Snackchaser

Last year while messing around under the bathroom sink, I adjusted the weight on the “pull-down” faucet hose so that it would pull out far enough to rinse the toilet. That worked for awhile, then the hose started kinking when it was pulled all the way out. Rats! So while preparing for the next trip, I decided to try another approach. I found a 1/2” x 10” spring at the local Ace that fits snuggly over the hose (when little snap-on clip is removed.) The spring was tie-wrapped in place and it allows the hose to bend tightly without kinks. Now the hose easily reaches the toilet for better rinsing. This is a quick and easy mod, particularly if you have done the “Bathroom Vanity Cubby Modification” by Frank C. It allows cubby to be quickly removed without having to re-caulk every time. I was also adding a little water freshener today, so thought I’d share another idea that's probably not new. We always carry a 5 gallon bucket and tall kitchen bags to use as an outdoor trash can. If we want to fill the fresh water tank from the Boondocking inlet, we use the bucket with a new trash bag as a clean liner. We also carry a short piece of garden house for this purpose. Saved us a few times. Cheers! Geoff

Oh boy! Your’e going to get some different opinions here. But it’s Saul Goodman 😃. I think your’e drawing is right. . . that's if you are going to use a polarized breaker. However, a polarized breaker may not be the best choice between the charger and battery. Here is my logic: The breaker mainly protects the wire in this application, so you want it close to the power source. In your case, you have two power sources, the battery and the charger. The battery has much greater current potential so it should have priority. Additionally, any short circuit condition will trip the charger’s AC input breaker, but the battery will cook the wire if not properly protected. Sometimes this is not intuitive, and charger breakers are installed backwards, or at the wrong end of the circuit. That’s why I’d prefer to use a fuse between the charger and battery, because it protects the wire in both directions and it doesn’t care how far it’s from the power source. In other applications, such as you’re 40 amp + busbar feed, breakers are great. But be mindful of how the solar charger is tapped in, so that the smaller gauge wire is properly protected from the battery too. Consider a fuse or non-polarity breaker if you can find one. I love this forum, some great discussions. I wish you guys were my neighbors.

There are some good comments so far. It was interesting to learn that some solar panels were not meeting their rated capacity, and the sun doesn’t always cooperate either. This is a positive for the DC to DC charger because they have a more reliable output. It was also good to hear that others run their ac off the DC to DC charger, this is a strong selling point IMO. Yes I was disappointed when the 50 amp Victron charger came out after I installed the 30 amp, it’s way improved in efficiency, thus reduced heat. I'm surprised that OTT is not using it. On the bright side, the 30 amp uses smaller gauge wire, but I think a cooling fan is still needed because it starts derating at 104 degrees. This could be less than ambient air temperature when you'd want to run the ac, and you could run down the battery faster if the charger output is not 100%. From what I've seen with the 50 amp specs, this should't be an issue. This raises another important point that trailer folks should be aware of. Most of the DC to DC chargers are used in camper-vans and boats with short wire runs to the alternator, and the multitude of videos and wire specifications reflect that. However, trailer installations have much longer wire runs, typically around 50 feet one way, so they will require larger wire to minimize voltage drop. Even the Victron 50 amp is sized for maximum #4 wire, which would be too small for most trailer applications. Alternator capacity was not something I've given much thought to, because mine was something over 200 amps. It’s good idea to check your'e alternator rating by looking up the alternator code or use an on-line VIN decoder. I believe most newer trucks are at least a 100 amps or more. TV voltage errors should’t be a concern because Victron has safeguards to shut down in low voltage conditions, and they are designed to work with smart alternators that are constantly adjusting output for better fuel economy. Cheers! Geoff

Solved! I did some more extensive probing and found the elusive street side porch wire. This thread was pretty long so I decided to start a new one for how to add a second porch light switch, please see the new post titled “How to add a second switch for the street side porch lights. . . finally” Thanks Mossey for that photo of the porch ground wire. I love the collective wisdom and ideas in this forum, and that picture it’s what started me on the right path! Cheers! Geoff

This modification was a break-out from an old and long thread that Mossemi started: “Only one switch to operate streetwise and curbside lights . . .” It concerned a common complaint that the curb side porch lights can’t always be used because the street side lights also come on and they can annoy the neighbors. Mossey posted a new photo of the main switch panel wiring yesterday, and it showed a ground wire labeled “porch light”.” I hadn’t noticed it before, so I tried my circuit signal probe again and finally found where the circuit crosses over to feed the street side porch lights. It was in a sheathed wire bundle behind the attic side board, deep along the right bottom corner. It can’t be reached through the attic without disturbing the insulation, but it can be reached through the right rear speaker hole. The duct tape dust cover will have to cut open then re-taped afterwards. The wire bundle has enough slack to splice it though the speaker hole. I pulled the positive “red” wire out of the “split-sheath” wrap and verified it was the right one with a clamp-on amp meter. It read something like 0.9 amps with the lights on. I cut the wire, capped the end coming from the old switch, and spliced a new blue wire to the lights end. A Wago connector was easier than trying to crimp a butt splice in the tight space. The new wire was sheathed for extra protection and routed to the main switch panel. It was tie-wrapped to an existing wire bundle on the forward edge of the attic ceiling. With the left attic side board also removed (they are held by two small lag bolts), the wire can be passed into the left side upper cabinet. A short stiff wire will help fish it through. The upper cabinets have thin laminate floors fastened with a few Phillips screws. Remove them to expose a channel that the new wire can lay in all the way to the main switch panel. I also removed the microwave outlet for more room to feed the wire into the switch panel area; just snap off the cover plate, loosen the two mounting screws slightly so the wings fold in, and it will come right out. I had a round rocker switch in my stash, and they are also available from Amazon. I installed it in the blanked hole for the “Street Awning” switch, and blacked out the word Awning with a felt marker. The switch just says “Street” now, for the street porch light. Very unprofessional, but I hope someone will had a better solution. If you don’t have a blanked spare switch hole, then a switch can be mounted on the other side of the switch panel, on the inside cabinet wall. The switch was wired with the new blue wire going to the middle terminal, the red hot +12Vdc to the bottom, and the yellow ground to the top (needed for the blue neon indicator.) The other ends of the hot and ground wires went to existing six-port push-in terminals that feed other switches. There were some unused ports. This is easier than it sounds, but it’s good to have a clamp-on amp meter and/or circuit tracer to help find the street porch light wire. I included a photo and list of the tools I used. The inexpensive brands work well enough, and I’d recommend owning them for other electrical projects, troubleshooting and repair work: Digital clamp-on ac/dc amp meter, also a multimeter, can check your shunts and loads too! Circuit tracer for finding wires, shorts, and breaks Metal fish tape, I cut short pieces off the end for these kind of jobs Cable tie gun, you will wonder how you ever got by without one Auto wire stripper, just makes it easier Thomas and Betts crimpers, 50 years old and still my favorite go-to Inspection mirror Fluke multimeter, when accuracy counts Cheers, Geoff

Mossey, Your thoughts are correct, up to the point about a junction in the load side of the switch. The load side wire from the porch switch disappears into the wall behind the switch panel in a tightly tangled mass of wires and junctions that are stuffed into a space too small. Without disturbing the wires too much, I’ve probed with an inspection mirror and I’m certain there is no junction or splice on that wire. It probably runs through the gap between the outer and inner walls to the nearest porch light by the door, then daisy chains to the other lights from there. At some point the wires need to cross over to the street side. I hoped to find it within a wire bundle in the attic or basement. But they also could have run it through the gap between the ceiling and roof where they ran the wiring for the ceiling lights, they even stuffed the crimped splices into that gap. The ground wire must take the same path in the opposite direction, originating from the ground bus. There are also wire bundles that run along the bottom back of the shelves, it could be there. But I’m not crazy about breaking into them without better intelligence. Anyway, I guess we're still no further ahead on the wiring side of the problem. Geoff

That's a great idea! I'm going to look into the lamin-x, but not the z-bar just yet. I can't cut the wires as suggested either. There's no way to reach them without removing the fixture, and I'm not confident the fixture can be removed without damage. My experience with one of the puc lights is that it was short wired with no slack for a splice. Had to solder extension wires to very short stubs, very sketchy. I'm afraid these lights are the same way. It turned out to be easy to check the ground wires with a clamp-on amp meter, and I quickly found the ground for the porch lights. Unfortunately all four lights were on the same loop so no luck with that idea. They are nice lights, just wish they could be switched off at times. So I'm still hoping someone will find the correct wire.

Thanks, that's a handy chart! You really have to be careful using on-line calculators because some specify "one-way," and others leave you guessing. You can see by their wiring diagram that a one-way measurement may not be accurate, and just 5 feet can make a difference.

No, most electrical is under the dinette except the master switch panel by the door. There is a lot of wire passing through the attic though, and Iv'e checked a lot of them with a clamp-on amp meter looking for those lights. At this point I'm convinced the wire is routed around the front through the bathroom area where it would be much harder to isolate. That electrical drawing shows it in the front too. Geoff

I agree with everyone that this is most likely a battery problem. The flucuating voltage confirms it, and when you are plugged into shore power everything was working fine from the charger/converter. Corroded terminals could defiantly cause the problems you described. With any sign of corrosion, all the connections should be cleaned and wire brushed because some of the oxidation can't be seen and it will cause high resistance connections. Hopefully that solves the problem, but keep in mind that the batteries could be so deeply discharged that it may take a while to bring them back. If that does't work, then you could have a battery with an internal short when under load. This is common and a voltage test may not see it. You might have to disconnect each battery and load test them individually. Harbor Freight carries cheap load testers, but battery shops usually have better ones. Only after that would I be looking in other places for the problem. Cheers and good luck! Geoff

Patrick, Nicely done! I've already printed it up for the Oliver file. After a recent close call, I'm trying to better document all the crazy mods I've done for the next guy. This drawing will help in that regard, to sketch-in the changes. Thanks, Geoff

I don’t like to open old sores, but I was wondering if anyone ever figured out how to fix this continuing annoyance? I’ve done some poking around at different times trying to find the wires that feed those street side porch lights. The curb side switch-leg wire is behind the main switch panel, but Iv’e never been able determine where it splits off to feed the street side. I even tried a signal tracer with no luck. I once had an idea to install magnetic reed switches inside the light fixtures to turn them off with a magnet from the outside. I painfully took one of the siliconed lenses off, but I couldn’t remove the main fixture because of the super adhesive they used. Besides that, the wires were too short to splice. That plan was nixed, and I hope that the LEDs never burn out. Another idea was to 3D scan the fixture and print blackout covers for them, but I don’t have those skills either. There is good wiring diagram for the two-switch lights in this thread, and I just realized they have separate ground loops. I bet the one-switch versions also have separate ground loops for wire economy, and that's where a second switch could be wired in. I'll eventually current check each of the many yellow ground bus wires to find out. Meanwhile, has anyone else have any luck with this problem? Cheers! Geoff

Hi Christophe, I'll give it a try. Have fun! https://a.co/d/bZozQwR Mini Time delay relay https://a.co/d/gNjuq6R Universal programer https://a.co/d/ecvI5cW Victron DC to DC converter Cheers! Geoff

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 “dc” 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 8’, 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

I was recently asked about Oliver’s Email offering of a DC to DC charger, how long it takes to charge, and whether it’s worth it. I can provide thoughts about the one I installed, but I don’t 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 don’t 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., it’s 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 don’t 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 don’t use that much power. Please don’t ask me why I didn’t recognize this problem sooner. . . I don’t have a good answer. My other justification for a DC/DC charger was air-conditioning. Although the ac can run from the battery, it’s 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. It’s 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 “More DC to DC charger installation Tidbits” post for details on the fans. Anyway, I’m interested to hear others thoughts on this because it's becoming a growing trend. Cheers, Geoff