Snackchaser

The check valve is the second brass piece from the water heater, with two hex ends. If you magnify the photos, you can just see the directional arrow on the top side between the hex ends.

When installing a hot water recirculation system, I found that the isolation valve had pinched the heater duct and worn a hole through it. There is a check valve at the water heater and you can see it in the photo above -- it's the brass spool piece and mine was stuck open. I removed both of them because in the unlikely event that the hot water heater ever needed to be isolated, I'd just shut off the water instead. The hot water recirc system is a great modification that has served us very well.

Hey! I'm pretty sure all the Lithionics 130 amp batteries have the "internal BMS" without that reset function. That procedure is for batteries with a "external BMS" and it won't reset the SOC as described, although the full charge part is the best fix for the internal BMS too. Mine sometimes takes a while for that last 1% from 99% to 100%. Also make sure the charge parameters are right. I assume you are charging from shore power with a Xantrex inverter/charger, so look at the Xantrex app. and check/set the absorption charge volts to 14.4 and float to 13.4. I have mine set a little hot at 14.5 and 13.5 and have never had any drift in 4 years... not recommending -- just sayin!. Cheers! Geoff

Great job! I think this set-up is way better than the Beech Lane with that goofy control box. The original switches are hard to source because the indicating LED is on the top side of the switch. Most of them have the LED on the bottom side of the switch and I bought several before finding the right one. The specifications just don't say! For future reference, LighthouseLEDS sells them for $2.99, SKU# SPST12VROCKERSWITCHBLUE, and they ship fast!

It's literally just dangling in place between the fins on the right side of center, near the top. The fit is tight enough and it works well. You could bend a little "U" clip to hold it in place if wanted. Some areas on the right side near the gas burner get really hot when the flame is on, then it cools quickly. The condenser fins near center represent a more average temperature. We used to set the temperature control to max cold in hot weather to keep food from spoiling. My wife is happy that she doesn't need to constantly adjust the temperature anymore.

That was just a model number listing error. Here is some advice from a Shurflo tech for setting charging pressure, from a thread titled: "Are two accumulators better than one?"

There is some info here:

Great story! It's exactly why I'm a big RVlock fanboy! They are an underrated convenience. I can't count all the extra steps we've saved from having to fetch the elusive keys! I'm totally fine with my failures, I blame it on living in the great northwet rainforrest, where it even rains in my garage. I respect how they've used the failures to refine a more reliable and better quality product. The last free upgrade they sent looks well sealed, should last a long time! Their outstanding customer response is reason enough for me to be faithful to the brand! Besides, they're great looking too! They compliment the Olivers modern hi- tech look, and the neighbors are always impressed! Love the sound effects!

You said the jacks work. Jacks are fed from load side of the DC panel 60 amp breaker, so it's fine. The DC fuse panel then feeds a number of things such as the stereo, pump, furnace, refer, ect., and the main switch panel. You mentioned the lights don't work, but the awning and camera do. I have not verified this, but it would make sense that the master switch on the main switch panel only controls the lights including the outside, inside, and closet. That's to avoid battery drain if you left a light on. You wouldn't want the camera or awning to be turned off by the master switch, so it's the primary suspect. My master switch failed and I had to jiggle and flick it a few times to get the lights on. Turned out to be a loose spade connector on the back of the switch. Best to pop the switch out and check it now to avoid an unwanted black out. Hope that solves the problem. Geoff

There are two types of generator transfer switches, ones that break the hot wire only, and ones that break both hot and neutral. If a hot wire only switch is used, then the generator must have a floating neutral or there will be dual bond condition as @CRM mentioned. Conversely, a double pole switch needs a bonded generator or the bond is lost. This is why some generators come with a bonded or not option. It’s difficult to explain why neutral-to-ground bonding works, but I try in the simplest terms with plausible scenarios. If a hot or neutral wire becomes shorted to a conducting element of the trailer, such as the skin or frame, then a person touching the frame could create a current path to earth and get shocked. However, the ground wire is bonded to the trailer frame — so with a normal properly bonded power supply, a fault to the frame would result in a direct short that would trip the breaker. If using a power pack such as the Bluetti, then there is no path to earth and such a fault would energize the frame. There is no current path to trip the breaker. You could touch the frame and create a shocking path to earth. This is where a bonding plug comes into play. With it installed, a hot-to-frame fault becomes a direct short back to the source's neutral — this collapses the frame's voltage to near zero and may trip the breaker outright. Either way, the frame is no longer dangerous to touch. I hope this helps explain a very complex, but interesting, subject! Cheers! Geoff

That’s a great comment. In reality, the manufactures are producing these things faster than the regulatory bodies can keep up. Merely disclosing a floating neutral is enough to keep them off the hook for now at least. This was first mandated for the generator industry, and It’s ultimately the installers responsibility for how they are connected and used. These power packs have a least off-set the risks with built-in GFCI’s for personal shock protection, but that does not satisfy the long standing rules for bonding that the trailer industry must follow. This is directly related to the trailer “hot-skin” issue that was bandied around for years. They recently codified long overdue requirements for trailer Ground Monitor Interrupters (GMI) that will be phased in over the next few years. Similar to the EMS (except it can’t be by-passed), the GMI’s will prevent the use of non-bonded power supplies, and it will be non-optional for new trailers. We watch with interest how this story fully evolves! Cheers! Geoff

The bonding plug needs to be at the source -- the Bluetti or generator outlets. Not an outlet in the trailer. Because the Bluetti outlet has nothing connected to the ground, the bonding plug cannot join the ground and neutral. Therefor a one-to-three outlet adapter can be plugged into the Bluetti, one of the three adapter outlets gets the bonding plug, another gets the trailer feed cord, and the third is a spare. That effectively bonds the ground and neutral. Bonding at the power source has always been required by code, these power packs just add a new dynamic. Someone had an idea to use the EMS bypass "in a pinch." This isn't risk free, but it would be fine for getting the lights on while finding the bonding plug. The EMS is actually protecting the trailer from an un-bonded neutral that the bonding plug fixes. Keep in mind that these power supplies are perfectly fine for single power cord loads as designed. They are not designed to be connected to a trailer where the wiring system assumes a bonded supply. Cheers! Geoff

I've never heard of a Blueitti. However there are a similar issues with a Jackery. They have what's called a floating neutral. Also common in some generators. So yes, a floating neutral requires a neutral to ground bonding plug. Otherwise the Electrical Management System (EMS) will see it as an open ground. But there is a problem. Many (if not all) of these power packs have no reference to ground what-so-ever. So the "u-ground" pin hole of the receptacle is not connected to anything, it's just an open hole. So a neutral to ground bonding plug wouldn't connect to anything in the ground pin hole, and it won't work. Now that I've confused everyone, including myself, there is a bypass trick. Use a 1-outlet to 3-outlet adapter, or an extension cord with a "Wye" that provides 3 extra outlets to plug into. Plug the neutral to ground bonding plug into one the extra outlets to effectively bond the neutral and ground... despite there being no ground on the power pack. Cool huh. This is one of many reasons to have a $10 plug-in circuit tester, the ones with three lights that show various conditions such as open grounds. I recommend you test all circuits when rigging such power supplies. Cheers! Geoff

We met Oliver owner “Rob” from Florida at Manzanita Lake in California! Not many Olivers in these parts and it was a thrill to meet you! I was sorry we didn’t get a chance to chat with the wives together. Our camping group was demanding, and then you were gone. I didn’t find your profile on the forum, so here’s a public shout-out, and I hope your trip was great! Cheers! Geoff and Tanya

Jd, thanks for the complimentary words as always! I mentioned the Auto Electric Specialist option because many folks may not know it’s a thing. It’s an ASE recognized field and most areas have them. We actually have three exclusive Auto Electric businesses here in small town Eureka. I also remember at least a couple of them when I lived in the Phoenix area near you. I don’t rule out that the truck has a problem, but I believe it’s the trailer because the dealer cleared the truck, and there were no other trouble codes. Wiring issues were found in the trailer and the repairs made the issue go away temporarily, so odds are that’s the source. Electrical problems can be very elusive, and often beyond DYI electric testing skills. My mention of a possible brake controller problem, or PWM digital interfaces, was merely meant to show that the problem could be almost anywhere, and one must consider that in their repair decisions. After several mechanics failed to find the problem, it’s reasonable to assume it’s not a simple problem to find. That’s why it would be “lucky” to find it with simple tests. My suggested test might find a ground problem, which would explain both the brakes and the flickering lights. However, intermittent problems, high resistance connections and shorts, degraded brake controllers, etc., could all cause similar symptoms, and they can be very hard to find. You'r right about the black wire, I must of had a brain embolism on that one. And I should clarify that the junction box is a likely place for problems to occur, but I’d probably start testing from the main ground bus under the dinette, and work backwards to the truck — only if there was high resistance or an open… keeping in mind that the brake circuit probably branches out separately from the junction box which further complicates testing. Also I didn’t mean to shut-down your emergency brake breakaway switch amperage test idea. However, it’s fed directly from the battery and a completely separate circuit from the TV. In fact, your low amperage readings didn’t compute with expected amperage for 4 brakes, so perhaps the switch only controls the brakes for one axle. Regardless, it’s doubtful that a problem in that circuit would show-up as a TV brake issue. Also, the hot side of the TV brake wire could create similar symptoms if there was a short to ground. That could be even more tricky to find. Some might use a Megger to test the wire insulation… which is over kill for 12v circuits. A jiggle test with a multimeter is the way to go, but it’s hit and miss. Anyway, see how quickly it gets complicated. I don’t like to throw out too much detailed information to confuse people, but I re-iterate that there’s more to it than folks might realize, and that’s why there are so many auto electric specialist’s. Hope that clarifies things! Cheers! Geoff