Re: Switch to lithium ion??
This is how I did it.
Look at the right side index
alinerexpeditionmods.blogspot.com
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Re: Renogy 20 amp DC DC charger
Is your 24ft total length of 10 gauge wire or is it 2 runs of 24ft,? 24 for red & 24 for the ground?
?If that is the case then your total run is 48ft.
Here is a table for voltage drops for automotive DC circuits.
If it's a total of 48' you might be on the small size for 10 amps?
On Fri, Apr 26, 2024 at 11:23 AM, Steve T <srtimm@...> wrote: I just called Renogy and asked if I could run their 20 amp DC to DC charger in half power mode (10 amp), on 24 ft long 10 awg input wires. ?The guy said yes. ?I also asked what happens if there's too much voltage drop on the input wires due to small wire sizes, and would the charger catch fire or something bad like that. ?He said the charger would just shut off.
In the past when this question was asked the renogy rep said you can't do that, or maybe it wasn't recommended. ?I don't recall the exact wording. ?I was expecting to have to push harder for an answer and maybe get the question referred to the R&D group. ?But nope, the guy just said yes.?
The guy answering my questions was consulting tables for max current on various wire sizes and voltage drop, so he knew a bit about electronics. ?But he didn't consult anyone in the R&D department or already know the answer from prior consultations. ?So I don't know if his answer is completely reliable.
But assuming this answer is valid, that means you can just cut the power wires coming out of the Bargman cable, connect the vehicle side to the inputs to the renogy charger, and the other side to the outputs of the renogy charger, and the problems of battery drain, blown fuse, and alternator damage will not happen. ?You also need to set the jumper wire on the charger to set half power mode.
That's not enough power to run the fridge on DC mode, so you still have to exclude that. ?But at least you don't have to run the extra set of larger gauge wires.
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Re: Switch to lithium ion??
I have had a lithium battery (battleborn) for 5 years - no DC to DC charger battery is fine, tow vehicle battery fine -
?5-6 camping trips per year, 2019 Tacoma
I do have a solar charge controller and I upgraded the charge portion of my converter for the lithium.
No problems here.?
The solar keeps it topped off while driving, before I used to tow without the solar hooked up (about 4 years) still no problems.
But for each his own Happy camping? Dan S
On Fri, Apr 26, 2024 at 2:21 PM, Scott Ellington <K9ma@...> wrote: On Thu, Apr 25, 2024 at 11:18 PM, dan smartt wrote:
You don't need the dc-dc converter - it would be nice etc . But you won't hurt your tow vehicle or lithium battery without the DC to DC charger.
I respectfully disagree. Scott Ellington
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Re: Switch to lithium ion??
On Thu, Apr 25, 2024 at 11:18 PM, dan smartt wrote:
You don't need the dc-dc converter - it would be nice etc . But you won't hurt your tow vehicle or lithium battery without the DC to DC charger.
I respectfully disagree. Scott Ellington
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Renogy 20 amp DC DC charger
I just called Renogy and asked if I could run their 20 amp DC to DC charger in half power mode (10 amp), on 24 ft long 10 awg input wires. ?The guy said yes. ?I also asked what happens if there's too much voltage drop on the input wires due to small wire sizes, and would the charger catch fire or something bad like that. ?He said the charger would just shut off.
In the past when this question was asked the renogy rep said you can't do that, or maybe it wasn't recommended. ?I don't recall the exact wording. ?I was expecting to have to push harder for an answer and maybe get the question referred to the R&D group. ?But nope, the guy just said yes.?
The guy answering my questions was consulting tables for max current on various wire sizes and voltage drop, so he knew a bit about electronics. ?But he didn't consult anyone in the R&D department or already know the answer from prior consultations. ?So I don't know if his answer is completely reliable.
But assuming this answer is valid, that means you can just cut the power wires coming out of the Bargman cable, connect the vehicle side to the inputs to the renogy charger, and the other side to the outputs of the renogy charger, and the problems of battery drain, blown fuse, and alternator damage will not happen. ?You also need to set the jumper wire on the charger to set half power mode.
That's not enough power to run the fridge on DC mode, so you still have to exclude that. ?But at least you don't have to run the extra set of larger gauge wires.
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A-sidewall gas spring installation
Brian: ? In your recently posted pic of your upper door latch release, the pic also shows your 26¡± x 30# door-side A-sidewall gas spring.? Since the pic isn¡¯t detailed, I assume the upper and lower ball brackets are mounted with pass-through machine screws.? The lower bracket appears to be mounted to the door partition.? Is the upper bracket mounted to the door edge extrusion with the machine screws passing through the upper A-sidewall to the outside?? Did you find that 30# is sufficient to assist with the raising of the door side A-sidewall, without too much impediment to folding? ? Thanks,? Dave ? ?
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Re: Switch to lithium ion??
I'm going to inject some observations of my system.
1. I have a cigarette lighter type usb/voltage display that I plug into my tow vehicle to monitor voltage. My alternator sometimes puts out the 14.4 volts required as part of the absorption charging cycle. (2013 Ford F-150)?
2. I have done two experiments with shore power charging my lithium battery.? The first experiment was plugging in shore power the first night and leaving it until the second morning. During that entire daytime cycle my solar charged (60 Watthours) or five amp hours above what the converter had put into the battery.?
The second experiment was just the other day. My battery was down to 83%. (Victoron smartshunt).? I turn to my solar off and plugged in at 9:00 a.m. My battery voltage went up to 13.4 volts and 3.4 amps.? At 11:00 p.m. that night my shunt said my battery was at 99%. The converter for the last couple hours was putting out 13.66 volts and 0 amps.?
This indicates to me that solar takes better care of any battery chemistry better than the old converters that are not set up for lithium. If you use the solar more often than shore power, or even in conjunction with it, the solar should take your battery through the absorption cycle which is what both lead acid and lithium require for longevity.
I should note here that I have 400 watts of solar in a 2s 2p configuration with an MPPT controller.? A single 100 watt panel with a pwm controller should still accomplish the absorption cycle, but having 200 W with an mppt will have a better chance of hitting that absorption cycle which is critical to battery life.
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Re: Switch to lithium ion??
You don't need the dc-dc converter - it would be nice etc . But you won't hurt your tow vehicle or lithium battery without the DC to DC charger.
You will need to set your solar charge controller for lithium and probably get a new rv converter or change the charging portion of your converter for the lithium though.
Happy camping
On Thu, Apr 25, 2024 at 4:11 PM, Scott Ellington <K9ma@...> wrote: On Thu, Apr 25, 2024 at 06:33 PM, Don Mackay wrote:
I know this subject has been addressed before but I am looking for a simple answer from those of you who are much more knowledgeable than I.?
Can I replace my 12 volt lead acid battery with a 200ah lithium ion with no changes to my TV? I don¡¯t want to damage anything.?(I have a 7 pin wire hookup with an echo brake controller.)
I do know that my converter will only charge to about 80%.?
We will be camping off grid with no power available. I do have a portable 100 solar panel that may not do much.?
Thank you so much for your reply. I really appreciate each of you and your vast knowledge.?
Don Mackay
You would need both a converter and a DC to DC charger designed for lithium ion batteries. You definitely do not want to try to charge it directly from your TV.? Even with a lead-acid battery, you should not charge directly from the TV, but use a DC to DC charger. I'd also consider the cost effectiveness, unless weight is the main consideration. Li-ion batteries cost much more than lead-acid batteries, though they last much longer. Are you likely to use your trailer long enough to wear out enough lead-acid batteries to come out ahead? Scott Ellington
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Even the pricey locks fail, nothing mechanical is 100%.? ?So far the $20 replacement which came with 6 keys has stood up over a year.
That's why I have a drill, I took a 3000 mile trip when my aliner supplied lock failed - key broke off in the lock.? ?Drilled out the deadbolt lock mechanism easy peasy - still had the door lock portion for the remainder of the trip.
I keep the battery drill for the stabilizers etc .
It's not that hard to get in aliner locked or not. It's more there to keep honest people honest.?
Happy camping?
Dan S
On Thu, Apr 25, 2024 at 3:57 PM, Steve T <srtimm@...> wrote: Don, even though the lock you bought has a bunch of comments about being all metal and high quality, it still has a small percentage of reviews saying the deadbolt fell apart and locked people out of their camper.??
I looked at some more reviews, and some were saying the oem Fastec lock was the best.? But even that has reviews saying people were locked out if their camper.
I looked at just about all the locks like that on Amazon and all of the ones with a significant number of reviews had a bunch of locked out of the camper comments.? I wonder if this is like the trying to buy good LEDs problem.? So many vendors selling crappy LEDs are on Amazon that the good vendors, who have higher prices, don't bother trying to sell there,
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Re: Switch to lithium ion??
On Thu, Apr 25, 2024 at 06:33 PM, Don Mackay wrote:
I know this subject has been addressed before but I am looking for a simple answer from those of you who are much more knowledgeable than I.?
Can I replace my 12 volt lead acid battery with a 200ah lithium ion with no changes to my TV? I don¡¯t want to damage anything.?(I have a 7 pin wire hookup with an echo brake controller.)
I do know that my converter will only charge to about 80%.?
We will be camping off grid with no power available. I do have a portable 100 solar panel that may not do much.?
Thank you so much for your reply. I really appreciate each of you and your vast knowledge.?
Don Mackay
You would need both a converter and a DC to DC charger designed for lithium ion batteries. You definitely do not want to try to charge it directly from your TV.? Even with a lead-acid battery, you should not charge directly from the TV, but use a DC to DC charger. I'd also consider the cost effectiveness, unless weight is the main consideration. Li-ion batteries cost much more than lead-acid batteries, though they last much longer. Are you likely to use your trailer long enough to wear out enough lead-acid batteries to come out ahead? Scott Ellington
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Don, even though the lock you bought has a bunch of comments about being all metal and high quality, it still has a small percentage of reviews saying the deadbolt fell apart and locked people out of their camper.??
I looked at some more reviews, and some were saying the oem Fastec lock was the best.? But even that has reviews saying people were locked out if their camper.
I looked at just about all the locks like that on Amazon and all of the ones with a significant number of reviews had a bunch of locked out of the camper comments.? I wonder if this is like the trying to buy good LEDs problem.? So many vendors selling crappy LEDs are on Amazon that the good vendors, who have higher prices, don't bother trying to sell there,
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Re: Switch to lithium ion??
Here is a list of problems you may run into but I don't think anybody knows for sure if your particular vehicle, converter, and lithium battery will have them:
1. The high current draw of the lithium charging from your vehicle may damage your vehicle alternator, or blow the fuse in the bargman power circuit.
2. Not fully charging a lithium by using a lead acid converter won't balance the cells in the lithium, and may damage the lithium.
3. If your converter doesn't put out 14.4 volts very readily, it may be very poor at charging your lithium.
4. Your lithium battery will make the car "see" 13.5 volts (instead of 12.6), so the car alternator may not come on, so you drain the lithium for the duration of the time you tow.
Just my guess, but I think you won't have problem #1 because 200 ah won't draw too much current (maybe 800 would?), and problems 2 through 4 will only degrade your lithium lifespan somewhat.
One other thought for getting 200 ah is that I'd get 2 100 ah and wire them in parallel.? Lithium batteries essentially have computers inside them and when a chip goes bad the lithium dies.? But if you have 2 batteries you'll still have power because just one battery will go at a time (hopefully), so you don't have to abort your trip.
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I got this one, it's only $20. Worked fine for a replacement?
TrampgiK Engineering Plastic Camper Door Lock, RV Door Lock Replacement, Fit 3.65" x 2.95" Lock Hole, for Motorhome,RV Camper,Entrance Front Door, 1 Lock+6 Key Aliked https://a.co/d/4UKE7J2
On Thu, Apr 25, 2024 at 11:08 AM, Don DeRyke via groups.io <DERYKED@...> wrote: I bought this two years ago, and it has worked flawlessly.? I like the unique feature.
-- Don DeRyke Sunrise, Florida 2009 Classic, 2020 Ford Escape, 2.0 liter EcoBoost, AWD.? Previous TV 2015 Ford Escape 1.6 ltr EcoBoost engine.
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I know this subject has been addressed before but I am looking for a simple answer from those of you who are much more knowledgeable than I.?
Can I replace my 12 volt lead acid battery with a 200ah lithium ion with no changes to my TV? I don¡¯t want to damage anything.?(I have a 7 pin wire hookup with an echo brake controller.)
I do know that my converter will only charge to about 80%.?
We will be camping off grid with no power available. I do have a portable 100 solar panel that may not do much.?
Thank you so much for your reply. I really appreciate each of you and your vast knowledge.?
Don Mackay
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I bought this two years ago, and it has worked flawlessly.? I like the unique feature.
-- Don DeRyke Sunrise, Florida 2009 Classic, 2020 Ford Escape, 2.0 liter EcoBoost, AWD.? Previous TV 2015 Ford Escape 1.6 ltr EcoBoost engine.
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Re: stainless toggle corner clamp
I followed Carl's lead and installed these on the walls of my Aliner.? I wrote an article on the process (in the group files) with the help of another forum member (see article) to perhaps make it easier for others to make this upgrade:
?
Microsoft Word - A-frame Side Wall Wind Latches (groups.io)
?
I would think every Aliner should have this upgrade to protect the side walls from blowing inward.? It happened to me twice -- but never again after adding the wind latches.
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Re: stainless toggle corner clamp
Hello
Jonathan:
I only used
one screw, the rest are nuts and bolts.
The hook in
the roof flange has two nuts and bolts, I used a low profile
head on the inside and the nuts on the outside. After tightening
I filed off the excess thread to the top of the nuts.
The latch on
the inside has one screw into the thin plywood. It is really
there to fill the hole in the latch, I don't expect it to hold
anything. I drove it in and then removed it to add Elmer's Glue
to the hole before replacing the screw.
The other
hole is a bolt and nut. The hole goes through both layers of the
aluminum edge then the bolt has a slim head on the outside and
the nut is under the clamp.
Since the
walls and roof sections can shift, I would suggest making the
hook narrower. This makes latching easier.
Put these on
8 years ago. One that was the most out of line failed, but was
easy to replace.
They really
tighten up the camper where it needs help.
Take care,
Carl.
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
Hello!
I tried installing thus clamp and the screws aren¡¯t catching and
the clamp keeps slipping out. ?Would appreciate any tips or ideas,
thanks in advance.
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Re: stainless toggle corner clamp
Hello!
I tried installing thus clamp and the screws aren¡¯t catching and the clamp keeps slipping out. ?Would appreciate any tips or ideas, thanks in advance.
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Everyone with a door that has the handle on the left side as you enter should carry a special key along to get into the Aliner in an emergency.? I was locked out at a 2009 AOC national rally and learned the next day how to make this amazing key.? I carry three of these keys along on all adventures.? When you carry this emergency key you won't likely need it.
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Eugene Breindel
Don Mackay
Don DeRyke
Brian Hovander
Carl
