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That is cool that it bolts right in. I still think a generator is overkill. Where does it get it fuel? Built in gas tank or separate tank or (I just have to ask) the trucks fuel tank?
I see whatever you had here was on propane or natural gas. Or maybe that's your stove?
A generator is unattractive to me. It almost defeats the whole purpose. Forgive me, I am a piece worker, or at least I have been for the majority of my life. It is something hard coded into my brain. Steps. Must save steps. A generator is too many steps. Unless of course it was permanently mounted, but it just seems overkill for my exact application and useage. Flipping a switch is fine. Starting another motor, managing fuel, the exhaust, the noise... it's too much for 2 to 5 minutes of mixing. That was the primary reason to install inverter for work. Just to spin material and mix with a drill. Typically it takes less than two minutes.
Lots of info in your post. The Relay I mentioned is setup so it does not chatter like it sounds that part you had had was doing.
6 volt batteries. I wish I used them instead. In series. They would have fit so much better.
The generator takes gasoline from the main fuel tank so it is convenient to run but inconceivable to maintain. It is installed because the van has an AC/heat pump unit that draws 2.8 kW of power when not plugged in to shore power. In this case there is a little 1000 Watt square wave inverter to run a dedicated receptacle in the entertainment cabinet via the marine battery. The inverter actually has a transfer switch built in it so that it reverts to the main AC panel when the van is plugged in or the generator is running. The van then has another transfer switch in it to switch the main AC panel between generator power and shore power.
I too prefer inverters, the Dodge was able to run a Keurig coffee maker off the batteries using a 2000 Watt Samlex pure sine wave inverter. I actually had it rigged so you could plug the shore power into the inverter so that the whole coach was running off of it (be sure to turn off the battery charger or it will try to charge off of the inverter which is a losing battle). Going past 2000 Watts or trying to have high loads for a long time is not realistic without piles of batteries.
The issue with the chattering breaker goes back to the inability of the relays to limit current flow. Things would be OK at idle but when you raised the RPM the alternator would exceed the breaker rating. The singular positive quality of the isolators is that they seem to be able to limit current flow...perhaps by having a voltage drop across them.
Here are some ideas for high current fuses for things like amplifiers and inverters:
I am guessing the Auxiliary Battery Controller will just be some relays turning on a circuit fed from the Retained Accessory Power, Remote Amplifier Trigger, Inverter Power On and the Compressor Power On Switch. Basically, that control should be hot (at least Momentarily) when anything demands power. I would feel more comfortable if I had 200A Battery Separators. It was just what I had on hand for the first one and a tight wallet for the second. The 200A units were twice the price.
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Last edited by dberladyn; August 1st, 2019 at 1:37 PM.
Wow : I don't understand why your eating battery's but i have to admire your fancy set up. You sure put a lot of thougth into it. I have an 87 , g30 bucket van with a 4000 watt onan [turns hyd. Pump too] and before i got it someone removed the automatic solinod set up and installed a switch . I just got into the habit of starting motor in the morning then flipped the switch to connect frount battery with deep charge rear onan battery to insure it's full. When useing onan i switch to off only if i want to leave truck running in the winter because truck alt. Over powers onan's and burns out it's resister [learned that the hard way , lol] . Have two unmatched batterys never seemed to hurt eather and usually 3 year batterys lasted 4 or more years. Like others have said you will forget to throw the switch sooner or later but it only took me once in 20 years but only you know yourself so maybe an auto. Type system would be best. Also remember sooner or later that system will take a dump and you will end up with the same problem , lol. Good luck and have a great day .
I have to fine tune once I take a rest from it all. I do not think that I really need the second battery isolator. It just complicates everything. It does offer some battery protection though. The Main Battery (as a single battery) will wear out independently, rather than as a pair (of parallel batteries), but it will also likely deep cycle more often creating the problem to begin with. A bonus to keeping the Auxiliary Battery separate (as the latest above schematic), a bonus to keeping the second battery separator installed, is with mix and matching batteries. With the second battery separator installed, mixing and matching batteries becomes much less of a potential issue.
I have killed three batteries for so many different reasons. I left the keys in the accessory position for hours by accident last night when I was outside. That's one of the ways. There's nothing really hooked up right now so any draw is minimal. Everything looks to be working. Turn the key, start the truck, watch the voltmeter climb to 14 volts, "pop" the Starter Battery Separator engages, two seconds later "pop" the Auxilliary Battery Separator engages. I just disconnected the main battery to make sure that everything disconnects as it should when it is sitting after not running and it does.
I think the schematic still needs tweaking, but I'll clarify myself on that in time.
Thinking about this... if I was trailering, towing a travel trailer, that second battery separator would be a good thing. It would grant an auxiliary battery to the trailer while protecting the truck. Also, because it is a 1315, if the trailer had a charger, it would allow energy to pass and charge the truck. It makes sense to install it - depending on how a person uses their truck.
Last edited by dberladyn; August 1st, 2019 at 10:07 PM.
One thing that I have noticed about having three batteries... there is nothing is thirsty on this truck. The headlights get all they juice they want and I do not even think they dim if I turn anything else on. Everything is zippy. I lubed the drivers door window track with lithium and it's about as smooth as it's ever going to get. What a system. The whole door flexes going up and down, but it works well. Probably better over the course of it's life this way. Loose and Easy.
I've continued to research what my van will end up as and I see that Roadtrek provided an "engine generator" as an option over ONAN generators in their later products. Their final iteration was to put in a big alternator and more batteries. It turns out that gear is available from here: https://www.nationsstarteralternator...Kits-s/995.htm One or two 300 Amp alternators would be interesting.
Last edited by SteveROntario; August 5th, 2019 at 9:00 AM.
300 Amps, those are getting to be some pretty big alternators. I have seen the dual, triple and even quadruple mounting brackets, but the regulator for different battery types is cool and somewhat new to me. Expensive to start going above and beyond factory. I think for the most part, unless I run into issues, what I have now is all I will need. If I make any changes it would be replacing my two frame 12 volt batteries with four skinny 6 volt batteries. I would much happier with the install if I had gone that route in the beginning. With my left hand doors, those current 12 volt batteries on GM's factory battery mounts are in there really really really tight. Squeezing for breathing room. To (dis)connect I have to put a rubber glove over a wrench/ratchet and blindly feel for the bolt. It's just so tight. Instead of disconnecting there at the battery, one foot ahead I have a junction (the relay) and if I need to disconnect the batteries I do it there.
I tried to read all this but I am a true simpleton. I've got 5 batteries with the 2/0 cable in series. Use dielectric grease on all fittings. Connect to van by just using a copper terminal to starter. All my batteries were bought used from junkyards by using a multimeter and only if they were holding 12v..
. All 5 batteries hold 12.43 v nominal fully charged. Van will start with 10. 75v so I can watch 2 movies with 2 stereo amps hooked to my 32 in LCD tv. Without a problem. I do start van if I use the microwave cause it's really a watt sucker. In winter I use a heating pad and use my laptop more at night and may get 4 days without starting the van.
. Also have a little 4 stroke generator and battery charger so I always have some gas in a jug and never stuck. Learned all this camping in Colorado. In TN now And after after a recent tornado I had the only lights on in the neighborhood.
. You may ask why the overkill? I imagine the van as a drivable powerplant. Any shanty or primitive campground becomes 5 star with power.
. 400 w solar system going on roof this summer and will be even better. Oh. Water hose works fine running cables thru frame and sheet metal.
. Anyone ever make a pop top for these vans?
I am still very happy having my starter battery separated from my "house" batteries. I want to have a new battery mount made and I want to add at least two more batteries. With that I should come close to you for capability. I also want to add solar panels on the roof so the truck will always be charging. I have zero interest in carrying a generator. For my needs, an inverter which I need to add too - will be perfect. My projects have come to a stand still over a lack of money.. and the fact that each expensive thing I buy either falls short in spec or happens to "break" upon arrival. I bought a fancy low power consumption computer board to replace the radio and one of the built in chips fried with in an hour. It's just never ending.
Now I have decided screw it. No more specialised parts. I am just going to do what I should have done in the beginning. I will just buy a small desktop computer motherboard to hook up to an LCD and that will be my radio, maps, etc. Of course, I probably shouldn't even do that. I should just reinstall everything as factory and use a tablet.. but.. there's reasons why I abandoned that too. I have a bunch of projects ready to go, or just waiting for one part that I never seem to have the money to buy when it's on sale, but.. I should be back on these forums soon I would think.
July 31st, 2019, 9:31 PM
