NCeagle

Hi Nan, I made this modification (added a relay to the Houghton) over a year ago and have used the unit to both heat and cool multiple times without issue since. I used this relay: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07587NZTC/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1 If you are sure that a properly sized relay was wired in correctly replacing it with another and testing it in a controlled environment is what I'd do. The fact that it was working correctly for some time is a good sign, but to double check the installation, either google for the instructions (I did) or there was a long forum thread on this subject with discussions and instructions (last summer I believe). I didn't relocate my thermistor as you did. I'd love to hear more about how that's working once you get your unit running again. I currently use a small fan on the nightstand that I point up at the Houghton so the thermistor gets some airflow from below when the compressor and fan are both off. This modification has definitely solved the humidity problems the Houghton created with its design at the expense of having to have that small fan on the nightstand running when the Houghton is running. Good tradeoff for me but I'd certainly prefer having the thermistor in the cabin. Best of luck! John

@rich.dev, I went with the AC fans because I couldn't find anything comparable (smart/quiet) that were DC. These fans actually have EC motors, so even though they run on 120V AC, the motors are actually brushless DC so very efficient. I'm very happy with both the designs and results for both of my smart fans, so no, I wouldn't change anything unless they came out with DC only fans - even then, I'd wait for mine to break before replacing them. They run non-stop and haven't had any issues for 2.5 years now.

I haven't ever seen anything like that in our 2020 Oliver and I have always had 9 temp sensors located throughout the trailer. I took some "baseline" temps all around the trailer in 2020 before I made some HVAC changes and I was seeing temps under the curbside bed in the low 60's when it was in the 20's outside and the inside temp was set at 70. I still have the data / graphs. It seems to me like something "abnormal" is causing an excessive heat buildup under your curbside bed when your heat is running. Maybe one of your ducts has a hole in it and it's pushing the hot air right at your temp sensor?

I can't figure out an "easy" way to even get at that thermistor from the underside. I can see it but it's protected in a "cage" that looks like it would require some disassembly to remove. I like the routing path idea for a longer wired thermistor! Maybe the original idea of replacing the current thermistor with another that has a long wire. Would still have to figure out how to get through/under the Styrofoam insulation, but we could leave the original thermistor in place (disconnected at the control box) as a backup.

I made the change to the Houghton with the relay to keep the fan from running when the compressor is off. It has made a world of difference with the humidity and dew point overall. As expected, the temperature difference between the temperature set on the Houghton and the actual cabin temperature increased significantly. A solution I have found is to point a small fan up towards the Houghton so the thermistor gets better temp readings from the cabin when the compressor and internal fan are off. In a nutshell it works fantastic - we keep a fan on our nightstand running anyhow so pointing it up a bit was no problem. I'm interested in moving the thermistor as well as a long term solution, but it does seem risky to completely disassemble the Houghton and install a new thermistor that may or may not work as we expect. I'm waiting for one of you brave souls to try this before I do! 🙂

Yep. I don't know about everyone else, but the grey water rules are confusing because it seems legal to create grey water in any manner as long as you don't collect it. It's certainly ok to pee outside in the wilderness - but don't dare spill any pee out of your bucket on the way to the restroom... and sure - it seems many folks set up an outdoor shower and wash off your body and/or dog and/or dishes - but don't let any of that same type water run out of your grey tank or you will be fined and kicked out of the US if caught. We've been spending extra on biodegradable soap for everything in our Ollie, but it seems a waste of money given the rules. If I'm close enough to home I just bring my grey water home and water my plants with it. They are all very healthy. 🙂

My "ghost" draw is around 1.7 amps (refrigerator, radio, CO detector, Natures Head fan, ...), so about 40 amp hours per day (10% of my Lithium capacity). I also don't want to turn everything off for storage and I don't want to keep my Lithiums at 100% or even 90% while sitting in my storage garage, so in this scenario I set my Xantrex to "float" my Lithiums at 13.2v which is about 50% SoC. What eventually happens is the battery settles to "standby" with net zero current at 13.2v and the Xantrex uses only the power necessary to keep the batteries at 13.2v - thus passing enough power through the battery to satisfy whatever battery draw is present.

@Brian and Brandelyne, you are probably aware of the fact that Lithiums don't like to be kept at 99%-100% all the time like AGMs. You may be talking about your battery charge during camping (I keep mine full during camping trips) - not sure if you are keeping them fully charged even when you are not camping, but just in case I thought I'd mention it. Very cool device to assist your MPPT charger! Thanks for sharing!

Yes the Xantrex should charge the batteries from 15A of shore power as long as there are "extra" amps around for the inverter to use. It looks like you have checked for other loads on the battery and you have none since your EMS is showing 1 or 2 amps and good (125) voltage. There is another setting many of us use to turn off the charger when we don't want or need charging - it's setting #26 (charger ignition control). If #26 is set to OFF the charger will work and charge the batteries. If #26 is set to ON it will not charge the batteries. So, make sure the setting #26 is set to OFF on your inverter. One other quick check comes to mind... make sure the connections to your batteries are tight. If the ground is loose some things may work and others may not. This is a long shot given your symptoms but maybe worth a quick check as well. Good luck and keep us posted!

I mentioned in this thread that I use some of the off-brand cheaper lithiums for things other than the main battery compartment in our Ollie. I have found that most of these "compact" off brand lithiums use pouch cell technology rather than using metal casing for the cells. Pouch cells are great/ok if the battery manufacturer takes special precautions during design / engineering. Long story short, the pouches are prone to expansion from outgassing, and other external factors (temp, humidity, etc.) can affect their longevity more so than the encased cells. All of this must be accounted for during battery design. I don't trust that these Chinese battery manufacturers actually know or care about the risk mitigation required for certain types of lithium cells.

No - the temp setting is not very accurate for me either - I have the 9500 Houghton with a Sensorpush in the cabin and it definitely shuts off the compressor and starts cycling about 2-3 degrees above the set temp on the Houghton. I pretty much just ignore the temp setting on the Houghton and use the Sensorpush and/or my skin to guide my Houghton adjustments. The Houghton does continue to slowly cool the cabin while cycling until it's pretty close to the set temp, but it takes hours to reach the setting (if it ever does) depending on the outside temp, etc. I often just set the Houghton on 60F and let it blast away until it reaches the temp I want and then I'll back it off and let it cycle and tweak it from there. Overall, no big deal for me - I've learned the nuances and I love the Houghton. I've still got my thermostat in the default place up in the plenum. I've been thinking of extending it into the cabin but it seems it may not be helping with the temperature differential at least. Do you feel it cycles less or about the same with the thermostat extended into the cabin?

I have had a pair of the AmpereTime 100Ah batteries for over a year now and I've used them for "extra" battery capacity. I do not use them inside of my Ollie, but I do put them outside and use them with a DC to DC charger that's installed inside to add time/life to my on-board lithium batteries - especially boon docking at night during quiet times when I want to run my A/C without the generator. I also use one of them in my small bass fishing boat to run my trolling motor. So much better than the heavier AGMs! The BMS seems to be working well as I've drained them to 0% quite often - no problem charging them back up to 100% and using them again so far. It's only been a year - and in lithium battery life that's not much but so far so good. But...in my opinion - not sophisticated or time tested enough to put in my Ollie battery tray.

Our Girard awning retracted every time I locked my previous truck with the key fob. It took some time to figure that out and I thought the awning was possessed for a while. 🙂 We have a new truck now and it doesn't do it anymore. It wasn't a feature - it was a nuisance - that I didn't research or fix because we got the new truck soon after I discovered what it was and it went away. Almost certainly had something to do with the frequency of the key fob...

It's http (not https), so that's not great security - wise. I set up an account on uglyfish 3 years ago and it's still there. Seems like a legit site but who knows. I've never actually tried to order anything else though, so will definitely keep a close eye on this - and I'm not going to hold my breath. 🙂 Thanks!

I tracked down an older post and some notes I had made on this when I was shopping for a more secure replacement latch in 2020. I remember trying to order the latch on Southco and the only option was "request a quote" - which I did and never heard back. Just checked again and it's still the same message: https://southco.com/en_us_int/m1-20-91-78. I also had found this site that offered Southco latches that also led to a dead end in 2020: http://www.uglyfishinc.com/southco-m1-deck-hatch-marine-enclosure-latches-p/m1-2x-xx-x8.htm. I just tried it again and ended up with a locking compression latch with part number M1-20-91-78 (as @rich.devcorrectly identified earlier). I was able to place an order for a pair of them so I'll see what happens and update this thread if I hear back or actually get the latches. The price is $64 for the compression latch and $20 extra or the lock/key ($84 total for each latch). Maybe it will work this time because 2020 was challenging for everyone and all businesses to say the least.

This may be worth a try although I suspect it may take a company like Oliver with some large orders to actually get Southco to respond. I actually tried to order one of the "Style 9" locks directly from Southco (off of their website) a few years ago right after we took delivery of our Ollie in 11/20. I placed the order and they never charged my credit card and never sent me the new lock. I tried to contact them a few times without success and just gave up because I had so many other things I was working on with the new trailer. It was probably a case of not enough paying customers to make the style 9 lock profitable. Count me in - I'm still in the market to replace the cheaper locks.

After nearly 3 years and over 10K miles with our LEII, I had my first plumbing connection failure and leak. One of the plastic connectors on top of the hot water heater cracked. Luckily I had been carrying some spare plumbing parts and was able to temporarily repair the broken connector with a copper one. I'm home now and I am replacing ALL of the plastic plumbing connections with copper connectors and stainless cinch rings. I'm finding that my handheld cinch ring tool opens too wide to get at most of the plumbing connections down near the floor. I can use stainless hose clamps in those tight areas (doubled up if necessary) but would prefer to use the cinch rings. I know others have had to replace the plastic fittings and I'm hoping for some advice on how others have tackled the problem in the tight spaces. Thanks in advance!!!!!

@Stranded, I think that's a really cool (I mean warm) idea! It would actually address the entire system. Would this take some significant modifications to the plumbing? How would you get the water "flowing" around all of the plumbing in a closed loop? Another option worth considering is 12V self regulating heat cables: https://www.oemheaters.com/. I installed some of these heat cables in the plumbing areas that were most vulnerable (Water inlets, front bathroom and rear storage area water lines) a couple of years ago. I'm pretty convinced that the areas I've protected would never freeze (camping, towing or otherwise) as long as the cables had power. As an example of power requirements, I have 4' of cable installed around the lines and valves that compose the fresh and city water inlets and it takes 1.5 amps at full power (single digit temps and below). Very interested in hearing what you decide to do and your results.

I've been very interested in and following posts talking about modifying the vents to improve heating / airflow - including a return vent in the bathroom as Oliver now does in the new units. Many owners have also added a return vent in the bathroom and all seem to like it. However, if you have a composting toilet I've learned that ANY airflow in the bathroom can easily overrun the little fan in the toilet and can potentially reverse the airflow from the toilet exhaust back into the main cabin. My greatest fear is that a return vent in the bathroom might be more than the little composting fan can handle and the toilet air would reverse and be sucked into the cabin when the heat / fan is running. Anyone with a composting toilet and a return vent in the bathroom have any data / comments on this? Thanks!

Same here for the main floor in our house (in NC also). The HVAC system keeps the humidity between 45-55% even when the dew points are in the 70s because the AC runs a lot and therefore keeps the moisture at bay. However, we do have to run a dehumidifier along with our HVAC in our basement, as do others I know that have a basement anywhere in the US (basement is cooler and the AC doesn't run enough). As I mentioned in a post above, if you truly want to control BOTH humidity and temperature, then you need both as they are designed for different purposes. There are many articles and research out on the web that state the same.

@Roger P, this diagram is correct and what I used for our 2020 Elite II (Hull #688) - even though we don't have the older "recalled" wiring, so I suspect it's correct for you as well UNLESS Oliver has changed refrigerator models. I tried to take some close up pictures of my wiring but it's just too difficult to see things since I've bundled and tie-wrapped all the wires. I spliced the green wire into that green jumper wire between terminals 1 and 3, but you could also use terminal 4. Anything that's ground / negative works. I hope the buzzing from the ARP doesn't mean you accidently hooked the green wire to a positive 12v feed. Best of luck getting your fridge defender installed!

Thanks @SeaDawg - Good news - I actually did email back asking for "someone in a position of authority" to at least review my request. The person I was working with did that for me and it was agreed to make an exception and process the refund. I'm very happy they changed their position on this - now I can apply my refund to next years event. 🙂

Our Houghton rapidly dehumidifies (and cools) the cabin whether or not the fan is on high or low, as long as the compressor is running (AC or "dry" mode). Water literally pours off the roof for the first 30 minutes. The problem with humidity coming back up is definitely related to the compressor not running while the fan is running - which of course would happen more often if the unit is oversized and cycling (normal operation by the way). It's been a bit of a learning curve, but no way I'd ever go back to the Dometic or something that loud. We are still super happy with the Houghton over the original Dometic.

We have the Houghton and I do find everything in this video to be accurate (I also have data to confirm this). We do use a dehumidifier along with the Houghton to control humidity/dewpoint AND temperature. I think this is normal as an AC unit is specifically made to operate based on temperature (not humidity) and a dehumidifier is made to operate based on humidity (not temperature). I know lots of people in NC that have a dehumidifier in their home and run AC and the dehumidifier to control both humidity and temp. Auto on the Houghton does not stop the fan from running when the compressor is off. I thought it was just circulating the cabin air when the compressor is off, but if it' s mixing in outside air that may be something that could be improved with the design, but it still wouldn't control BOTH humidity and temperature. What I've found works best for us is keeping the temp set at the lowest point (60F) when cooling so the compressor doesn't shut off. The cabin cools quickly and the dewpoint drops dramatically just as quickly. Once we've got the temperature where we want it, we turn off the AC before it starts cycling. The dehumidifier then keeps the dewpoint in check so even if the temperature goes up, it's still "comfortable". If the temperature does get uncomfortable, it means waking up in the middle of the night and running the AC for about 30 minutes to get things comfortable again, but this is rare. On nights when I know it's going to get too hot, I've used the timer function to have the AC come on for 30 minutes in the middle of the night and then shut off again without me having to manually turn it on and off.

I guess a double negative means you've successfully had multiple jury summons rescheduled - good for you if that's what your goal is. I chose to be honest and 2 planned camping trips and the Expo wasn't acceptable criteria. Not sure what you mean by your Covid comment being a personal choice, but it's not always my personal choice to have to pre-plan and make reservations pretty much anywhere we want to stop.