are experienced would simply know, don't use the microwave when blow drying! 🤣 Of course, that's with a 2KW inverter. Perhaps Lamar could parlay this poor customer service situation into getting OTT to remove the 2KW Xantrex for a 3KW model. Then pull out the oversized Lithionics and the unnecessary sliding tray and the EI battery bay could house 600 Ah in two 300 Ah Epoch Essentials. Then you're ready to wire your A/C into the inverter circuit as well, and you could do induction cooking with the A/C running. But if you need to run your A/C for more than 3-4 hours, you'd have to scrap the inefficient FreshJet (spec 15A on 115VAC) for an efficient inverter or variable-speed compressor A/C model. Add a 3rd battery and you'd have the system I installed for hull #113, but two 300 Ah batteries is all that would fit in an EI. Now I'm having way too much fun, but it's food for thought! 😎 -
True Induction Stove Top will not turn on
Steph and Dud B replied to Lamar's topic in Mechanical & Technical Tips
One of our previous 30A trailers had a load shed device that cut off power to the electric fireplace if you fired up the microwave. It wouldn't allow those 2 devices to operate at the same time. When you were done with the microwave, you could use the fireplace again. Oliver could set @Lamar up with something similar for the induction stovetop to protect the inverter. That should make everyone happy. Found this image on the Forest River forum. The topic comes up frequently there. -
True Induction Stove Top will not turn on
johnwen replied to Lamar's topic in Mechanical & Technical Tips
JD, I need to talk to Wen about this :) Thanks for all your testing and research! John -
WolfpackFan started following Mechanical & Technical Tips
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True Induction Stove Top will not turn on
Lamar replied to Lamar's topic in Mechanical & Technical Tips
Steve and MA, you are probably right. This is our 4th camper and with all of them (30 amp models), you made choices such as running a microwave vs the AC. We manage battery power, water, tanks, and propane. When you made the wrong choice, you learned and didn't do it again or you prepared for it. The induction stovetop is a new one for us and @jd1923 broke the info down in such a helpful way. Thanks for your comments. -
True Induction Stove Top will not turn on
Lamar replied to Lamar's topic in Mechanical & Technical Tips
JD1923...What a great explanation based on your experiment and knowledge. This makes sense to me. We do not cook full meals or use a stove top for very long in our camper. Big stuff like meats, grilled veggies and such are outside on our griddle and that is only a handful of times when we camp. Hot water for coffee, eggs, pancakes, is more like what we make on the stove top; and it is just the two of us. This is so helpful. We are experienced campers and are good at conserving energy and water. We certainly don't live in the camper or even spend much of the day in the camper. Time to share information with Oliver. THANKS. These forums are GOLD. -
The journey has been fun😊
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True Induction Stove Top will not turn on
Steve and MA replied to Lamar's topic in Mechanical & Technical Tips
@jd1923, excellent explanation about the power an induction cooktop actually draws. I have to think that the reason Oliver doesn't wire it through the inverter 120v AC sub panel is to protect inexperienced campers from themselves. The 2kw inverter may be plenty for the induction cooktop by itself, but the microwave is already on the inverter circuit, as well as the wall outlets. Imagine someone trying to use the cooktop, microwave and a coffee maker concurrently. Even when on shore power, one should be careful running multiple electrical appliances. Many of Oliver's customers are first time RVers who have little to no experience with power management. It seems to me that a 3kw inverter would be more appropriate as standard equipment for an induction cooktop equipped trailer since the demand could easily exceed 2kw. Maybe Oliver should just avoid wiring the air conditioner to the inverter since the battery bank doesn't have capacity for an extended run time. Steve -
Thanks @rideadeuce will give that a try today.
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I used this method to adjust mine and it worked perfectly. Really like this model awning for its simplicity and ruggedness in windy conditions. It is a good idea to keep a spare gearbox for it on hand, though.. Mine last one went bad and took almost 2 weeks to source another. Nice job on the install!
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We will see how long the perfect closure lasts but there is an adjustment you can try.
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True Induction Stove Top will not turn on
jd1923 replied to Lamar's topic in Mechanical & Technical Tips
Oh, boy... I'm going to attempt to explain how "the engineers" in drawing this conclusion are naive! A trained and experienced engineer should know there is much more to this than a simple comparison of data sheet specs. 🙃 Please allow me to explain. You could have used your True Induction cooktop every day on your trip, if only they had wired it correctly to the inverter. Your system is just fine for occasional induction cooking. I was hoping you would have rewired it on the road, it's what I would have done, but I do understand the warranty ramifications. I cooked bacon and eggs for breakfast this morning using a 10" Smithey skillet on our 1800W DUXTOP induction cooktop. It cannot be much different than your 1750W built-in unit, meaning the numbers I will present will be relative to your True Induction cooktop, 2KW inverter and 260 Ah batteries setup (your solar may vary). This induction burner starts at the medium #5 setting and within seconds the bacon started sizzling, so I turned it down to 3.0. After the bacon was done, I increased the setting to 4.0 and cooked a batch of scrambled eggs. I did not measure cooking time but maybe about 12 minutes total, I'll use 15 minutes to be conservative. You'll be amazed how many actual Ahs it takes to cook a simple bacon-n-egg breakfast or boil a pot of water (wait for the punchline). 😎 Reading such nonsense from "the engineers," the engineer in me had to prove them wrong! So tonight, I went out and plugged in another DUXTOP that we keep in the Oliver to run an amperage use test. When it turns on at the 5.0 setting it quickly ramped up to 68A (DC amps) which comes to 816W (W = 12V x A). Your Xantrex 2KW inverter can handle this with just a low hum. I tested the induction cooktop at all settings (1 - 10). Here are the results! (I'm an IE and used to do this kind of reporting professionally for 30 years.) The first row shows the induction cooktop settings (1 - 10). The second row shows Amps produced by our Victron MP2 inverter, read from the Victron Connect app. The third row shows Watts calculated (amps x 12V). The fourth row titled %Spec is the actual Watts used divided by the 1800W maximum. Note on FULL this induction burner pulls watts at ~80% of spec. We call that a 1.25x engineering margin, therefore... Your inverter will NEVER use 1750W! The actual maximum will be closer to 1400W on FULL which can boil a 5-qt pot of water in just minutes. I could not read actual amps out of the inverter for any setting less than 5.0. For example, at the 3.0 setting the amp reading ramped up to about 60A for a second and then wound down, then repeated this pattern. I believe the heating element is not capable of a lower amp setting, so it would turn ON and quickly OFF to some timed algorithm. More OFF time than ON as the settings go lower. This is likely why the unit starts up at the 5.0 setting. In the table above, the amp readings in BOLD are actual readings, the lower numbers calculated. There is an obvious linear relationship, so I used a graphical extrapolation method to calculate amps for settings 1.0 through 4.0 which looks like this: Let me tell you how many Ahs I used to cook breakfast this morning! Estimating 15 minutes cook time, half of that at setting 3.0 (40A) and half at 4.0 (52A), so on average I used 46A for 15 minutes. Isn't it amazing, the technology where it is today, that I used only 12 Ahs to cook breakfast! (46A x .25hr = 11.5 Ah) On the #10 setting, you cook boil a large pot of water for pasta in say 10 minutes. This would use 20 Ah of your 260 Ah batteries. You could simmer a red sauce, chili or any fresh made soup for 2 hours on the 1.0 setting using 28 Ah. Sorry, you're under powered to get into the food truck business, but quick meals 2-3 times a day, np. Our 10-year-old less efficient 320W rooftop solar nets +12A when mostly sunning. This means an hour after breakfast in our hull SOC / Total Ahs would be back to where it was just before we cooked breakfast. Your 2K inverter and 260 Ah is just fine for your "Baby Ollie." We couldn't live on it, but I demand induction cooking while Chris toasts bread in the Emeril Oven and we stay cool running the Chill Cube A/C, on our 3KW inverter and 900 Ah. Please don't retrofit to an LP burner. Induction cooking is FAST, well measured, it's just GREAT! In our home kitchen, Chris now uses a single-burner induction cooktop regularly while our GE 4-burner natural gas cooktop sits idly by! 🤣 She can't be without it, now that she knows it. Just ask @Ollie-Haus, who convinced me to buy ours! Just get OTT to rewire your circuit breakers so that induction cooking and everything else is on the inverter circuit except for air conditioning (or have any electrician do it). Thanks for allowing me to learn with you tonight. It was fun "engineering" again! Going into this study, I had no idea the numbers would be this good! 😎 When we need advice, our forum is the place, great collective knowledge here! We thank OTT for providing us this platform. We should expect the company to continue manufacturing the best fiberglass hulls in the travel trailer marketplace, no doubt! 🤗 -
True Induction Stove Top will not turn on
Lamar replied to Lamar's topic in Mechanical & Technical Tips
FYI, I did speak with the sales person at B&B RV. As I anticipated, he was not aware that on this build unit the induction stove top was not routed through the inverter and wouldn't work when boon docking. He will also be contacting Oliver to discuss a remedy. So far, everyone I spoke with have been unaware of this issue and are hoping to find a way to resolve. That is a good thing. -
True Induction Stove Top will not turn on
Lamar replied to Lamar's topic in Mechanical & Technical Tips
I feel like I'm giving them an opportunity to step up. Those that I'm currently talking to are likely not ones who can make some Company decisions. I'm hopeful as the conversation progresses with Oliver and within Oliver that we can find a resolution. -
This is a Camco Evo water filter cartridge that has been used on one trip for 20 nights in 6 different campgrounds in 5 different states. We set up for 3 additional single nights in 3 more CGs where we didn’t hook up to the water. I don’t know which CG water caused it to look like this. We don’t drink campground water and sometimes we can’t even shower with it. This is not the worst we’ve seen. The worst case was near Leech Lake MN a few years ago where I had to change the cartridge after 1 night. Those of you using the blue bullet water filters should probably be changing them every few days. Water with high mineral or organic tannins content will stain your plumbing fixtures and certainly your clothes if you wash in it. Bill
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Here is a data point. We have done 34 states in the last 22 months. Just over 20,000 miles, 125 nights in the Ollie. We hope to complete the lower 48 next year.
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Exactly like ours but not sure for how long. Don't think I used it the first year we had our Oliver and once I did it would not close completely on the rear. We use a rear strap as pictured. Anybody know it there is an adjustment? Mike, good work as usual. You've been first on many great Oliver Mods! 😎
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Those two were LOOSE when the “last” diesel auto mechanic opened that access panel. He tightened them. And he taped the wires underneath, near the hole in the axle. And he connected the ground wire on one of the truck batteries (all mentioned in my original post). The issue resolved for 3 days. Then driving over aged highway macadam and it started again. My brother mentioned the potential for the slightest bit of low voltage to mess with computer components in the truck. Today I reopened the vanity access panel, looked around, took photos, buttoned it up again. Didn’t change anything. Noticed there are actually two junction boxes in there, street side one much harder to access; I opened the curbside junction box. Those two black ground wires still looked tight. Tomorrow morning I move to new location (more rural). Confidence level is low. Two mechanics looked at the ground bus bar under the dinette, after I pointed out where it is located, but I don’t know if anyone was certain about which wires on it were/are associated with the 7-pin cable and/or the brake wiring. And I shared the wiring diagrams (such as they are) in the manual. One tested the individual elements of the 7 pin head (trailer side) and said he didn’t think the issue was there, it was functioning. Will do this in Cimarron, where my friend can help me.
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Reset 2.0 has started squeeking when backing up
DunnYet replied to DunnYet's topic in Mechanical & Technical Tips
I can relate to that. My one for the flattop is yellow, now that you mention it looks awfully like a taser. 🙄 - Yesterday
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True Induction Stove Top will not turn on
Steph and Dud B replied to Lamar's topic in Mechanical & Technical Tips
Passing the buck. Oliver should be better than this. They built it. Again, for what you paid for your trailer (and what Oliver expects others to pay, based largely on their reputation) they should make this right. Building and selling an RV with no working stove in boondocking mode might be acceptable for an entry-level brand, but it's unacceptable for an allegedly top-tier brand. -
True Induction Stove Top will not turn on
Lamar replied to Lamar's topic in Mechanical & Technical Tips
We have returned from a 3,000+ mile trip through CO, Utah, AZ, and NM. Very much enjoyed our Oliver Elite I, except for this issue. I have been in contact with technical support and now service at Oliver. Here is the update. 1. As many of you suggested, the induction stovetop is NOT wired through the inverter. The engineers did not do so because of the electrical needs of the induction stovetop -- 1750 watts with a 2000 watt inverter and the batteries at 260 AH. The tech told me that they only made 4 Elite 1 Platinum units in 2026 that were wired this way. 2. If we put a 3000 watt inverter in, the batteries would be drained after 90 min of stovetop use. While we would never use that much at one time, it would be cumulative as long as we are boondocking. During a cloudy period and other use, the drain on the batteries could be a problem. So it isn't recommended to replace the 2000 watt inverter with a 3000+ inverter. BTW, they would be unable to increase the batter size to accommodate. 3. Since we ordered the camper through B&B RV in Denver, service suggested B&B Rv would be responsible for selling us this unit and telling us the stovetop would work during boondocking. I do have a call into them and waiting on a return. 4. Oliver service is checking on switching out the induction stove for a propane stove. In addition, they are checking with manufacturing regarding the production of these units with this limitation. Currently, waiting to hear back from Oliver and also from B&B RV in Denver. We now know what the problem is, but we don't have a way forward yet to resolve the issue. Oliver is currently suggesting a fix would be an upgrade but they are checking with manufacturing. I'm suggesting it is fixing a poor design decision. More to come on that. Stay tuned. -
I don’t want to offend anyone, but I have an entirely different view on this issue. It might be time to pull in the reins on the piece-meal fixes and take a fresh look. At lot of the advice provided is based on conventional auto electrics and trailer wiring. But things are much different with today's vehicles. There is changing technology with Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) switching, and the way it interfaces with modern LED lighting, and the low-to-ground switching of your Chevy that requires solid grounding. High resistance grounds and shorts can be hard to locate, and they can cause ultra low currents that will be detected by digital systems of new vehicles. These include grounds and shorts that might only appear under heavy loads, such as from your brakes. The heavy loads can cause insulation breakdown and arcing that might not be otherwise detected. The flickering lights you mentioned might be an artifact of your 2023 truck’s older PWM system and a separate issue, or it could be caused from a poor ground. It could also be caused from a failing brake controller for example. I agree that it’s most likely a trailer wiring issue, but I wouldn’t go rewiring the 7-pin or axle wiring just yet, or renting a u-haul with a 4-pin adapter because you will not get definitive answers. Unfortunately, new grommets will not help at this point either, the wires were already taped. The breakaway switch amperage will be ambiguous too. A direct short would smoke the wire, a high resistance short would be lost within the range of 9-12 amps for the 4 brake coils. But there are enough clues to point to a potential ground issue, so a ground check would a good start for most DIY folks. The trailer is grounded to the TV in 2-ways. Through the hitch ball, and via the 7-pin ground wire. The ball ground can be iffy, so the wire ground is important! You can see the black ground wires in your junction box picture, they are connected to studs that are grounded to the trailer chassis. A good place to start checking. Use a multimeter on ohm’s setting. Find a good ground on the TV for grounding one of the meter leads, and then start checking ground points on the trailer with the other lead while jiggling wires, including those on the axle. You will need two people, and maybe jumper cables to extend the test lead length. You should have fairly consistent low ohms readings. You might get lucky and find a loose connection. However, it sounds like various technicians have already checked for obvious problems, so at this point you are really in the territory of an Auto Electric specialist with proper logging instruments to test for intermittent problems and the ability to accurately trace circuit continuity. Auto electrics is a field of it’s own, and they are far more knowledgable that the dealers and regular mechanics. Just my two-cents. Good luck! Geoff
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@TimD
