Battery And Tv (tow Vehicle) Output
- Thread starter AlCat
- Start date
Henry
Novice
The temps were above 40 yesterday, so I got out and did a little work. The 19" snow from last weekend is melting quickly and I need to get the Time Capsule ready for the road.
Here is the final wiring before the cabinet goes back on:
Cabinet installed and a view looking in:
Outside of cabinet with the old battery/tank monitor removed and a switch installed for the pump:
I've hooked up the solar panel and that seems to work - haven't been able to hook up to the vehicle yet (to much snow)
Here is the final wiring before the cabinet goes back on:
Cabinet installed and a view looking in:
Outside of cabinet with the old battery/tank monitor removed and a switch installed for the pump:
I've hooked up the solar panel and that seems to work - haven't been able to hook up to the vehicle yet (to much snow)
hiadventurer
Junior Ranger
CampInn, primarily Craig and Mike recently competed a few upgrades on our 560, WALL-E. They added a TRIMETRIC Battery Monitor and the CTEK charger. Did a great job on both. Also added a new battery, switched out our 1.25" hitch for a 2". As always their craftsmanship and customer service was excellent. They even shared their rapidly expanding mosquito population as camped at the factory the night before.....
Les Izmore
Junior Ranger
This new DC-DC battery charger & solar controller looks very promising. We like that it eliminates the need for the battery isolator, can keep the starter battery trickle charged and will boost the voltage to better manage the needs of the camper battery.
We plan to be the guinea pigs for an install where the controller is in the tow vehicle, since that is where our solar panel is permanently installed. Our present system works, but this would simplify things considerably, and make it much easier to diagnose any issues that might arise.
Our plan is to run the charge line to the CTEK charger, with the line out from the charger going to the charge line of the 7 pin connector. To wire the temperature sensor, we plan to wire that to the back up light pin on the 7 pin, then disconnect the backup light wiring (which has never been used) in the battery compartment and attach the temperature sensor to that wiring. Our install is scheduled in a week and a half.
Thanks to Tom for pointing out the pricing at High Tech Batteries! I found a coupon code (VOLT) that knocked another few percent off of that price.
We plan to be the guinea pigs for an install where the controller is in the tow vehicle, since that is where our solar panel is permanently installed. Our present system works, but this would simplify things considerably, and make it much easier to diagnose any issues that might arise.
Our plan is to run the charge line to the CTEK charger, with the line out from the charger going to the charge line of the 7 pin connector. To wire the temperature sensor, we plan to wire that to the back up light pin on the 7 pin, then disconnect the backup light wiring (which has never been used) in the battery compartment and attach the temperature sensor to that wiring. Our install is scheduled in a week and a half.
Thanks to Tom for pointing out the pricing at High Tech Batteries! I found a coupon code (VOLT) that knocked another few percent off of that price.
Ron
Ron and Missy,
Forgive me if this is a dumb question, but did the new charger replace the stock charger under the trailer? If so, what are the advantages and which model number did you use?
Thanks,
Randy
Ron and Missy,
Forgive me if this is a dumb question, but did the new charger replace the stock charger under the trailer? If so, what are the advantages and which model number did you use?
Thanks,
Randy
SethB
Ranger
Randy, if you look closely at Ron & Missy's second photo, that's the CTEK D250 DC/DC charger. It will use the alternator output of the TV, but instead of just whatever the alternator puts out, it will vary voltage and current to the CI battery to a proper charging profile.
Just like the stock CI charger does... only with alternator/TV as the source when you're on the road. So, it doesn't replace the stock CI charger, which would still be used when near a 110v AC source at camp or home.
Just like the stock CI charger does... only with alternator/TV as the source when you're on the road. So, it doesn't replace the stock CI charger, which would still be used when near a 110v AC source at camp or home.
Would like be to see details of your install, e.g., how you located and hooked into the charge line to the 7 pin. Thanks!
Les Izmore
Junior Ranger
Sorry, I left that to the guys at Major Tire and Hitch in Boise. They are doing that on Wednesday.
Les Izmore
Junior Ranger
This looks very promising. After getting our new CTEK battery charger installed yesterday, we drove three hours to Arco, ID. When we set up camp in the late afternoon, our camper battery was reading 14v. At no time last night did we see the voltage drop below 13v. And this morning, before the sun is high enough to reach our solar panel, the voltage stayed above 12.7, even with the Dometic's compressor cycling. We are very optimistic that this will be a huge improvement for us. Even on shore power, the charge given to our battery by the CI Battery Tender charger has never been anywhere near 14v.
Here are a couple of pictures of of the CTEK installed in the rear of our van:
We had thought about using the back-up light wiring to extend the temperature sensor wiring to the battery compartment, but the guys at Major Tire & Hitch recommended a separate two-pin connection, which is piggybacked on the 7-pin pigtail:
The mess of wiring that cluttered our engine compartment (solar wiring, battery isolator, relay switch and a tangled mess of fuses) has all be removed. All that is left is the charge line and its fuse. I love the simplicity of this setup!
Here are a couple of pictures of of the CTEK installed in the rear of our van:
We had thought about using the back-up light wiring to extend the temperature sensor wiring to the battery compartment, but the guys at Major Tire & Hitch recommended a separate two-pin connection, which is piggybacked on the 7-pin pigtail:
The mess of wiring that cluttered our engine compartment (solar wiring, battery isolator, relay switch and a tangled mess of fuses) has all be removed. All that is left is the charge line and its fuse. I love the simplicity of this setup!
SethB
Ranger
Looks great! Thanks for posting the details and photos!
How many watts of solar do you have? I’m wondering if the 14v reading was during some level of solar charging? Not that that’s a problem at all; it’s great that you have one controller for all your on-the-road AND off-the-grid charging.
Then there’s that little Yamaha generator in your pix! Do you use it much for boondocking, is a goal of the new charging system to eliminate it?
Hmmm.... I’m fulla’ questions. It really is a good-looking install.
How many watts of solar do you have? I’m wondering if the 14v reading was during some level of solar charging? Not that that’s a problem at all; it’s great that you have one controller for all your on-the-road AND off-the-grid charging.
Then there’s that little Yamaha generator in your pix! Do you use it much for boondocking, is a goal of the new charging system to eliminate it?
Hmmm.... I’m fulla’ questions. It really is a good-looking install.
Les Izmore
Junior Ranger
We have a 100 watt flexible panel. If we were to do it again today, we'd go with a 150 watt flexible panel, mainly for the depths of winter. Since ours is mounted on our van's roof, at midday on the first day of Winter in Central Florida with clear skies we might only generate about one amp. Being able to position the panel for a better sun angle would improve that, but then again we are getting solar power any time there is sunlight- we don't need to wait until the panel is deployed, and then have to reposition it, another hour or two later.
We were driving in clear skies, and the CTEK is designed to charge from solar and alternator at the same time (another big plus over our old system). So part of that 14v reading could have been due to the solar. We drove another two hours today in cloudier skies, to Salmon, ID. When we stopped, the camper battery read 13.7v (for quite a while now we have been in the habit of putting the Dometic in our van when driving - less load on the battery, so more power to get through the night when we move it back to the camper). Around 5:30, in full sun and after having had the Dometic in the camper for at least two hours, at one point we were reading 14.25v (the Dometic was ALSO in full sun). Now (at 7:30), with a low sun angle, we are consistently getting 13.4v. Still way better than we would be seeing on shore power.
The generator is a good question. We've had ours for nearly four years now. We thought one benefit of the generator would be that we could fire it up, run the Dometic on 110v and be able to charge the battery at the same time (oh yeah, and also watch some TV to cover the generator noise). I asked Cary about using the generator to keep up with the use of the Dometic. He said that you'd probably need to run the generator all day long. I believe the reason is that the onboard charger only puts out about 1.25 amp hours - it doesn't have the high amp charging of your alternator. I'm pretty sure the television on battery power probably draws as much as the battery charger was replacing.
So what good is the generator? Running the AC on scorching hot days. And powering the electric mattress pad and ceramic heater on cold nights/mornings. Beyond that, it is heavy, wastes a lot of space and, while it is quiet when you are in the campsite next door (at least in most public campgrounds, with decent sized campsites), it is noisy when it is in YOUR campsite. But we've seen creative people who have made some very nice noise dampening covers for theirs. But they are still heavy and bulky. Think twice about getting one. Some folks will have sufficient space for them, and sufficient need. Others will live in places where power goes out from time-to-time, and it can be good peace of mind to know you have the means to keep your house refrigerator going until the power comes back on. A lot of folks will just overthink things and buy a generator with very limited applicability for their needs. Simpler is better. For us, it would probably take a coin toss to decide if we would go that route again. The cost, space, weight and noise of the thing are big considerations, and the importance of each of those will vary from person to person.
So as far as generators go, if you have decent solar and just want one for the limited uses that we have, I MIGHT buy one, and if I did, it would probably be one from Harbor Freight for half the price (or less) of a Yamaha or Honda. At the same time, if you have good cell coverage and can keep up to date with the weather, a motel room might be a better investment, especially in a rural area where prices are still reasonable.
We were driving in clear skies, and the CTEK is designed to charge from solar and alternator at the same time (another big plus over our old system). So part of that 14v reading could have been due to the solar. We drove another two hours today in cloudier skies, to Salmon, ID. When we stopped, the camper battery read 13.7v (for quite a while now we have been in the habit of putting the Dometic in our van when driving - less load on the battery, so more power to get through the night when we move it back to the camper). Around 5:30, in full sun and after having had the Dometic in the camper for at least two hours, at one point we were reading 14.25v (the Dometic was ALSO in full sun). Now (at 7:30), with a low sun angle, we are consistently getting 13.4v. Still way better than we would be seeing on shore power.
The generator is a good question. We've had ours for nearly four years now. We thought one benefit of the generator would be that we could fire it up, run the Dometic on 110v and be able to charge the battery at the same time (oh yeah, and also watch some TV to cover the generator noise). I asked Cary about using the generator to keep up with the use of the Dometic. He said that you'd probably need to run the generator all day long. I believe the reason is that the onboard charger only puts out about 1.25 amp hours - it doesn't have the high amp charging of your alternator. I'm pretty sure the television on battery power probably draws as much as the battery charger was replacing.
So what good is the generator? Running the AC on scorching hot days. And powering the electric mattress pad and ceramic heater on cold nights/mornings. Beyond that, it is heavy, wastes a lot of space and, while it is quiet when you are in the campsite next door (at least in most public campgrounds, with decent sized campsites), it is noisy when it is in YOUR campsite. But we've seen creative people who have made some very nice noise dampening covers for theirs. But they are still heavy and bulky. Think twice about getting one. Some folks will have sufficient space for them, and sufficient need. Others will live in places where power goes out from time-to-time, and it can be good peace of mind to know you have the means to keep your house refrigerator going until the power comes back on. A lot of folks will just overthink things and buy a generator with very limited applicability for their needs. Simpler is better. For us, it would probably take a coin toss to decide if we would go that route again. The cost, space, weight and noise of the thing are big considerations, and the importance of each of those will vary from person to person.
So as far as generators go, if you have decent solar and just want one for the limited uses that we have, I MIGHT buy one, and if I did, it would probably be one from Harbor Freight for half the price (or less) of a Yamaha or Honda. At the same time, if you have good cell coverage and can keep up to date with the weather, a motel room might be a better investment, especially in a rural area where prices are still reasonable.