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Re: Ranger 10 roof peak curvature/gap
I have an Aliner Classic.? The roof has a crown in it which I am told by Aliner is normal.? I used to have a daylight issue.? Then I discovered there was supposed to be a seal at the peak on both roofs.? Mine only had one when I purchased it from the prior owner. Adding the missing seal solved my problem.? Regardless of the seal,. there is sufficient overhang of the upper roof to prevent a gentle rain from entering the camper.? However, wind driven rain that pushes water upward could get through.? The bigger problem would be flying insects can get in, especially with a light on at night. -- Don DeRyke Sunrise, Florida 2009 Classic, 2020 Ford Escape, 2.0 liter EcoBoost, AWD.? Previous TV 2015 Ford Escape 1.6 liter EcoBoost engine. |
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Re: Ranger 10 roof peak curvature/gap
The rear roof in my Chalet bows inward when its warm inside and cold outside.? Thats happening because when the inner roof skin warms up it expands, and the outer roof skin gets cold it contracts.? I don't know if all roofs do this, but maybe with better weatherstripping you don't notice it, or maybe I got some moisture in the inner roof skin (its wood) and that causes it.
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I just got a flat stick made of oak, tapered the end, and jam it straight up into the gap between the roof halves.? It bends the roof back outward and closes the gap. |
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Re: LED porch light feels hot when on
The way they make LEDs cheap is they put insufficient heat sinks in them.? Those bulbs get hot and some of the really bad ones have caught fire.? They also tend to burn out way before they should.?
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Buy a new bulb from m4products.com and you won't have that problem.?? |
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Re: LED porch light feels hot when on
¿ªÔÆÌåÓýIs the bulb or the hardware hot? Did you change the bulb? No way any of it should be hot like an incandescent¡. JimOn Jul 19, 2024, at 4:05?PM, lashru@... wrote:
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LED porch light feels hot when on
It was hot enough that I actually thought it was incandescent - until I took off the cover and discovered it was an LED plate. The light I'm talking about is the amber oval outside the door to the lower left. It has a rocker switch on the underside. Should I be concerned that there's too much resistance and it's a fire hazard, or what can I do to ensure it's not having some kind of issue? Thanks! |
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Ranger 10 roof peak curvature/gap
2022 Aliner Ranger 10 dual bunk model. I noticed daylight between the two pieces of the roof where they meet at the peak. The sidewalls raise up and lock in without malfunction - no scraping, no gapping as far as I can see, they just fit into place fine. But from about 3-4 inches in from each peak corner, there's an apparent curvature to the peak edges of one or the other or both roof pieces. What causes this and how can I correct it? The weather stripping appears undamaged, and the "daylight" that's visible appears filtered through something white/pale, which I assume is some kind of overhang/rain shield? But I'm concerned the peak edge is no longer watertight. Thanks! |
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Re: Water under the rug on the floor
We had a Cool Kat AC in our 2014 Ranger. It cooled great, but the factory did not have any type of drain pan under the unit on our Ranger. The factory¡¯s answer that it should most out the side grill which rarely happened. It continually soaked the floor due the warmer months. Someone mentioned that later models had a drain pan under the unit.
Van |
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Re: Water under the rug on the floor
ACs produce condensation when they run, but that should be contained within the AC unit until it can be blown out the back (with the hot air exhaust) or it can drain down a pipe through the floor.
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If that water is leaking out of your AC it can soak the floor, which will make it rot and fail.??
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What model AC does you camper have, and what make and model is your trailer?? Is it a Coolcat built by Dometic, or some other brand?? Do you know if it was installed at the factory??? |
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Re: Solar
¿ªÔÆÌåÓý? Gotta respectfully disagree, Scott.? Try empirical testing (ie: real life measurements) and you¡¯ll see that line loss is always a factor ¨C the longer the line, higher the gauge and lower the voltage, the more loss.? The only way to minimize line loss (not to mention connector losses) is to mount the controller near the battery.? Also, a controller with battery temperature monitoring can only provide that function if it is mounted near the battery. ? Zamp assumes that folks will buy their simplified arrays even if they are inefficient as described above, just because they are easier to implement.? That reality doesn¡¯t justify disregarding or denying the ever presence of line loss and its considerable impact on charging efficiency.? Besides, it can be argued that Zamp in particular really doesn¡¯t care about customers, since they have deliberately reverse wired their brand name connectors to fit their brand only.? ? Dave ? ¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡. ? The voltage drop in the wiring isn't really a problem. During the constant-current (bulk) part of the charge cycle, it doesn't matter at all, unless the drop is so large the panel can't supply the required current. In both that and the constant-voltage (absorption) part, the voltage drop just means the charging will take a little longer, but will not prevent fully charging the battery. |
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Re: Solar
On Mon, Jul 15, 2024 at 09:25 PM, Steve T wrote:
If the battery is still in bulk charging mode, the converter will automatically compensate for the voltage drop of the wire, unless it is really large. When the voltage at the charger reaches the preset limit, it goes into absorption mode, at constant voltage. True, at the beginning of this mode, the current is still high, so there will be slightly less voltage at the battery, However, as the battery charges, the current drops and the battery voltage approaches the charger output voltage. All this means is that absorption mode takes a bit longer, but the battery will still get fully charged. Boosting the charger voltage in this mode can overcharge the battery, which is not good. Once the charger goes into float mode, you definitely don't want to boost the voltage. ?
There certainly is no harm in mounting the charger close to the battery and/or using larger wire to minimize voltage drop, which will improve charging efficiency. However, if you don't need the absolute lowest charging time or highest efficiency, it isn't necessary.
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Note that both the absorption voltage and float voltage are temperature dependent for lead acid batteries. Some chargers include a temperature sensor at the battery and automatically compensate for temperature.
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All the above applies only to lead acid batteries. Li-ion batteries require different charging conditions.
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I highly recommend batteryuniversity.com, if you want to learn more about batteries.
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Scott Ellington
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Re: Solar
I have a button on my converter to force it into boost mode, which takes the voltage from around 13.6 to 14.4.? ?That increases the current going into the battery by almost 50%.? The voltage drop for 30 ft of 10 awg wire is .43 volts.? If the drop is proportional to voltage, that would mean a 25% power loss.? That's a pretty big hit.
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On Mon, Jul 15, 2024 at 10:56 AM, Scott Ellington wrote:
On Mon, Jul 15, 2024 at 01:30 PM, elegy3983 wrote: ? |
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Re: Solar
On Mon, Jul 15, 2024 at 01:30 PM, elegy3983 wrote:
The voltage drop in the wiring isn't really a problem. During the constant-current (bulk) part of the charge cycle, it doesn't matter at all, unless the drop is so large the panel can't supply the required current. In both that and the constant-voltage (absorption) part, the voltage drop just means the charging will take a little longer, but will not prevent fully charging the battery. The usual Zamp plug on Aliners is connected directly to the battery, which assumes the charge controller will be external. (Without even a fuse, in my case!) I put the controller inside the Aliner and re-wired that plug. An added advantage is that the controller doesn't get rained on. Scott Ellington |
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Water under the rug on the floor
Twice we have found water under the rug (rubber backed heavy duty entry carpet) in front of where the a/c vents are when the a/c has been going for a while. Could this be condensation? What can we do about it? Insulate the floor? All the cupboards around this area are dry.
JoeS |
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Re: Solar
¿ªÔÆÌåÓýAll good advice for the first time solar user.? My only concern: I do not recommend the use of self-contained ¡°suitcase¡± solar arrays IF they mount the charge controller on the array instead of next to the battery.? Reasoning is simple: the controller adjusts the voltage/current output from the array to suit the needs of the battery.? Typically the array outputs up to 20 volts, far too much for a 12 volt battery.? So the controller adjusts the voltage down.? Then there is substantial line loss over the wiring from array to battery, and the connector mounted to the camper sidewall.? So after all this loss, the battery may see only 11-12 volts, not enough for a full charge. ? When the controller is mounted near the battery, then even after line and connector loss, it will see around 18 volts, which is plenty for it to adjust to the 13-14 volts needed by the battery.? Also, being closely coupled with the battery, there is little/no line loss to corrupt its sensitivity to the battery¡¯s state of charge. ? My advice is to always mount the controller near the battery. ? Dave ? ? |
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Re: Solar
You're getting a lot of conflicting information so I'll give you some if/thens.
If you use only the trailer appliances and minor other stuff like cell phone charging, then get one 100 watt panel. Also get a 10 amp PWM solar controller. They're cheap and provide enough power for trailer appliances, but note that solar will never run your AC. If you have a dormer, then you can mount the solar panel to the top of the dormer and make it removable, so if the trailer is in the shade you can dismount it and move it to the sun. If you don't have a good spot to mount the solar panel, then don't mount it. Just lay it on the bed for travel, and set it out when you camp. If you want a simple and easy way to setup your solar system, then get a solar controller that's waterproof, and bolt it to the side of the battery box. Then you don't have to run wires through your camper walls or floor to reach a controller inside the trailer. If you want to install or mount almost nothing, then get a 100 watt "solar suitcase". A suitcase is just a solar controller, solar panel, wires, and stand, all in one package. For that all you have to do is connect 2 wires to the battery. But you'll want to attach two stub connectors to your battery terminals so you dont have to open the battery box to hook up the suitcase. For any suitcase you get, make sure the controller is waterproof, because you'll want to leave it out while you are gone. |
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Re: Solar
One question to ask yourself is: Do you want to setup and take down solar panels at each campsite to follow the sun or mount it permanently to the roof and charge while you travel and take a chance on getting enough solar to keep a charge while camping. We opted for the permanent mount with 350 watts of solar and 2 - 6volt golf cart batteries. While off the grid we use led lights, propane fridge, propane furnace, fantastic fan, phone-device chargers and the standard ¡®safety¡¯ sensors. We don¡¯t have an inverter to be able to use any 110v appliances off grid and I¡¯m not sure our batteries would support much. We have gone 4 days at a shady campsite and we were fully charged when we got back to camp at the end of each day. On a travel day when it rained all day it still charged some. |
Don DeRyke
James Van Hoy