Searching for the nebuchadnezzar

[The Nebuchadnezzar]

Does anyone use the Marey hot water heaters?

[Docsgsxr]

Not familliar with that brand.

I bought this one..... http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B002SSEXJG

It is propane only, I didn't want to put that kind of load on my batteries if I were roughing it or off grid somewhere.
Suburban seems to be a common manufacturer in a lot of the rv's. I actually found several on CL that were used and not that much less so I opted for the new one.

Are you thinking of going tankless?

-Doc

[Locutus]

Originally Posted by The Nebuchadnezzar

I'm 54 and possess a lot of the skills that I think i'll need to complete my skoolie, my thought is that I'll build one to last me. I'm thinking that I would like to have a lot of options for power. I would like to include shore power of course, I'll need a converter, a battery charger ( I'm not sure if the charger should be integrated in the converter or inverter or neither), inverter, generator, and I would like to do a couple of solar panels for battery charging. I do not plan to to camp in campgrounds only where shore power is available. Man I love the woods! So the reason that I'm mentioning all of this is that I'm wondering if information is available such as: you need this type of breaker panel(s) where to locate the inverter in the system, these are the types of switches you need and this is how to make the connections. I can follow directions. So far what I've been able to find in a book on RV wiring and online are parts of what I want to do. If this info is available in one neat package I would be so grateful.
Thanks again everyone for your advise.

This:

http://handybobsolar.wordpress.com/

And this:

http://www.amazon.com/Electrical-System ... =rv+wiring

[The Nebuchadnezzar]

Thank you Doc, yes, tankless. Looks Amazon has a great price on your unit, I will consider that one. Are you currently using it, how do you like it?

Tom

[The Nebuchadnezzar]

A guy one town over from me has an older Onan 4.0CCK-3CR/12017R, 120/ 240V, 4000W generator for sale, its out of a 70's motorhome, wondering if this is something worth putting time into to get running?

[Tango]

Onans are great units --- even better now they are owned by Cummins. If the deal is right...and 4k will fill your needs...jump on it!

[Docsgsxr]

Funny you'd ask that. Right now it is hooked up in my garage shower because my bus is in for a motor replacement. But it does the trick for 1 person. That is if you are a 10 to 15 minute shower kind of person. Otherwise the wet, turn off, soap and rinse method would be the best bet.

As far as the generator goes, price versus need would be the question. Is it diesel or gas? Gas means carrying another fuel type with you or even possibly another tank. If you want the generator for extreme emergencies, those little honda inverters are awesome! And super quiet.

Just my .02

[The Nebuchadnezzar]

Thanks guys

[Tango]

Second the Hondas --- I picked up an Eu3000i with one hour on it after hurricane season was over. Can barely hear it run from five feet away but one of it's biggest advantages is that it already has the inverter built in (That's what the "i" on the end means). Clean power for touchy electronics straight off the genny. I know folks who spent as much just on their inverters as I spent on the Honda that already has it.

Also a good point above regarding fuel considerations. I will be carrying diesel for the rig & gas for the genny.

BTW...tested it out on my 8k btu window unit and it never got off "Economy Idle".

[The Nebuchadnezzar]

The Honda sounds sweet.

[The Nebuchadnezzar]

Question: regarding installation of an inverter, the final sentence of what I pasted below mentions moving the 12v converter to the new breaker panel (shore and genset), which I get, but where does 12v come from if not connected to shore or genset?

To do this installation, the shore power/generator cord must be disconnected from the original AC breaker box and connected to a second, smaller AC breaker box installed in the RV next to the original one. This new breaker box will carry only outside power that comes in on that hookup cord: generator and shore power. The new breaker box contains at least one circuit breaker, which passes the outside power to the inverter's AC IN terminals.

One or more additional breakers in the new outside power breaker box may be used for a few appliances in the RV that can not be run on battery based power, because they would quickly deplete the batteries. This might be the air conditioner, and any electric heaters or electric water heaters. These few items must have their circuits moved from the original breaker box and into the smaller second breaker box that carries only generator and shore power. Also the original converter, a type of battery charger built into an RV, must be disconnected from its regular AC source circuit in the main breaker box, and connected to the second smaller breaker box, so the inverter/battery AC source will not operate the converter.

[Docsgsxr]

Well thats a lot of type. Let me point out the thing that gets most of my attention. Inverter = 12v to 110, converter = 110 to12v. Quite a few campers and 5th wheels do everything from shore power but all the electronics inside are 12v.


Most of us skoolies want the ability to be unplugged so we use INVERTERS from a battery bank we build ourselves to run our coffee makers laptops and our significant others' hairdryers!

One of the main reasons I got the inverter/charger combo I have is so I can get around having to use a transfer switch if I want. But eventually will have one when I install solar on it.

Hope I am interpreting this right. If someone else sees it differently, please chime in. I would like to know what others think.

-Doc

[claydbal]

Originally Posted by Tango

Second the Hondas --- I picked up an Eu3000i with one hour on it after hurricane season was over. Can barely hear it run from five feet away but one of it's biggest advantages is that it already has the inverter built in (That's what the "i" on the end means). Clean power for touchy electronics straight off the genny. I know folks who spent as much just on their inverters as I spent on the Honda that already has it.

Also a good point above regarding fuel considerations. I will be carrying diesel for the rig & gas for the genny.

BTW...tested it out on my 8k btu window unit and it never got off "Economy Idle".

hey tango, what is the fuel usage rating on the eu300i and what is it in real usage? thanks

[Tango]

I've only run it off and on to keep it up since it is not yet installed on the bus. However, I had spoken with a few folks who had them for a while and they seemed to agree with the factory projections. Between 5 and 12 hours on a gallon of gas depending mostly on loading. There is a pretty good overview and comparison article on a hurricane preparedness page worth looking over...see it here...
http://<br /> <a href="http://www.hi...ators.html</a>

[claydbal]

sounds good tango. thanks for the link!

[The Nebuchadnezzar]

Looks like there are a bunch of different brands of solar panels available, I really don't know much about them yet, are there good ones and bad ones or do they all perform the same function?

[Docsgsxr]

I haven't gotten that far into the research on them yet but I do know I will shell out the extra money for a single panel 250w or bigger. I don't want a ton of panels on top of the bus with multiple connections and tons of screw holes with the ability to leak later on.

[bamper]

In regards to the question about how to wire for a genny and shore power I did something in my fish house because I was low on funds but it ended up working GREAT.

I had the typical 30amp RV plug on the side to which I hooked up a cord to shore power when I used it as a camper. When I was traveling down the road or on the ice I have a Honda eu3000i mounted on the hitch with a second RV style plug in and use a shorter cord I made. I use the same panel inside the house and just flip whatever breakers off I don't want used. Cheap, easy, it works for me and I plan on doing the same thing with the bus if I ever have the need to run off the genny whilst in motion. No auto transfer switches or second panels or anything complicated. Just plug in the front and not the side. Easy.

[The Nebuchadnezzar]

Thanks Bamper, keepin it simple, I like it.

[Tango]

Simple = Good!