RV Doctor - Trouble-Shooting an Emergency Start Switch

If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to our E-mail Digest or RSS Feed. We will then send you the stories that are posted each day in an e-mail digest. We use a service called Feedburner for delivery of these emails. You will receive an e-mail from Feedburner after you subscribe and you must click on that email to activate your subscription. Thanks for visiting and enjoy all the information! RV.Net Blog AdminDear RV Doc, My emergency start switch is not working on my Fleetwood motorhome. Can you provide trouble shooting steps? - Ron Berube, (Endicott, NY) Read more Tell a Friend Read More →

VIDEO: Gear to Get with Brian Brawdy - Xantrex PROwatt SW Inverter Series

Starting my second year as a full time RVer and boondocker, I needed to find a better way of accessing power. In that I’ve used my six solar panels and wind turbine to capture those natural enegies and store it in my six 100 AMP Kinetik Power Cells, I needed to learn how to let the genie out of the bottle. In searching for an affordable soultion to supply portable AC power for all my electric devices including video and still cameras, computers, cellphones, Duracell backup batteries and iPods, I turned to Xantrex. I first learned of Xantrex when I installed the RS3000 Sine Wave Inverter/Charger and C Series Charge Controller on the Green RV. In this video you will learn about the new Xantrex PROwatt SW Sine-Wave Inverter Series. _______ To learn more about Conservation thru Exploration and Greening your RV, visit BrianBrawdy.com Tell a Friend Read More →

New Converter and Charge Wizard upgrade!

Progressive Dynamics Converter 9160 and Charge Wizard Project After getting tired of adding water to my batteries and them never getting an actual full charge I decided on a change. After research I found that many 5′ers and travel trailers come with a “less expensive” basic converters. Many do not manage the charge to your batteries well in that when you are plugged in they constantly charge your batteries and never give them an actual full charge. In addition the constant charge means you have to often check and ad water to the batteries. With the Progressive Dynamics 9160 Converter combined with the Charge Wizard you get great DC power management along with proper battery charging and maintenance resulting in a managed charge to your batteries and less water loss. The install went pretty smooth and here is a link on such a project. A must see! The Charge Wizard is fantastic and you can read more on it here. Below are some pics of what I bought and installed. The new reconditioned converter and new charge Wizard were approx. $225 delivered to my door. This along with 2 new Trojan SCS 150 batteries I have plenty of power (over 200 amp hours) and my batteries are well maintained. Batteries were approx. $120 each. The batteries are fully charged in about 2 hours with my Honda 2000 generator. What a big difference in battery and power management! A couple years ago I spent nearly 6 weeks on a dry camping trip to test everything while I was dealing with a family... Read more

Hybrid Vehicles Gaining Acceptance

By Bob Difley Johnson Controls, a leading producer of lead-acid batteries for passenger cars and trucks, including batteries for hybrid vehicles, commissioned Harris Interactive to conduct a survey on Americans’ attitudes toward buying a hybrid vehicle. The online survey contacted 2,309 adults 18 years and older with the results weighted to reflect the composition of the US population for gender, education, income, ethnicity, and propensity to go online. The survey was conducted between March 9th and 11th, 2009 and revealed some interesting results. Read more Tell a Friend Read More →

Autotransformers steal power?

AUTOTRANSFORMERS Manufactured by Hughes, Frank’s and Power Master. At 105 volts we get 30 amps of power, or 3150 watts of energy. At 130 volts we get 30 amps of power, or 3900 watts of energy. We get 8% increase in usable energy. Or 750 watts of power. 750 watts can run some coffee pots, a blender, vacuum cleaner, and some toasters Most space heaters draw 15 amps. The circuit breakers in most rigs are 20amps. But not hair dryers, microwave ovens, or larger appliance. Most campgrounds have 6-8 sites on a 200-amp breaker. 200 divided by 6 is 33 amps, but line losses can subtract another 5 amps. HEAT is a major loss on energy from any electrical device. We lose less heat (energy) the lower the amperage we can obtain. The higher the voltage (up to 130volts) the less power we use while operating any electrical device. A 600-watt electrical appliance will use 5.45 amps at 110 volts. This 600-watt device will draw 4.6 amps at 130 volts. We save almost one amp using the higher voltage. Your converter/battery charger will use 3-4 amps off the top. These autotransformers act as a superior Surge-spike protector. The autotransformer will draw ½ to one amp of power on it’s own. Do we steal power-when we use an autotransformer? The following scenario is offered by Dave & Helen Dmouth, www.damouth.com: You and one neighbor in a remote part of the RV Park share a long power feed from the park’s distant feed. I’ll assume that the main feed is always at 120vac,... Read more

FLASH: PREDICTION OF AN ICE FREE NORWAY

By Bob Difley A highly placed government minister in Norway predicted that the country would be ice free by 2015. This was enough, even to those that believe global warming is taking place at an unprecedented rate, to make them cringe. And you could hear the skeptics falling off their chairs in shock. It wasn’t until Finance Minister, Kristin Halvorsen, explained at a recent alternative fuels and vehicles exhibition in Oslo, that her proposal was to ban the sale of ICE-only (Internal Combustion Engines) by 2015 that brought order back to the assembly. Halvorsen’s plan allows hybrids with IC engines, but stops the sale of conventional IC engine vehicles. She also called for the development of hydrogen and plug-in electric vehicles. Though Halavorsen explained that this was a realistic goal and the climate crisis problem would have to be solved after the financial crisis has been turned around, there was little chance that her goal would be achieved since she belongs to the minority party of Norway’s three-party coalition and the simple fact that Norway’s economy depends on the export of petroleum. However, a smaller country leaning in that direction may have influence on how much effort and development funds vehicle manufacturers will be willing to invest in continuing development of ICE-only vehicles. And with every automobile and light truck manufacturer scheduling hybrid and electric vehicles to hit the market in the next couple years, it... Read more

RV Doctor - Propane Furnace Won’t Light When Cold Outside

Dear RV Doc, I have a 2001 Suburban propane furnace in my pop up camper that will not light when it is cold ( 45 degrees or less) outside. I have checked the battery and have sufficient power. The fan comes on but the ignitor never tries to ignite. When the outside temp is above 50, it will start right up. Also, once it starts once, it will re-start without fail as long as the unit is not allowed to cool. Could this be the sail switch or control board? Obviously the thermocouple works as it lights when warm. - Reed Meredith, (Mt. Crested Butte, CO) Read more Tell a Friend Read More →

Making Your Air Conditioner Generator Friendly

Some RV air conditioners have a difficult time starting when using a generator, especially portable generators. There are a number of factors that contribute to hard starting but most often it’s because there is not enough available power to start the compressor quickly. The compressor motor in a typical RV air conditioner system can draw a tremendous amount of current during it’s start-up time. This can be as high as 50 amps for a typical 15,000 BTU A/C on a hot day. All but the largest of RV generators can struggle to provide this kind of power without significant voltage droop. Not having enough voltage and current to start the A/C compressor, the generator goes in to overload and pops it’s circuit breaker. What can be done to help this situation? Modify your RV air conditioner with a hard start boost capacitor. Read more Tell a Friend Read More →

ELECTRIC STEP TROUBLESHOOTING: Caution - Moving parts - keep clear at all times.

LUBRICATION: Most electric step manufacturers recommend not using WD-40 or a silicone-based lubricant. A good quality moisture and heat resistant penetrating grease should be used every 30 days after a through cleaning. Clean salt, mud and road grime from all moving parts. Spray the step moving parts with fresh water and let dry. Lubricate the square shaft bearings, bushing-in-bushings, and any bearings under a removable cover. Electrical connections should be protected with a dab of dielectric grease. Replace corroded connections with an automotive type connector – preferably with heat shrink protection. Cam stops may be need adjusted if your steps feel loose. See your owner’s manual for the proper adjustment. With the steps fully extended, the step should not move inward. ELECTRICAL: Note: Disconnecting the power wire may produce a spark, this is normal. Control unit is not shutting off– Disconnect the power to the step and request technical help. Your step motor will burn up if left on. Erratic Operation: Check the vehicle battery for low voltage (12.6 no load amps); a bad ground or convertor not capable of providing 30 amps of power. If you are capable electrical tester = test the door switch, battery disconnect switch, override switch and related fuses. Refer to your owner’s manual for locations. Each of these items is tested according to your Owners Manual. Happy Camping, Fred b. Tell a Friend Read More →

(CAFE) I already have a golf cart, I don’t need another one

I read in our local newspaper that one promise President Obama made was to have 1 million plug-in hybrid electric cars on the road by 2015. He can make that 999,999 because I already have a golf cart and won’t be needing another one. Where I live, an electric car that can go 40 or 50 miles before it needs to be plugged in and charged will hardly get me to the grocery store and back before it loses its charge. The really sad thing is these plug-in hybrid cars, designed to save money by eliminating fossil fuels, will cost the consumer way more to buy than the trusty old comparable gasoline model. Geoffrey Styles, founder of energy consultants, GSW Strategy Group, said it will take a minimum of six years for drivers to recoup the differential between a Chevy Volts projected price and that of a Toyota Prius — even assuming $4 per-gallon gasoline. That brings a question to mind, how long do you keep a car before trading it in? I average about 4 years, so would never recoup the money I spent, even with a government tax rebate, for buying one of these electric hybrid cars. I paid less for my 2500, 4-door Dodge Ram hemi than one of these electric Chevy Volts will cost, and I want to see them load the Volt up with some 4 X 8 sheets of plywood and 2 X 4’s. The Federal government bails out the automakers and once in control passes new Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards. Obama’s new standard requires fleets to average 35.5 MPG by 2016. The way I see it... Read more

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