Our Farold's Conversion

[travelinwithus]

We had a great night sleep last night. At least until 6am when I woke up to the carbon monoxide detector going off. I am not sure what would have caused it because we are at a campground and we are using electric heaters to conserve propane. We didn't leave any windows cracked last night because we figured there was nothing running that needed ventilation. Our propane tanks are shut off at the tank also. I suppose it could have been a false positive. I opened the window hit the reset button and went back to sleep, it never went off again.

The two nights before we were heating using a blue flame heater with no issues. Of course we did have a window cracked on those nights.

Anyone have any ideas of what may have caused it?

 

[Tango-SKO]

Even an electric heater will consume some volume of oxygen. And if the unit is sealed up tight, it could well go below the levels that trigger the sensor. And for the record...anyone building a conversion that does not incorporate CO2 and propane sensors is definitely risking not waking up some morning.

 

[Crazy]

Even an electric heater will consume some volume of oxygen. And if the unit is sealed up tight, it could well go below the levels that trigger the sensor. And for the record...anyone building a conversion that does not incorporate CO2 and propane sensors is definitely risking not waking up some morning.

Or maybe waking up dead. That's pretty scary. Maybe because you had 5 people sleeping in such a small space with the window closed. I wonder if you could have used that much O2 while sleeping.

 

[travelinwithus]

We didn't have a campfire, and there are no occupants in the campers next to us. When I woke up I felt fine, well, as fine as I feel when I get up at 6am lol, was able to breath fine and didn't have a headache that is why I was thinking it was a false positive. Of course I imagine these CO2 detectors are meant to go off prior to reaching a dangerous level. The detector didn't go off all day but we were in and out, opening and closing the door all day.

We had a great night sleep last night. At least until 6am when I woke up to the carbon monoxide detector going off. I am not sure what would have caused it because we are at a campground and we are using electric heaters to conserve propane.
Anyone have any ideas of what may have caused it?

Last night's chili?


Rich

Actually my wife made Bean Soup the night before. Hmm....

Even an electric heater will consume some volume of oxygen. And if the unit is sealed up tight, it could well go below the levels that trigger the sensor. And for the record...anyone building a conversion that does not incorporate CO2 and propane sensors is definitely risking not waking up some morning.

Or maybe waking up dead. That's pretty scary. Maybe because you had 5 people sleeping in such a small space with the window closed. I wonder if you could have used that much O2 while sleeping.

Actually we have 6 people and a dog . I would have never thought this rig was that air tight. We plan on leaving a window cracked open tonight.

 

[travelinwithus]

Last night went well. No detectors going off. I think it got down to about 24 degrees and we were still nice and toasty in Farold. Yesterday we went and picked up a 45 watt solar panel array and we will be installing that in the next couple days. We are getting ready to head out of Camp Timber Lake Campground (pretty nice place by the way) and are going to head over and see/meet somewhereinusa. I will post some pics of the solar panel array once it is installed.

 

[travelinwithus]

We have been busy in our travels but we found time to purchase some solar panels and get them installed on Farold. We got the 45 watt solar panel array with controller and other accessories at Harbor Freight. Retail price was $229. They were on sale for $189. Both my father and I got a set (he has been following us in his van that he converted to a stealth camper). When we were getting ready to check out there was an older gentleman standing near the line that asked if we had a coupon for the solar panels. Both dad and I looked at each other then I replied, "No, we don't". He said, "Well, here you go." I looked at the coupon and it was for $149.00! Both dad and I were able to use the coupon as it was a limit of 5. I thanked the guy a couple different times and shook his hand. Anyway here are some pics of the solar panels installed:

First, this is where we have been camped out since Monday:

Here is a top view of the array:

Here is a pic of the controller that came with the panels:

And here is a pic of the solar panel array on dad's van:

The panels work great by the way. I just got mine installed today but I put dad's up yesterday. We let a 200 watt heater run in his van overnight to drain the three deep-cell batteries he has on board. Heater was still running in the morning and the battery voltage was at 10.9 volts. We turned on the solar controller at about 9am and the battery voltage was back up to 12 volts at noon. We are letting the solar panel recharge the batteries all day to see where it ends up.

Also, a big thank you goes out to somewhereinusa for allowing us to stop by and see his skoolie. We had a great visit and I picked up a couple ideas (mainly a door lock system) while we were there.

 

[Diesel Dan]

I'm glad to hear that the HF solar setup is working for you. I've been pondering one of those for some time now, but have been hesitant due to bad experiences I've had with certain other HF purchases that turned out to be really shoddy crap. I've also gotten other things at HF that are still holding up, so I guess its a crap-shoot. I would appreciate an update if you have any problems with your system.

 

[travelinwithus]

I'm glad to hear that the HF solar setup is working for you. I've been pondering one of those for some time now, but have been hesitant due to bad experiences I've had with certain other HF purchases that turned out to be really shoddy crap. I've also gotten other things at HF that are still holding up, so I guess its a crap-shoot. I would appreciate an update if you have any problems with your system.

Yeah, I was in the same mindset but decided to bite the bullet as I wanted something now rather than wait until the trip was done. The panels seem well constructed and the frame is like pvc pipe only with thicker walls. I didn't have any issues with the install or operation so far and will be sure to update if anything happens.

 

[travelinwithus]

Also, the other black box type thing on my roof is a TV antenna. Again I was going to by an actual RV antenna but didn't want to wait for it to ship. This is a $40 360 degree RCA antenna that I purchased from Wal-Mart. The reception is pretty darn good for what it is. I am about 30 or so miles outside of Fort Wayne and pick up all their local channels with it. Figured I would let you all know in case you were looking for something similar.

 

[somewhereinusa]

Had a nice visit when travelinwithus stopped by yesterday. Kate and Molly always appreciate someone new to throw things for them. You did a nice job on your skoolie in a short time.

 

[GreyEagle-SKO]

Great looking job the the installation of the solar panels........ Did you get more than one or is that the way it tis....???

 

[travelinwithus]

Had a nice visit when travelinwithus stopped by yesterday. Kate and Molly always appreciate someone new to throw things for them. You did a nice job on your skoolie in a short time.

We had a nice time visiting and the kids loved Kate and Molly.

Great looking job the the installation of the solar panels........ Did you get more than one or is that the way it tis....???

The "kit" came with three 15 watt solar panels that mount on the frame that also came on the kit.

 

[gbstewart]

good looking solar setup, I m still on the fence about installing one, any way your tv antenna, is it a indoor or outdoor? I looked at some on line , and wondered if they would work in the bus, im glad you got it and it works, im going to have to get on for our bus, we have a tailgater sat system works good, but if your camped out at a wallmart or somewhere like that a antenna would be handy.Im adding that on my list thank you for showing it.

gbstewart

 

[travelinwithus]

good looking solar setup, I m still on the fence about installing one, any way your tv antenna, is it a indoor or outdoor? I looked at some on line , and wondered if they would work in the bus, im glad you got it and it works, im going to have to get on for our bus, we have a tailgater sat system works good, but if your camped out at a wallmart or somewhere like that a antenna would be handy.Im adding that on my list thank you for showing it.

gbstewart

It is actually an indoor antenna, however I velcroed it to the top of the bus and bring it inside when traveling. I am considering sealing it with silicone to waterproof it and permanently mounting it to the top of the bus but haven't got that far yet. There only appears to be a seam on the side of the antenna so it wouldn't be difficult to seal it. If I do that and get into rain or other weather I will let you know how it turns out.

 

[eyedeal.ink]

Very cool, can't go wrong with that investment, free electrons for a little piece of mind Install looks professional and clean.

 

[Shadoll]

The solar panel looks great and I was looking into that and this one would be in my price range. Hope you keep us informed how well it works. All I really need power for is my laptop and sewing machine and some lights.

My question is, I imagine that you had to screw the frame onto the roof. What did you use and how did you seal it for leaking at those points?

Nice to read your on-the-road comments.

 

[travelinwithus]

The solar panel looks great and I was looking into that and this one would be in my price range. Hope you keep us informed how well it works. All I really need power for is my laptop and sewing machine and some lights.

My question is, I imagine that you had to screw the frame onto the roof. What did you use and how did you seal it for leaking at those points?

Nice to read your on-the-road comments.

The mounting of the solar panels is not what I originally had in mind. From the pic below you can see that there is 4 "T" unions (for lack of better terms). This kit came with the frame and two pvc legs to set the panel on a say 30-45 degree angle toward the sun. Because I was mounting it on top of the bus I was going to cut the legs and use them to connect to 4 steel flanges that 1" pvc would thread into (pipe thread) and then use sheet metal screws to secure it to the top of the bus. After going to Home Depot (only home improvement store in the city I was currently in) the flanges that I wanted to use were $7.00 each so I would have had pretty close to $40 in mounting hardware. So I thought there had to be another way. I found these tie downs that cost less then $10 for two packs of 4. I used sheet metal screws and silicone to secure them to the bus and then used two heavy zip ties on each of the 8 tie downs to secure it to the roof. It is really solid. I drove about 200 miles yesterday and rechecked everything and nothing moved or loosened up. Here is a pick of one side of the solar panel so you can see what I am referring to. In all I have about $15 in mounting hardware rather than the $40 it would have cost with my original plan and I think it is just as effective.

 

[bansil]

Be careful with zipties,the uv rays can kill them fairly quick if they are cheap ones,wind under front lip can put a lot of pressure on them,some pvc pipe is also not uv safe.

 

[travelinwithus]

Be careful with zipties,the uv rays can kill them fairly quick if they are cheap ones,wind under front lip can put a lot of pressure on them,some pvc pipe is also not uv safe.

Thanks for that info. I will be keeping a close eye on them. I would assume (you know what they say about assuming) that the PVC in this kit would be uv safe considering it came with the solar panels. I may end up getting some metal straps or something in the future to secure them but zip ties will have to do for now.

Today is the first day the solar panels have been put to the test on my bus. I woke up this morning to a battery voltage of 11.6. We watched a movie last night on our 19" flat screen tv and ran some lights as well as our nearly full sized fridge running overnight. I have been up for about 2.5 hours, made coffee in the coffee pot which takes quite a bit of juice and the battery voltage is up to 12 volts. I am pretty happy with it thus far.

 

[Shadoll]

Thanks for that info. I will be keeping a close eye on them. I would assume (you know what they say about assuming) that the PVC in this kit would be uv safe considering it came with the solar panels. I may end up getting some metal straps or something in the future to secure them but zip ties will have to do for now.

Today is the first day the solar panels have been put to the test on my bus. I woke up this morning to a battery voltage of 11.6. We watched a movie last night on our 19" flat screen tv and ran some lights as well as our nearly full sized fridge running overnight. I have been up for about 2.5 hours, made coffee in the coffee pot which takes quite a bit of juice and the battery voltage is up to 12 volts. I am pretty happy with it thus far.

You would think they made it to last in the sun, but for how long who would know. I like the idea of how you did it though. And some screw down hose clamps might work. A full kit for the pan system I'm finding online is like $2000. Any funny how people don't 'install' on a bus. It sounds so nice though to be able to run things in the bus. You charging 2 marine batteries or ?