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  1. GrayGhost, OK, the discussion on the battery parameters is below. ( First off, for those who are reading along and new to manipulating the parameters within the IPN ProRemote Monitor, review page 3 in the manual.) Hi Stacey, I have four of your 6V-AGM Dual-Purpose AGM batteries (black case). I also have a 320 Watt Photovoltaic Array which is controlled by the Blue Sky Energy Solar Boost 2512i(X)-HV Controller and the IPN ProRemote Monitor. I am in the process of configuring the solar controller and the Blue Sky technical support representative suggested I contact you prior to adjusting the battery parameters from the factory defaults to the AGM specific values. First off there are two parameters which I adjusted to match what I believe is appropriate for my four AGMs. 1. Set Battery Amp Hours = 400AH (The factory default was set at 220AH) 2. Set Self Discharge Rate in Percent per Month at 25 degree C. = 2% (The factory default was set at 12%) Do the adjusted values look appropriate? #1 is great. 5% is a better estimate for #2. The solar controller has eight Battery Charge Parameters which are software programmable settings. 1. Set Acceptance Charge Voltage Setpoint. Range 10.0 to 80.0V (Factory default = 14.4V) 14.4 is fine 2. Set Float Charge Voltage Setpoint. Range 10.0 to 80.0V (Factory default = 13.4V) 13.5 3. Set Equalize Voltage Setpoint. Range 10.0 to 80.0V (Factory default = 15.2V) No equalization for AGMs 4. Set Equalize Time. Range 0.5 to 10 hours (Factory default = 2.0hrs) 5. Set Days between automatic Equalize. Range is 10 to 400days. Full MANUAL equalization is selected by a setting of less than 10 days. (Factory default = 30days) 6. Set Charge Voltage Temperature Compensation Factor. Range is -0.00 to -8.00mV/degree C/cell. (Factory default = -5.00mV/C/C) This is fine. 7. Set Float Transition Current. Range 0.1 to 10.0A per 100AH. A setting of 0 (zero) disables function such that full charge is based on acceptance charge time only. (Factory Default = 1.5A/100AH) This is fine 8. Set Acceptance Charge Time. Range 0.0 to 10.0 hours (Factory Default = 2.0hrs) Between 2 and 4 hours. Use the low end if the batteries are discharged less than 30%...the high end if they are discharged more than 50%. Do you have any recommendations for altering the default settings? Noted above. In particular, do you have a preference for the transition from acceptance (absorption) to float to be based on AH or time period for my batteries? 1.5 A / 100AH means that the batteries are accepting current equal to 1.5% of their capacity. This is a very good way of knowing the batteries are fully charged as batteries naturally accept less and less current as their state of charge increases due to changes in their internal resistance. I made the adjustments on my IPN ProRemote Monitor based on Stacey's recommendations. Please be certain you have the same make/model of batteries if you plan to use this guidance! Circle back if questions arise. Buzzy PS - As previously stated, I deactivated the equalization process in both the parameters as well as the switch within the controller.
    3 points
  2. [attachment file=20170420_183455.jpg] I just completed the installation of a 14 gauge 304 stainless counter top. BTW I've posted this twice before and it never showed up here in the forum?
    2 points
  3. Grey Ghost, Blue Sky Technical support said in an email: Equalization is factory default to "OFF", you would need to enable equalization by turning on a DIP switch on the controller, DIP # vary on which controller you are utilizing. When I mentioned that the IPN Pro Remote still shows the parameters dealing with equalization, they replied. Yes, the IPNPRO will still show the setting, but it will not allow equalization. Even if you press "Equalize now", nothing will happen without the DIP ON. Factory default is for it to be OFF. The instruction manual for the Blue Sky Energy Solar Boost 2512i(X)-HV (you may have a different model) says: If DIP switch #4 is turned OFF equalization is completely disabled regardless of other equalization settings. If DIP switch #4 is turned ON prior to the application of battery power, automatic equalization is enabled and the SB2512iX will perform automatic equalization after the set number of Auto Equalize Days has elapsed. If DIP switch #4 is turned ON, after battery power is applied an equalization cycle will begin immediately. Equalization start/stop may also be remotely controlled from the IPN-ProRemote or UCM. I doubt Oliver turned on this DIP switch, and if you have not, then your equalization is off.
    2 points
  4. Dave, you mentioned Lifeline batteries, those are the ONLY AGM batteries that can be equalized, because of how they make them. If you replaced the Trojans with Lifelines then you would be okay, but otherwise never equalize.
    2 points
  5. Dave, It is important to understand the requirements for your specific brand and model of battery. Since I use the black case AGM Trojan batteries, I contacted the technical support engineer at the Trojan Battery Company. Her name is: Stacey Delzeit, Technical Support Engineer, Trojan Battery Company, Tel: (478) 845-7707, sdelzeit@trojanbattery.com The paragraph below is just one section of our communication. I also noted on page 22 of your Trojan Batteries User’s Guide you state I should NEVER equalize deep-cycle AGM batteries. Is that true for my batteries? This is true. AGMs should never be equalization as the overcharge condition would cause the internal pressure relief valve to open allowing the battery to “dry out.” If so, I would need to adjust the parameters for the solar controller. I also have installed the Progressive Dynamics Power Control Center which regulates shore and/or generator power going to the batteries. That device also has an automated equalization procedure. Should that be turned off as well? Yes. Never EQ AGM batteries. (It is important to note, I have not made any adjustment on the Progressive Dynamics Power Control Center inverter which also initiates an equalization process since I do not use shore power. If that approach were to change, I would seek assistance from their technical support engineer.) By the way, as I worked with Boz at Blue Sky he recommended I work with Stacey on “fine tuning” the battery parameters within the IPN ProRemote Monitor for my specific batteries. Stacey guided me and I can post her guidance for those who seek to adjust their parameters. Just ask. Buzzy
    2 points
  6. Last week before we picked up it was suggested that a "Where's Ollie" thread might be good for folks to post pictures of where they've been, maybe with a few comments about the location. I'll get it going.... This is Hillman Ferry State Park in KY at Land Between the Lakes. Nice campground, with lots of lake water activities. You can get a site right on the lake to fish from!
    1 point
  7. Since the night of February 13th, 2017 we have been living and traveling in our new Oliver Legacy Ellite II and we named her,"The Lil' Nugget". Everything from then until today can be found here - http://olivertraveltrailers.com/topic/hull-200-in-service/ And here - http://olivertraveltrailers.com/topic/hull-200-in-service-pt2/ The above links were in the "Delivery Day photos" section and went above and beyond our delivery day by far. So it's time for a fresh start... __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 4/24/17 - An Oliver in the mist... Yesterday we arrived in Yosemite just before dark, then quickly set up the basics because this week we are Boondocking below Half Dome. After that we went over to our friends site across the meadow to see them before bed time. When boondocking we try to not use much water and between yesterday and today, we used up a whopping 5%, which leaves us at 75% today... 75%? But... That doesn't add up? We had filled up with water before leaving Sacramento, but between there and here in Yosemite, the roads are so steep, and winding and rough that 20% had bounced out by the time we got here. We are staying in Upper Pines Campground with 3 other couples and this is the first year that we haven't been able to get our camping spots next to each other like so many times past. This is our yearly Spring gathering here together and this time there's an Oliver in the list :) It was a rainy day today and we finished setting up everything and working around camp. Also more friends came in today and one had never been here before :) 2017 has been one of the greatest flood years ever here in California and just last week the campgrounds were still flooded. So the Falls this year are huge... "How huge?" you ask, well those pics will come soon :) We counted 40 different waterfalls here in Yosemite last night as we drove in. And that was just from the Highway 140 enterance. We even have a small one living right out our back window. Here's a few pics from dinner and around the fire tonight Tonight we broke out our new Cobb Grill for the first time and barbequed Tri-tip along with some broccoli. And I switched out one of our propane hoses and hooked our propane fireplace up to the rear port on Lil and had some great fun, good times, and great food. <span style="font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5;">Our first night using the Cobb Grill was a very satisfying success :)</span> Did you see the mist...
    1 point
  8. When I picked up my trailer Tommy Staggs did only one piece of programming for the Blue Sky during my orientation. He changed the Set Battery Amp Hours from the default of 220 AH to 400 AH, for my AGM batteries. I know this because Anita had suggested that I videotape as much of my orientation as possible because there is so much information to take in, and I recently reviewed this video when I was learning more about the Blue Sky system. I strongly recommend people follow Anita's advice when picking up your Oliver!
    1 point
  9. </span> Sorry Buzzy, the first was just a question, so you're not seeing 18vdc? My question was, "So if you are seeing 18vdc is the Blue Sky Monitor using an excessive charge and need some different parameters set?" Now I'm wondering if you are seeing more then the 14.7vdc and is this normal and OK? I'm sorry if it looked like I was trying to hijack the thread, that was never my intent. The fridge low voltage information was just to give everyone some basic knowledge of the 9.6vdc battery low voltage cut off to not purposely try to go below. Because people don't normally think about circuit boards having low voltage issues and that includes myself... It was a costly and time consuming lesson learned because of my lack of knowledge at that time on our trailers inner workings. I was just trying to help :) Reed
    1 point
  10. Great minds think alike. I also contacted Trojan and Blue Sky. Great technical support. Ryan Gurin at Blue Sky said that Equalization is factory default to "OFF", you would need to enable equalization by turning on a DIP switch on the controller, DIP # vary on which controller you are utilizing. Even if you press "Equalize now", nothing will happen without the DIP ON.
    1 point
  11. The wheel bearings on modern passenger vehicles are sealed and completely different from the ones in our trailers. These are like the bearings of automobiles and trucks of the 50's and earlier. They have to be repacked periodically. Somebody stated that Oliver suggests every 6000 miles. I'm not sure where that figure came from, but if I follow it, I'll probably have to repack my bearings about twice during this next trip!!!! I believe a lot of the data for bearing care is taken from the boat trailer industry where it is really necessary to routinely inspect and service your bearings due to their regular immersion in water, with salt being the most caustic. I would like to try to repack mine once a year but I just got around to it about a month ago when I placed new bearings during my new disc brake install. The old bearings were 3 years old but still looked fine. (That doesn't mean they necessarily were.)
    1 point
  12. Try2relax, thank you for posting the pictures. With Reeds endorsement and the pictures, that sold us. We bought the rhinoflex system today????. Yvonne
    1 point
  13. Reed, not sure where I read it but someone asked about if the tires needed balancing. I believe you wondered if that could be contributing to your drawer opening still. I asked Anita and this is her reply: "The tires are ordered and already mounted for us. I do not believe that company balances them. You would need to do that. " Yvonne
    1 point
  14. I think there are several things that will improve this forum. First, kudos to Matt Duncan and Jason Walmsley for moving the forum to a faster platform. Pages load much faster, and searches are better. I think an improved search function would do wonders. Many forums, such as FGRV, have a granular search page. You can search for a keyword within the post, and more importantly, you can limit your search to Titles of the posts. You can also search by User Name, to search for posts written by a specific person. Finally you can search for both criteria simultenaously. Suppose I vaguely remember something Buzzy posted on Solar, and I wanted to find it. Search for User Name: Buzzy and Keyword Within Title: Solar, and I might find it. If I did not find it, I could repeat the search with Search for User Name: Buzzy and Keyword Within Entire Post: Solar. Other useful search features include date ranges, and the ability to sort the search results by specific criteria. Auto-complete is a term used in web site design, and we have all seen it at Google or Amazon. I noticed that the User Name field at FGRV has auto-complete, so that if I type in b-u-z, all of the user names beginning with buz appear in a drop down menu. This is standard technology, and would be useful here. Finally, I think it would be good the forum offered the user the ability to subscribe to a periodic summary (weekly or daily?) as an email. Thanks, David
    1 point
  15. Since DavidS was kind enough to post a Battery Charge Status chart for the Trojan AGM batteries, I thought that there just might be others that would be interested in a similar chart for the Trojan T-105's. So, here it is! Bill
    1 point
  16. Buzzy, Thanks for posting these numbers. Before I ordered my 2016 Elite II, I did research on batteries, and ended up ordering the AGM battery upgrade. During my research I found a good web site http://www.marxrv.com/12volt/12volt.htm and they had a nice printable table for Voltage vs State of Charge http://www.marxrv.com/12volt/voltchart1.gif, and I posted it inside the pantry door. The numbers on my printed table are quite different from your numbers. I searched the internet, and mostly found the same data as in my chart. However, when I looked at the Trojan Battery web site, I found your numbers for their AGM batteries. http://www.trojanbattery.com/pdf/TrojanBattery_UsersGuide.pdf. Importantly, the numbers at the critical 50% point are quite different for deep cycle (12.06) vs. AGM (12.24). I made new table in the same green / yellow / red style, if anyone with AGM batteries wants to print it out. Thanks again, Buzzy, David
    1 point
  17. We have a two burner propane stove which is light and folds up very nice and the optional bag to carry it in. Also we have the propane campfire similar to Lukens but we ordered from Amazon. Sorry, we haven't used them yet as wife still works full time and then some. The two burner cooking stove can be used with small canister type propane or with the adapter hose a 20# propane tank or from the trailer hook up. We pretty much follow the Lukens equipment as we appreciate their camping knowledge and experience. But many others have been helpful to us too. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004S3HDBO/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007V4SJSS/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008JORKP2/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
    1 point
  18. The Thompson's Ollie is at Pulpit Rock Campground near Decorah, Iowa. Great weather--high 60's, nice breeze and sunshine. No bugs here this early in the spring. Decorah is in Northeast Iowa which is part of the "driftless region that includes parts of Wisconsin and Minnesota. The glaciers bypassed this area resulting in a very hilly and interesting terrain. The rivers and streams run clear and many have wild trout. Great bicycling here too. Biked about 20 miles today. Don thumb_IMG_1806_1024.jpg-copy.pdf thumb_IMG_1807_1024.jpg-copy.pdf thumb_IMG_1809_1024.jpg-copy.pdf
    1 point
  19. This is Mother Neff State Park just south of Waco, TX. It sits on land donated to Texas by the mother of former governor Pat Neff. There are only 16 RV sites, all with full hook ups, tables, etc. It's very nice and not far off I-35. Bill, our shiny new trailer is now not so shiny after 9 days on the road!
    1 point
  20. Following the Cabot Trail, Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia - Summer 2015. Stunning scenery, friendly people . . .
    1 point
  21. This is at Table Rock Lake State Park just outside of Branson, MO. This is a great campground and just minutes from Branson and all the shows and activities. We had a good visit to Silver Dollar City during their BBQ and Bluegrass week. The park is right on Table Rock Lake for those who like water activities.
    1 point
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