Finally! My Batteries and Inverter Now Run My AC!

[Spike]

With the help of a number of good folks on this forum and my great RV Tech, Mathew Gonzales, who has worked on my 2017 Elite II since I brought in home to SE AZ, I finally achieved my goal of being able to run my AC off of my 2000-watt inverter and my new battery bank: 4 100ah Battle Born lithium batteries. 

After asking for, and getting, advice from folks on the forum about a number of issues that Mat and I ran encountered when attempting this upgrade, I made these decisions and Mat did this work:

1. I first made the decision to purchase the Houghton 9.5K Low Profile Air Conditioner from RecPro--due mainly to how much quieter it runs compared to the Dometic Penguin that came with my Ollie, and to its lower amp draw (10 vs. the 16 for the Dometic). 
2. I learned that the Houghton could be run off of the 2000-watt inverter that came with my Ollie, using a transfer switch plugged into it running to the AC.
3. I asked Mat to move the Micro-Air soft start previously installed in the Dometic to the Houghton. We discovered that he needed to reprogram the soft start to coordinate with the new AC. 
4. Since, unlike the Dometic set-up that came with my 2017 Ollie, the Houghton did not have a way to control the furnace, Mat installed and wired an Emerson non-programable thermostat--once again using information gleaned from folks on this forum--to control the furnace.
5. I figured it was a good idea to supplement the 320-watt solar panels that came with my Ollie with a 180-watt Zamp solar panel kit. I also purchased a Zamp solar port that Mat installed near the shore power input. 
6. When my AGM batteries overheated last fall, I found I had no way to easily disconnect the battery bank. (This, I suspect, is something that is an original defect in the electrical system of my Oliver. Is it for all Olivers still?) So, while Mat was doing all of the other work, I had him install a battery disconnect switch near the inverter.

I don't want this to appear as a straightforward process. It took a lot of back and forth between Mat and me trying to come up with solutions to problems encountered along the way. This back-and-forth involved a lot of advice from folks on this forum, some of whom I have not thanked by name. I would like to give special mention and thanks, however, to CnC and Minnesota Oli, who spent a good deal of time with me exchanging private messages. Man, were they patient with this technical novice! 

The outcome is that I now have a much quieter AC that runs off of my solar, batteries, and 2000-watt inverter. One can read elsewhere about the advantages of the Houghton. Mat told me, before I took my camper home, that he ran the Houghton for about four hours, supplementing the roof-top solar with the Zamp portable kit, and the voltage never dropped below 13 volts. I ran it when I brought the camper home, and verified that the system seemed to run the AC flawlessly AND much more quietly than before. I am delighted, as I have been wanting for a long time to be able to boondock in climes needing  cooling of the cabin without having to resort to the hassle and noise of a generator.

I will follow up with another post if I run into any issues. 

Disclaimer: I still have very little technical understanding about how this system functions and how the components and wiring fit together, so I will not be the one to answer many, if any, technical questions, but I know that on this forum, if you ask, you receive. There are some good posts on this forum involving the Houghton AC and related issues, so take a look around, and don't hesitate to submit your questions on this forum. Doing so paid off big time for me!

Here is the interior view of my newly installed Houghton 9.5K Low Profile Air Conditioner:
 

Here is an exterior view (birds won't be able to nest in this one!):

Here is a photo of how Mat secured and wired the transfer switch and battery disconnect switch:

 

Here is a photo of the Emerson non-programable thermostat to control the furnace (thanks go to John Davies who suggested the purchase):

Here is a photo of the Zamp solar port with cord leading to the Zamp 180-watt portable solar panel kit:

Here is a photo of the charge controller on my Zamp 180-watt portable solar panel kit, showing the voltage just after I plugged it in. (In less than 10 minutes, this controller and the interior Zamp showed the voltage up to 14.6 before dropping back into the floating voltage range.):

Edited February 12, 2022 by Spike
Needed to add more info.

[Mike and Carol]

Keep us posted on how it performs!  Mike

[Southbird401]

That looks like a great system.  How much trouble was involved in installing the Zamp portable hookup plug, or was that already wired into your system?

[BackofBeyond]

Good Job

 

[Spike]

22 hours ago, Southbird401 said:

How much trouble was involved in installing the Zamp portable hookup plug, or was that already wired into your system?

My RV tech, Mat, did the install, but I think that it was no sweat for him. Other aspects of the upgrade did pose some bigger challenges. 

As I stated in my original post, "I still have very little technical understanding about how this system functions and how the components and wiring fit together, so I will not be the one to answer many, if any, technical questions, but I know that on this forum, if you ask, you receive. There are some good posts on this forum involving the Houghton AC and related issues, so take a look around, and don't hesitate to submit your questions on this forum. Doing so paid off big time for me!"

[geO]

Very nice Spike! It looks awesome.

[Southbird401]

Thank you.  I'll look into it as well.

[Spike]

On 2/11/2022 at 3:35 PM, Spike said:

I finally achieved my goal of being able to run my AC off of my 2000-watt inverter and my new battery bank: 4 100ah Battle Born lithium batteries. 

This may be of interest: I just estimated the weight reduction by replacing my 4 6-volt AGM batteries with the Battle Borns, and replacing the Dometic AC with the Houghton. Our Ollie may have lost about 300 lbs (along with about 1 inch of height).

[wolfdds]

@Spike do you know any of the specifics regarding wiring the Emerson non-programmable thermostats? I have just replaced my Dometic AC  with the low profile Houghton. The AC is running great using the remote but I now need to rewire/install the Emerson Tstat.  Anyone that can provide wiring information would be greatly appreciated.

 

Thanks!

[Spike]

25 minutes ago, wolfdds said:

do you know any of the specifics regarding wiring the Emerson non-programmable thermostats?

wolfdds--

As I wrote about my upgrade, my RV tech did all of the work, but I DID pass along this information from Minnesota Oli, who apparently got it from katanapilot. I hope it helps.

 

Here's a paragraph from Got Earplugs by katanapilot from My version of the Houghton AC install posted May 27.
As a sidenote halfway through the install I thought of a different way of doing the wiring for the thermostat. If a person replaced the LCD thermostat with a older manual style you could do away with the LCD relay board. If you look at the first picture that shows a group of wires that are in a black sheath, these are the control side of the wiring for the AC. In that group of wires there are two blue wires one with a white stripe. The one with the white stripe is hot 12 volts DC and the solid blue is the wire that goes to the furnace relay board. So re-allocate the existing thermostat wires by doubling them up ,two of them hooked to the solid blue and the other two hook to the blue with the white stripe. Then at the wall hook the two thermostat wires that are hooked to blue with white stripe to the power in on the new manual thermostat and the other two to the power out. The reason I would double them up is because of they're small gauge. This would do away with having to pull wires and using the LCD relay board. Also save you having to toggle through the unusable modes (heat strip, cool)  on the LCD thermostat to get to the furnace mode.
 
 By re-allocate the existing thermostat wires and doubling them up ,two of them hooked to the solid blue and the other two hook to the blue with the white stripe. Now you are able to utilize wires that are already there saving you having to run new ones. Simply switch out the thermostat with one that does not need a control board.

 

[CnC]

Congratulations, Spike. 😀

Charlie

[Jps190]

1 hour ago, wolfdds said:

@Spike do you know any of the specifics regarding wiring the Emerson non-programmable thermostats? I have just replaced my Dometic AC  with the low profile Houghton. The AC is running great using the remote but I now need to rewire/install the Emerson Tstat.  Anyone that can provide wiring information would be greatly appreciated.

 

Thanks!

What year is your trailer? Mine is a 2021 and the wire colors were different than Minnesota Oil’s.  

the green and blue wires on the left of the control box go to the heater.  These wires were spliced to the wires coming out of the heater.  You can find the splices right below the heater to identify which wires they correspond to.  See pic below.

 

John

[wolfdds]

@Jps190 My trailer is a 2018. I could not find the spliced wires under the heater that you show in your picture. I am going to post a picture of the wires that were cut from the AC and the current thermostat wiring. @Minnesota Oli or anyone else can you confirm which wires to splice together to eliminate the LCD control and wire the simple Emerson Thermostat. Thanks.

The wires shown here pretty much the picture from Minnesota Oli with the exception the red connected to the white/red. Also he describes doubling up the wires from the thermostat but my thermostat only has three wires (yellow, red, green). It looks like only the green and yellow Tstat wires are in the wiring harness that is at my AC end. 

 

[Minnesota Oli]

I believe the sold blue wire heads to your relay board on the furnace. I believe the blue with the white stripe is 12 volts hot. Check with a voltmeter to verify with fuse for furnace in place. If you touch those two wires together it will start the furnace, you will have to let the furnace time out before it will shut back down. If that checks out then you will splice one unused thermostat wire to blue and another unused thermostat wire to the blue with white stripe. Then back at where the thermostat wires come out of the wall you will use those two newly allocated thermostat wires to hook up the new single mode thermostat.

Hope that helps.

Paul

 

[wolfdds]

Yes, Thank you  @Minnesota Olifor confirming. I will update with new photos when it is complete for reference for the forum.

[wolfdds]

Here are the photos of the final wiring. I used the Red (spliced on AC side to white) and Yellow (spliced on AC side to orange) thermostat wires. As you can see in the photo the blue/white was the 12 v and the solid blue was the wire to the heater as @Minnesota Oliconfirmed. I checked with a volt meter and connected them at the AC side to confirm the heater would turn on. On the Tstat side the wiring is self explanatory from the picture. The only casualty in the install was blowing the 7.5 A fuse which is located under the dinette. After closing everything up and THEN putting in the new fuse so I would not blow it again everything is working great. What an excellent upgrade the low profile inside portion along with the reduction in operating noise was well worth it. BTW: if you are in the metrowest Boston, MA area and need any RV repairs; I used TRIC Mobile RV to do the heavy lifting to remove and replace the actual AC unit. https://tricmobilervrepair.com/ They did a fantastic job so I would definitely recommend them.

[Sofaman]

Hi Spike, is Matt ready to do the same thing on our #266? We just bought it back and want the same thing you were after.

We are in Oregon but will go anywhere to get this done correctly. 
 

[Kenter]

Thanks so much for your photos and details. I installed my Houghton a few months ago but at the time didn't bother to wire the furnace. Your info made the job super easy. Thanks again!

[Ronbrink]

Spike, was the Kisae transfer switch installed in addition to an existing one? I just upgraded my 2020 OLEll (no solar) to lithium, but the Dometic a/c only works on shore power. As I understand, the Kisae TS will allow me to operate the a/c via the 2000w inverter. 

[Geronimo John]

On 7/21/2023 at 7:24 AM, Ronbrink said:

was the Kisae transfer switch installed in addition to an existing one?

Yes, you need a second transfer switch.

GJ

[Ronbrink]

Gj, thanks for your response! Can you provide any details on the additional TS install? I have reached out to Oliver for a more detailed and comprehensive wiring schematic, but they have yet to respond to the request.

[Ronbrink]

On 7/30/2023 at 7:29 AM, Geronimo John said:

Yes, you need a second transfer switch.

GJ

Gj, please see my last response addressed to you. My son is a retired Naval electronics tech and asked me obtain the aforementioned wiring schematics for use in wiring in the additional transfer switch. He knows his stuff, so any informational details from you or any other knowledgable individual on how to properly complete the install would be greatly appreciated. My goal is to briefly run the A/C off the lithium batteries (460Ah total) during stops, and fully understand the inherent limitations of my system. Given the competence of my son, I feel he can perform this task in a safe manner. Thank you

[Geronimo John]

There is a post on our site from another owner that installed one with pictures.  Likely was John D., but I may be foggy on that.

GJ

[mountainoliver]

When I upgraded my batteries from flooded cell lead acid batteries to three Battle Born batteries a few years ago, I also made a few electrical upgrades as well. One upgrade was to clean up/simplify the DC wiring and the other was to add a new 20 amp transfer switch to allow me to run the air conditioner on the batteries by way of the inverter. In the photo the new 20 amp Kisae brand transfer switch needed is on the right and the various wires are labeled. The black wire has a 20 amp plug on it and just simply plugs into the inverter. The two yellow wires (12 gauge wires) are the ones that you’ll need to cut. The one on the right comes from the air conditioner breaker in the power distribution panel and the wire on the left goes up to the air conditioner. The correct diagram is printed on the transfer switch cover. I hope this helps.

 

[mountainoliver]

Something that should be mentioned in running the air conditioner on the batteries is that the older inverter is 2,000 watt capacity and according to the manufacturer it will safely handle 1,800 watts continuously. FOLLOW THE MANUFACTURER SPECS! Something else that should be noted here and may have already been mentioned is that the air conditioner should have the easy start module installed and really no other DC loads or AC loads can be running. Especially no other AC loads as the 2,000 watt inverter will be very close to maximum capacity running the original Dometic unit. Additionally, all of the high amperage DC lugs and connections should be checked to make sure that they are tight. I found one factory crimped lug to very warm while running the air conditioner on the batteries so I needed to re-crimp it. My air conditioner draws on average over 100 amps DC and that is dependent on cabin temperature. As the trailer cools down the DC amp draw goes down a bit (less compressor head pressure).

Edited June 25 by mountainoliver
Clarification added, correction