Snackchaser

You can safely put a maximum of 200 watts into the auxiliary Zamp solar port. It is polarity wired for a Zamp solar controller which is opposite of some controllers, so verify polarity of your panel and controller before plugging it in. Polarity reversing adapters are available for the Zamp port if needed. Your 400 watt panel would need a 30/40 amp controller, larger wiring, and a 30-40 amp fuse. Check panel rating plate and ask google to be sure.

I’ve been using Starlink in the Northwest for years, since being a beta tester for the first generation round dishy. Iv’e found that a pole mounted dish often get better sky-view angle over trees. I have a simple pole mount using a 10' stick of Electrical Metallic Tubing (EMT) that I carry under the trailer frame (see Tacky Starlink Dishy Mast). It was an easy and inexpensive mod, quick to set up, and it doubles as a flagpole if you're feeling patriotic. I stopped using a tripod stand a long time ago. When not using the pole, I just lay the Mini on whatever is near by, or even on the ground. A permanent mount is not optimal in tree county. We don’t use a dedicated carry case either, we just toss it on the bed or on the back seat. I’m all for having less stuff to pack up and carry. The Mini is watertight and robust, and you would be hard pressed to damage it. I prefer running the Mini from DC power over using the inverter for AC power. It's more power-efficient, especially if you leave it on 24/7 like us. The wattage losses from converting DC to AC, then back to DC add up. So I use a Victron DC voltage booster and it’s been a popular solution that has worked flawlessly for years. See: Starlink Mini installation, cracking the 12 Vdc barrier . . . or not! It’s nice having a portable battery pack for backup at times when there is no sky-view at camp, or to share internet with your buddies. I made a bunch of the “Everlanders” designed rechargeable slim packs that last several hours, but commercial options are also available. We depend on the internet for cell service, so battery packs or inverter AC power is not a good permanent solution for us. The bargain priced Mini router is usually not needed... until it is. Keep in mind that the farther you get from the dish, the weaker the WiFi signal, and the slower the internet. Weak WiFi can be mistaken for poor satellite reception, so try the router if you're seeing the spinning wheel of frustration! These can also be powered by 12 volts DC. See: The new Starlink Mini Router, for what ails you! for power options. So anyway, that's my two cents. Have fun in BC, but watch out for cell phone roaming charges, and don’t bring any produce back! We just got detained on the USA side last week because we declared a couple ears of BC of corn. They could have just taken the corn, but instead they made us maneuver the trailer into the humiliation parking area, then kept us waiting in the detention facility for an hour while they searched our stuff and freaked out the dog! But I have to say, the lab did a nice job at de-lousing and folding our shopping bag! Cheers! Geoff

One area of quality that I've never seen discussed, is the level and plumb of interior cabinets. Our kitchen counters are way off level from the floor, and from any other area where you might normally check for level when parking. Consequently, we have to set level from the kitchen countertop, to keep the stove level, and then everything else is off level. That might be a good delivery checklist item, because I would have never accepted that condition, but I didn't discover it until we got back to California. It looks like the countertop could be removed and leveled out easy enough, but then the drawers would still roll out on their own with the floor level.

Charlie, Based on your measured values, I’d first look at the battery cable to battery post connection(s): 1. If the 12.7 volt measurement was taken directly from the battery posts, then the battery is not dead. 2. The solar directly feeds the battery via the Zamp controller. It does not pass through the inverter or the main battery breaker. So the 11.7 voltage read from the Zamp controller is more likely a voltage drop through the battery post connection(s), not the main breaker. 3. The inverter also shows 11.7 volts, with no load, so it could also be reading a voltage drop through the battery post connection(s). That’s a reasonable analysis, and battery post corrosion is a common problem with AGM batteries. Sometimes the lead battery posts become oxidized. Although they appear fine, oxidization is a poor conductor. Having said all that, you possibly have a different setup or a poor main ground connection. Some simple voltage tests at various connection points would quickly isolate the problem if cleaning the battery posts does not fix the issue. Hope that helps. Cheers, Geoff

GJ, You are correct on all counts! Good logical thinking, and good luck with the yellow wire mess! Geoff

You've lost a ground connection! There are several yellow "home-run" ground conductors in the space behind the master switch panel. Each of them splits off to feed various circuits including a ground wire to each of the switches for the LED indicators. It's a tangled mess of yellow wires and splices in that space, and the loss of one of those ground connections could cause all the symptoms you described. Start from a switch where the LED is not working, and trace its yellow wire to the multi wire splice. Use the ohm or continuity setting on your multimeter to verify there is continuity to ground. See the post titled "I was awakened by flashing blue lights!" to see a picture of those ground splices, and to see how each switch has a yellow ground wire for the LED indicator. Also note that some of those ground splices are jumpered together. If you fed your LevelMate (+) from the hot side of the awning switch, then I assume that you probably tapped into one of those grounds for the (-). If that's true, then that splice would be a prime suspect! Hope that helps! Cheers, Geoff

Those are momentary motor reversing switches (spring return to center). Don't get a latching switch! A knock-off version is available from Amazon https://a.co/d/01EAzrSv . They are okay. Amazon includes the waterproof rubber cap, but many suppliers don't. No worries because they are available at ACE hardware and auto part stores. You can also use a center off or momentary Double Throw Double Pole DPDT switch in an emergency, but you would have to make your own jumpers as can be seen in your picture. Judging from the jumper wire in your picture, it looks like your switch was wired with the power leads going to the center terminals. That jumper wire is power for the lamp switch, and it's doubled up with the +12v power wire for the jack. Normally the power wires are on the outer terminals per the Barker jack wiring diagrams, but it makes no difference electrically. The lamp -12v wire is spliced to the jacks ground. Your jack motor leads go to the outer terminals (polarity is not important yet). With wires hooked up, look at the position of the notch or flat side of the switch threads for correct alignment with the jack housing. Then try the switch to verify that the jack is going the right direction. Just reverse the motor leads on the switch to change direction if needed. Use a piece of heat shrink over all the switches terminal spades. This prevents shorts, but more importantly it helps hole the spade terminals from coming off. Sometimes it's also necessary to pinch the wire terminals for better grip on the switch spades. Hope that is not too confusing! Cheers, Geoff

We had that same problem until we tried a product called 30 Seconds Outdoor Cleaner. My wife uses it to off clean mildew on the outside of the house. I tried it on our hopelessly stained white window weatherstripping and after a 30 second soak they looked new. Perhaps it doesn't work on all stains, but it might be worth a try! 30 SECONDS Outdoor Cleaner Concentrate 1 gal Mfr# 1G30SJ - Ace Hardware.pdf

I read two issues here, the vent cover does not stay closed, and the hose comes loose? The vent cover has louvers that do not tightly close, I'm surprised that mine have not broken as many times as they have been kicked. I don't have a fix for that. However, if the hose is coming loose, you can add new screws. It was originally fastened with screws that went through the hose and into the plastic vent. Then taped. I was able to get the screws out, but it was near impossible to put new ones back in the tight space. Rather I put screws in from the inside of the vent and was able to get tape on using little pieces. See the picture:

Hey Chris, Looks like you have plenty of good advice and help available, but I'm happy to help out if still needed. There is not much room behind that pantry switch, but it should be fairly easy to find that disconnected wire and pull it back through. My trailer has just a single switch for the courtesy light, not a 3-way. But regardless, it's a simple circuit. Drop me a message if you need extra help and I can stop by. Geoff

After reading through this thread, it seems that either the shore power GFCI breaker or the inverter GFCI breaker trips after running the microwave in the convection mode for a few minutes. That sure sounds like the convection oven is failing! A crack in the heating element could cause a low current leakage path to ground when it gets hot enough. It only takes several milliamps to trip the GFCI and it will reset after the oven cools down and the leakage path goes away. A standard thermo/magnetic breaker may not detect this condition and the element would probably just burn out after a while. A winding in the oven fan has the same possible failure mode, but it could take longer to completely fail. I'd try plugging the microwave directly into an extension cord that is plugged into a GFCI. This will confirm if the oven works, or needs to be replaced. Good luck and let us know what you find. Geoff

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!