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Old 10-02-2017, 06:58 PM   #21
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Gypsy Clipper View Post
Is it me? Am I speaking a foreign language? Would you give these bullshit answers to a buddy standing there asking your advice? Do I sound like I need a Mom?
Yes, yes, yes and .... yes

Have a nice day.

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Old 10-02-2017, 07:01 PM   #22
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Nevermind... honestly you guys are a pain in my ass.






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Old 10-02-2017, 07:06 PM   #23
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Wow. Just wow.

You don't know enough to understand how little you know.

Of course you "can" but how big a load, for how long, where is the charge coming from, are the two pairs separated by a combiner?

Really, lots of information needs to be clarified, collected and communicated by you in order for there to even be a question with a clear answer.

Start with, what do you want such a big inverter for?

And understand you're asking volunteers to spend time helping you, for free.

Getting all exasperated at our sincere efforts, as if you're entitled to that help, without making any effort yourself, isn't going to help your cause.

Maybe you should just pay someone to help you, I assume you wouldn't yell at them like that.
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Old 10-02-2017, 07:21 PM   #24
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Hey Gypsy - I'll give you the answer you're looking for. Your two lift batteries will power anything you want to run. Anything at all.

You're welcome.
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Old 10-02-2017, 08:20 PM   #25
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Originally Posted by Gypsy Clipper View Post
OK. For the sake of ending this constant over thinking. My power needs are minor. For major power hogs such as air conditioning I will use a generator. I'm talking to run all of my electronic stuff and some fairy lights.
And even if I wanted to run something huge wouldn't the battery bank from the truck be able to run a 5000 watt inverter if it were running?
Small Battery LED lights are a good thing when doing what you want to do.
I have used a truck size 12 volt battery for my 12 volt coffee maker before.
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Old 10-10-2017, 12:28 PM   #26
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I have noticed over the past few weeks a few threads that seem to devolve into chaos like this one. Happened on on of my threads as well. Luckily I re-read the post that i took offense to, and realized it likely was not meant to offend. Sometimes the way a post is written is interpreted differently by the poster than the one reading it. The reader does not have any insight to the posters humor, morality, or know if the same question has been asked many times and able to be found by a search of the forum. Text does not allow for the reading of voice inflection, facial cues, etc.
I have noticed however certain wording cause threads to spiral like this one. I think Gypsy took offense to the WORDING of the replies. NOT the answers themselves. If i asked a question about electrical, and got a reply of "let me post an electrical for dummies" I would take that as being called a dummy. BUT because it was not directed at me, I did not get upset due to knowing there are many "XXXX for dummies" books and articles out there. If I had String Theory for dummies book does that mean I am a dummie? NO String Theory is seriously hard stuff!!
So, to Gypsy. I apologize you took offense to some of the posts and replies. It is NOT indicative of this Forum. I have had many great replies and input from people here and find 99.9% of them are good people. So, shall we try again? Here is MY reply to the question:

Sorry Gypsy, but you did not give enough info for me to form an answer with. YES, you could use the 2nd battery bank to run an inverter. But here are a few things needed to know before going further:
1) size and type of batteries..is it labeled in aH or CCA?
2) size of wire to outlets at seats you mentioned?...for a large inverter you need THICK wire.
3) how are you charging the batteries? solar, shore, genny, alternator?
4) what items will be used on inverter and for how long each per day?...to calculate total power used per day.

With the above answered I can give you more detailed info. Hope that helps.
Doug
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Old 10-10-2017, 01:48 PM   #27
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I think OP was under the impression that this was an easy question, and doing anything with actual numbers is "overthinking".
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Old 10-10-2017, 02:25 PM   #28
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HAHA this gypsy guy asks questions then flips out about the answers. I've seen it twice on his threads. What a jokester. Why ask the qiestion if you don't want to hear the answer. Everything everyone said was a very valid point. Also you guys helped me in the process. Thanks for the info guys. Your a wealth of knowledge. Good luck gypsy hope you feel better soon.
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Old 10-10-2017, 03:18 PM   #29
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I was not trying to be derogatory, just making sure the risk of running one battery system was part of your considerations. If the batteries for the lift aren't connected to your start batteries then my assumption was wrong but it wasn't specified. It may have come off wrong but I wouldn't put anything on here just to offend someone. If I ask a question feel free to point out the obvious if it seems I may not understand, if I already know I won't be offended. If something that seems obvious to you is something I don't know you have just saved me from making a mistake.
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Old 10-10-2017, 03:32 PM   #30
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Originally Posted by Jacob View Post
I was not trying to be derogatory, just making sure the risk of running one battery system was part of your considerations. If the batteries for the lift aren't connected to your start batteries then my assumption was wrong but it wasn't specified. It may have come off wrong but I wouldn't put anything on here just to offend someone. If I ask a question feel free to point out the obvious if it seems I may not understand, if I already know I won't be offended. If something that seems obvious to you is something I don't know you have just saved me from making a mistake.
Everyone here volunteers their time and experience to try to help, answering the questions of others.

Sometimes the answer you give will be wrong. Other times there is more than one solution and you only had one of the answers.

It's all good until someone forgets the rules .... This is the internet ...

Take what you want, give where you can, ignore the rest.
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Old 10-10-2017, 03:36 PM   #31
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And sometimes the answer is correct, but the OP doesn't know enough to realize that, not what s/he wants to hear, not willing to do the work required to analyze the required factors. . .
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Old 10-10-2017, 03:39 PM   #32
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Originally Posted by john61ct View Post
And sometimes the answer is correct, but the OP doesn't know enough to realize that, not what s/he wants to hear, not willing to do the work required to analyze the required factors. . .
There is that too
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Old 10-10-2017, 07:49 PM   #33
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Gypsy Clipper View Post
The bus has FOUR batteries. Two for starting it and two for the wheel chair lift. If I take out the wheel chair lift could I use the second system for running a 5000 watt inverter?
Short answer: Yes. Extended answer: No.

Explanation: Consider that 5000 watts at 12 volts is ~420 amps (I rounded up). It will work ... but not for very long, until your batteries are dead. You would need a 12V/500 amp alternator to simply maintain that amount of load.

At a 5000 watt load, I wouldn't even bother with deep cycle batteries, the heavy load will kill them fairly quickly.
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Old 10-10-2017, 08:48 PM   #34
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You could put a 200w load on a 5000w inverter.

Not saying you should. . .
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Old 10-11-2017, 12:55 AM   #35
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Nor did I. Everything said was valid. Was just hoping to help an obviously confused person on the subject. This entire process is all about learning. We all benefit from group knowledge. I would NEVER be able to do this without this forum. It is not as easy path as some think.
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Old 10-11-2017, 07:35 AM   #36
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Yes. Besides learning the terminology, often the hardest part in a new topic area is truly understanding how little you know.

The more I learn the more I realize just how ignorant I am, and how important it is for me to pay close attention to the experts.

And of course learning *which* "experts" to listen to takes a fair bit of time and knowledge
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Old 10-11-2017, 02:02 PM   #37
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OK. Now that you can see why I took offense I would like to clarify the question.
I would like to avoid 12 volt appliances . I am trying to recreate an actual house but on wheels. I do not want to add solar at this particular point because there is so much work I would like to do to the exterior of the bus.
Actually I am a woman and somewhat sensitive to the fact I know absolutely nothing about these things that I should know. But at 51 I am trying to learn. But it is frustrating to realize how little I know.
I know at one point I drive a semi and the company I worked for installed an inverter so I was able to run a microwave and a dorm sized refrigerator with no change to the alternator or the addition if batteries. That being said. I have a large alternator and the additional batteries for the wheel chair ramp.
Now without upsetting anyone. Let's say I would like to run a small refrigerator, a small chest type deep freeze and two large televisions, a game console. My water will be pumped via 12 volt and my water will be heated with propane. I will install a small apartment sized propane stove. I do believe that must also run on 110. If you could point me to a website where I could calculate the energy needs of these appliances I will do the math. Then I will return with a more accurate account if exactly how much energy I need.
But returning to the original question....
Can I change out the batteries, add a larger alternator and an inverter and run these appliances.
I do not know how long I will need to drive to recharge my batteries but I imagine that I will drive or idle my bus however long it takes to recharge. I do not plan to sit stationary for weeks at a time nor even days at a time. The bus is equipped with a roof mounted thermo king air conditioning and heat system which will probably be how I cool it if there is a need. I will heat it with a propane heater if it is necessary.
I will seek professional help to install the electrical system. I just would like to know what I am asking the professional to install.
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Old 10-11-2017, 02:18 PM   #38
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Unless you will be hooked up to shore power 80-90% of overnights it would be silly to use 110V appliances.

They are not designed to be as efficient, good inverters add a lot of cost and waste a lot of power in themselves even if you remember to turn them on and off as needed.

The sorts of loads you're talking about are quite heavy, to power them boondocking will require a lot of solar panels - how much roof area do you have? That's usually the limiting factor.

If you only get a little solar (say 2-300w to start) then you will need to either be driving or running a generator 3-4 hours in the morning before the solar charging for another 4-5 hours.

Idling your engine just to produce power is very expensive in wear and tear as well as fuel, and a special Alt setup is required, not cheap. Do you run that A/C from the alt?

Much better to get a small gennie. But in either case once acceptance drops to low amps (80% full), only solar or shore power make sense for the remaining 4-5 hours.

Those dino juice runtimes may be reduced a bit by buying more expensive batts with high charge acceptance rates (CAR).

There are batts that don't mind not getting to 100% but they are very expensive, IMO much better off spending on solar.
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Old 10-11-2017, 02:20 PM   #39
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If you can get plugged into shore power every 2-3 days overnight, then a big batt bank and high-amp charger may be enough.
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Old 10-11-2017, 02:28 PM   #40
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Actually going back looking at the past postings, at the OP's level of arrogance and rudeness.

Do you think you're **entitled** to help here, from volunteers?

I'm amazed any help is forthcoming, without a straight-out apology made directly, quoting and then naming those who tried to help and then got abused.
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