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04-15-2018, 05:56 PM
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#41
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Bus Geek
Join Date: Sep 2017
Location: Owasso, OK
Posts: 2,627
Year: 1999
Coachwork: Thomas
Chassis: Saf-T-Liner MVP ER
Engine: Cummins 6CTA8.3 Mechanical MD3060
Rated Cap: 46 Coach Seats, 40 foot
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Quote:
Originally Posted by nanoplane
I plan on traveling all over.. I'm planning on only 9000 BTU for my bus (10000 heating).. it's less than 300 square feet of space that needs heating/cooling.
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... and it needs about 4 x the amount of heating and cooling that most calculators suggest, especially in hot summers or cold winters.
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04-15-2018, 06:43 PM
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#42
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Bus Geek
Join Date: Nov 2016
Posts: 2,775
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Insulating panels or hanging heavy blankets to shrink the space cooled, plus of course solid insulation to start with.
Windows are deadly!
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04-16-2018, 10:52 AM
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#43
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Bus Nut
Join Date: Feb 2018
Location: Tahoe
Posts: 513
Year: 1997
Coachwork: International
Chassis: 3000RE
Engine: T444E w/ MT643
Rated Cap: 84 pass, 40'
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Quote:
Originally Posted by john61ct
Insulating panels or hanging heavy blankets to shrink the space cooled, plus of course solid insulation to start with.
Windows are deadly!
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I have seen people plan TWO 15k BTU units front and back for AC for a 40' bus in AZ. I think. It's been a while now. I have a portable one that is supposed to be enough for that sized room and will certainly be enough for the bedroom at night only. And then it could do the living area during the day probably, but it's only designed to lower the temp so much -msybe 20 degrees and if it's 100 then 80 is better but not good enough for me probably. And then I still have to figure out AC and heat for while driving!!! So far I just drove with a lot of layers and gloves on!
__________________
middle aged mom on a learning adventure
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05-02-2018, 01:14 PM
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#44
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Skoolie
Join Date: Aug 2017
Location: Kingston, WA
Posts: 111
Year: 1995
Coachwork: Thomas
Chassis: MVP
Engine: 8.3L Cummins Turbo
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Solar updates
Solar panels are all installed:
Each panel has some 1/8" thick weatherstripping on the bottom to provide a little space between the panel and the roof.. slightly better cooling.. probably only when driving down the highway
The panels are connected in parallel for each of the 8 "rows" some with two and some with three panels. Each Row is routed back to a terminal strip in the back of the bus where I can implement a parallel or serial/parallel configuration.. or experiment.
Wiring to the farthest 4 rows of panels is 8# copper wire. The near 4 rows are 10# copper wire.
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05-14-2018, 10:51 AM
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#45
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Skoolie
Join Date: Aug 2017
Location: Kingston, WA
Posts: 111
Year: 1995
Coachwork: Thomas
Chassis: MVP
Engine: 8.3L Cummins Turbo
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Solar System Circuit
Here is the circuit diagram for the solar system / chargers / inverter...
There are 8 "rows" of solar panels, from the front of the bus, 2 rows of 2 panels, then 4 rows of 3 panels then another 2 rows of 2 panels.
Each row is connected in parallel at the panels then pairs of "matching" rows are connected in series at the terminal blocks and then those in turn connected in series to create two arrays, each having 10 panels with an open circuit voltage of about 40V. Each of these arrays route to a Midnite Solar charge controller and then to the Battery Array (12V, up to 880AH / 10kW).
The Inverter is an AIMS 3000 W nominal/9000 W peak device. It also supports battery charging at 140A when connected to shore power. It has automatic shutoff when the battery voltage gets too low.
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05-14-2018, 10:57 AM
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#46
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Skoolie
Join Date: Aug 2017
Location: Kingston, WA
Posts: 111
Year: 1995
Coachwork: Thomas
Chassis: MVP
Engine: 8.3L Cummins Turbo
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Solar Power
So far, the installation looks like this:
... almost there
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05-14-2018, 06:10 PM
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#47
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Bus Nut
Join Date: Jan 2018
Location: Upstate, SC
Posts: 278
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That's a clean install and those freaking huge dozer batteries should run the freakin' town next door.
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05-14-2018, 06:16 PM
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#48
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Skoolie
Join Date: Aug 2017
Location: Kingston, WA
Posts: 111
Year: 1995
Coachwork: Thomas
Chassis: MVP
Engine: 8.3L Cummins Turbo
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Big Batteries...
Quote:
Originally Posted by ben2go
That's a clean install and those freaking huge dozer batteries should run the freakin' town next door.
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I'm not too sure about that, but I could probably replace my house backup generator with the bus...
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05-15-2018, 02:36 PM
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#49
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Skoolie
Join Date: Aug 2017
Location: Kingston, WA
Posts: 111
Year: 1995
Coachwork: Thomas
Chassis: MVP
Engine: 8.3L Cummins Turbo
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We have Power !!!
Basic power is ON
Here's the final installation,
Now I just need to add the AC/DC distribution panel and all the rest
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05-15-2018, 02:49 PM
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#50
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Bus Nut
Join Date: Sep 2017
Location: Damascus, OR
Posts: 681
Year: 2004
Chassis: International
Engine: T444e w/ 2000 Allison Trans
Rated Cap: 35
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impressive setup. I loathe working on electronics. I wish I didn't but I do. I was going to attempt to strip all unnecessary wires from my bus but feared doing damage.
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05-15-2018, 04:59 PM
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#51
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Bus Nut
Join Date: Jan 2018
Location: Brevard County, FL
Posts: 911
Year: 1990
Coachwork: Bluebird
Chassis: Ford
Engine: 6.6 New Holland Diesel
Rated Cap: 60 kids, 10 window
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That is a great looking setup. I really like how clean it is. I have a similar set up to yours that I haven't installed yet. I think I may order a couple of more busbars.
__________________
Nick
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05-15-2018, 05:13 PM
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#52
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Bus Nut
Join Date: Dec 2017
Location: Frisco, Texas
Posts: 829
Year: 1998
Coachwork: Thomas
Chassis: International 3800
Engine: Dt466e
Rated Cap: 71
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Very nice wiring job! I worked at Car Toys for a decade doing aftermarket installs and that looks like it was done by a pro. A lot of people i worked with in the company couldn't even do it that clean to be honest, lol.
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05-15-2018, 05:35 PM
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#53
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Bus Geek
Join Date: Dec 2017
Location: Dawsonville, Ga.
Posts: 10,482
Year: 1999
Coachwork: Genesis
Chassis: International
Engine: DT466/3060
Rated Cap: 77
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Rovobay
impressive setup. I loathe working on electronics. I wish I didn't but I do. I was going to attempt to strip all unnecessary wires from my bus but feared doing damage.
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When I have a job like this I turn the vehicle on and all accessories on, then start cutting wires one at a time. If cutting one shuts something down or changes the sound of normal, I reconnect that wire and proceed on.
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05-15-2018, 06:38 PM
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#54
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Skoolie
Join Date: Aug 2017
Location: Kingston, WA
Posts: 111
Year: 1995
Coachwork: Thomas
Chassis: MVP
Engine: 8.3L Cummins Turbo
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Ninjakitty
That is a great looking setup. I really like how clean it is. I have a similar set up to yours that I haven't installed yet. I think I may order a couple of more busbars.
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I made most of my Busbars.. 3/16" x 1" copper flat bar and some plastic and stainless flathead bolts and flange nuts...
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05-24-2018, 09:25 PM
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#55
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Skoolie
Join Date: Aug 2017
Location: Kingston, WA
Posts: 111
Year: 1995
Coachwork: Thomas
Chassis: MVP
Engine: 8.3L Cummins Turbo
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Solar Updates
Ok, I've done the whole power system "backend"
added the AC distribution panel, sensors connections and negative to chassis... Which was "interesting"...
I had connected everything except the ground to chassis and when I added that last green wire (at the bottom center...), there was an interesting result...
Things you learn... when screwing Busbars to plywood, don't use screws that will be longer than the depth of the plywood.... They can touch metal (in this case, foil tape) and when you suddenly add the ground line... if the long screws were on the positive busbars.... you get a very large spark... enough to melt some of the copper in the ground wire AND blow away a bit of the Aluminum Tape...
... Screws Replaced....
At the top of the plywood you can see my wiring trays... these are segmented trays, 1 part for AC one part for DC...
The caps for the trays are made from some of the ceiling perf metal..
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05-24-2018, 09:34 PM
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#56
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Skoolie
Join Date: Aug 2017
Location: Kingston, WA
Posts: 111
Year: 1995
Coachwork: Thomas
Chassis: MVP
Engine: 8.3L Cummins Turbo
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Removing the Extra Door..
I decided my bathroom needed to be where the driver's side emergency door was.. so it had to go... It did not go easily... Well, the door went fine, the frame was a real pain... The top part is riveted into the seam for the rain drip tray... so I had to cut it free with cutting wheels.. But, now it's gone and in it's place will be a panel, with a tiny window (my SO insisted we have a window in the bathroom)..
Here's the current state... Lower panel in place... need to create the upper frame to match the structure and hold the tiny window. I am also getting some bumper rail to match the existing.
note: I created the tiny window by cutting down one of the old windows that isn't being used... Score both sides of the safety glass.. trim and drill the frame bits to match...
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05-24-2018, 09:42 PM
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#57
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Bus Geek
Join Date: Dec 2017
Location: Dawsonville, Ga.
Posts: 10,482
Year: 1999
Coachwork: Genesis
Chassis: International
Engine: DT466/3060
Rated Cap: 77
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I have the same door delete planned for mine, thanks for the experience and pics. Be glad it wasn't a wheelchair door that protrudes into the roof skin.
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05-24-2018, 09:52 PM
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#58
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Bus Nut
Join Date: Jul 2016
Location: Central Florida
Posts: 938
Chassis: GMC or Chevrolet, I hope
Engine: gasser probably
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that is some serious money spent on a solar set up.
looks good, gratz!
__________________
the more i learn, the less I know what to buy . . .
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05-25-2018, 12:02 AM
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#59
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Skoolie
Join Date: Aug 2017
Location: Kingston, WA
Posts: 111
Year: 1995
Coachwork: Thomas
Chassis: MVP
Engine: 8.3L Cummins Turbo
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Quote:
Originally Posted by oricha1984
that is some serious money spent on a solar set up.
looks good, gratz!
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About $6k so far. Not too serious
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05-31-2018, 03:41 PM
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#60
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Skoolie
Join Date: Aug 2017
Location: Kingston, WA
Posts: 111
Year: 1995
Coachwork: Thomas
Chassis: MVP
Engine: 8.3L Cummins Turbo
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Door be Gone
So.. just apply a little DoorBeGone and ... voila:
I tried to match the "patterns as much as I could.. almost successful .
on the inside, I'm insulating and covering the "hole" with sheet metal and then once I add the interior framing, there will be more insulation and yet-another-wall..
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