Winter Use of our T@B

DougH · December 2019

@Tabaz ; Our 3 way fridge died last year, so we have an ancient top loading fridge in that space, running on AC. Once we buy a Danfoss compressor based combination fridge / freezer in the spring, I'll wire it to DC and will probably run the 12V wiring for the fan under the floor to come up alongside that vent tube near the access panel. Or drill and plug a hole from the basement through the floor directly into the space between the black tank and access panel... being careful not to drill into the black tank?

They make camera probes with remote grabbers cheap on Amazon / eBay now too. So it might be tempting to go across the top of the back wall like I'm doing, but drill a hole into the black tank area or gap area behind the loo, then use the remote camera / grabber from the access panel to find the two wires to pull down to the fan. Give me an excuse to buy one.

So for now didn't hide the 12V pair. Ran it along top back edge, through AC connection between left and right cabinets, then down to bottom left corner of undersink cabinet. It's out of the way but just taped up along the walls and corners until we get the new fridge and do the awesome looking sliding fridge drawer project.

Tabaz · December 2019

Thanks! I was hoping you found a 12V line behind that access panel, but that would have made life too easy.

DougH · December 2019

@Tabaz ; Haha, I thought I had, when I found a thick pair right behind the panel. I was like, how great is this? Tapped into them to test. Nope. Taped over the tap holes. They use really thick wires for the various tank level wires.

DougH · December 2019

Staying in a state park in the frozen north woods at 9000ft altitude. Nothing but trees though, and while they're beautiful with all the snow, I'm getting hardly any solar energy with the tree density in the area. Saw 242W on the roads into the park, but now I'm getting 10W.

It's supposed to get colder and colder every night here for the next week, perfect for testing the electrically heated basement. I don't have a big enough battery bank without solar help to support 50-150W 24/7 for a whole week. Fortunately while most services are stopped in the winter, they still have electricity turned on at the sites.

If you find yourself in a similar situation, be aware that many (or at least two that I tried) brand name 3-15A battery chargers are all "super intelligent" . If I turn off all loads on the battery bank, they'll charge the bank up to 13.7 in half a day or less... which I'll have to do every few days. On the other hand, if you've got 1.5A headed to the black and gray drains and another 1A going to the gray tank heating pad, these super smart chargers get confused, and refuse to charge, unless you turn all other loads off. Not good if it's -20F and you don't want to turn off the heating.

I did finally find one that works. Smallish 2/6/12A $60 charger with settings for standard deep cycle, AGM, or gel. Brand name is "CHARGE IT!" at your local NAPA store, or:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004RTC1IE/
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004RTJONY/

It detected I have AGM and set itself to 12A (my battery manufacturer says not to charge at more than 30A, and the Victron normally bulk charges at under 20A). It's got a noisy fan on the 6A and 12A settings, so you can either trickle charge at 2A to offset the 2A going out to the basement heating... or just every few days or whenever the bank gets down to 50%, set it to 12A and let it run for an hour.

And most importantly... it's happy to juice up the bank while other devices are borrowing some of that power.

Tabaz · December 2019

Doug - my testing of the dump valve area seems to indicate that a lack of liquid before the valves will result in colder readings. Having some fluid in the black and gray ABS pipes leading up to the valves seems to assist in providing warmth to that area. Just an FYI from a non engineer.

ChanW · December 2019

@Doug, I haven't had a chance to test my new Noco Genius charger very thoroughly yet, but I wonder if it will have the same problem as your '3-15' with its 'intelligence'.

For example, if I leave it connected to my system, which has a continual 'phantom' draw from a few items, how can the Genius do it's daily 'repair', with its high-voltage-pulsing desulfating phase?

I don't know enough about it, and understanding it is really beyond my pay scale. I might have to do some trial and error, and some monitoring of that phase...

DougH · December 2019

@ChanW @Tabaz ; Had black and gray tanks ~15% full Wednesday night at 14F outside. Had to bump up to 60W for drains and gray tank to keep well above freezing. Not using or heating fresh water system this trip. Did confirm if I crank the black and gray heating systems all the way up and drive on a freeway at 60mph and 22F they stay above freezing, but I need to insulate the rest of the gray tank some day... I only put Reflectix between the heating pad and the coroplast on that tank. But all this means if I was trying to use fresh systems too, and it was below 10F, I'd likely be using over 150W when just sitting at a campsite. More than my solar system can provide 24/7 if boondocking.

Take Away: The electrically heated basement experiment is okay for boondocking in the twenties, or camping with electricity in the low teens. But insufficient for traveling when below 10F.

And as with nearly every trip, something breaks. I had the axles repacked a couple months ago, and I don't know how well they pressed or screwed the lightweight aluminum EZlube spacer and cover thingamagig into the axle bearing housing. It came loose this week, probably on a washboard road, and knocked off the axle cover. I can still travel just fine, but there's less dust and weather protection on that side until I fix it. Anyone know if it's just pushed back on with a 10lb sledgehammer, or how it's supposed to stay seated? Until I replace the outer cap, there's always duct tape.

And no pics of camper setup this trip. Plenty of wet dirt roads around here, so T@B is covered in mud, and she wouldn't let me take her picture.

Sharon_is_SAM · December 2019

This happened to us. My DH removed the wheel, cleaned up the hub, then realigned the pieces parts. He press fitted the bearing cover and used a piece of wood to cover the area while he hammer/tapped it in place.

ChanW · December 2019

Sheesh.

@DougH You might want to consider whether the innards, ie the end of the axle (nut & lock washer or cotter pin) are grinding against the inside of that cap now. Might want to fix it before you go anywhere.

DougH said:

.....
And as with nearly every trip, something breaks. I had the axles repacked a couple months ago, and I don't know how well they pressed or screwed the lightweight aluminum EZlube spacer and cover thingamagig into the axle bearing housing. It came loose this week, probably on a washboard road, and knocked off the axle cover. I can still travel just fine, but there's less dust and weather protection on that side until I fix it. Anyone know if it's just pushed back on with a 10lb sledgehammer, or how it's supposed to stay seated? Until I replace the outer cap, there's always duct tape.
....

DougH · December 2019

@Sharon_is_SAM ; Thanks! I'll follow y'all's example. Maybe this is an opportunity to replace both hub caps with something even more spiffy. Our center caps are 55.5 / 46.8mm.

Unrelated... until yesterday was at Golden Gate Canyon State Park near Rollinsville / Nederland / Black Hawk CO just East of the divide. Apparently millenia ago, 100 foot tall giants strode the realm, and they used to have fun stacking up rocks in 150 foot tall towers in random locations, dwarfing the tiny pine trees.

DougH · December 2019

@ChanW : Too late, but I'll see how chewed up it is when I take the wheel off at home. May have to not only replace the missing cap, but also that EZ Lube cylindrical thang.

ChanW · December 2019

Yeah @DougH, I suppose the potential bits of aluminum won't be a big deal, as long as you pump in some new grease, and push out the old stuff

tybladesmith · December 2019

@DougH does this Image help? It should just tap back on with a wood block and hammer.

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/5021717/uploads/editor/dd/o0487662zawn.jpg

DougH · December 2019

@tybladesmith ; Perfect! I had looked for such an image but couldn't find one. Thanks for the confirmation. Will do the side that fell apart as soon as the center caps from Amazon arrive. I'll tap in the other side a bit too, or possibly clean the surfaces and use some mild loctite on both sides, since I don't want a repeat episode on a subsequent trip.

The service tech that replaced the bearings no doubt did both sides, so if they didn't seat one side all the way, they may not have done the other side right either. Need to balance the brake pressure on both sides anyway.

I ended up ordering plain black center caps instead of carbon fiber with 24k gold leaf trim. I guess I would have had to repaint the brake hubs racing red if I'd gone with carbon fiber.

tybladesmith · December 2019

@DougH Cool caps LOL, the image was extracted from the Dexter 600-8K complete service manual on line, page 59

https://www.dexteraxle.com/docs/default-source/dexteraxle/product-documentation/manuals/600-8k_complete_service_manual.pdf?sfvrsn=cfe1e328_42

Tabaz · December 2019

Keeping the black tank warm:
Added a screen and Noctura quite fan to the access hole in the bottom cabinet:

Ran wires from the fan up behind the shower wall and through the Jensen cabinet. Installed a lighted 12V switch. Will be converting the Jensen cabinet to more storage space and will find the best location for the fan switch later:

Cheapy expanding curtain rod holds the access door up. Toilet seat lid will stay up with the door in this position:

Finally, switched the door opening in the bottom cabinet. The door can be propped open and still allow the shower door to open fully.

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/5021717/uploads/editor/j1/n6fwgrokq6w6.jpg

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/5021717/uploads/editor/zn/jm9bnlcwqogy.jpg

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/5021717/uploads/editor/5k/f3dl2xb0jtro.jpg

Leave the shower door slightly ajar at night, and the fan will circulate enough warm cabin air into the black tank area to keep it warm. An added benefit is that the entire wet bath is also much warmer than by just opening the shower door.

DougH · December 2019

The screen is beautiful, but if I was an air molecule drawn through a fan, I might be tempted to come right back through that screen (shorter higher probability path), instead of heading to the opening behind the toilet. But I've always been a lazy molecule.

Tabaz · December 2019

I'm very proud of that screen Doug! But I think you're right - I just put my hand near the screen and could feel slight air movement coming back into that cabinet. Will fire up the Alde tonight and take some readings with the opening covered and unobstructed.

DougH · December 2019

ChanW · January 2020

Strange that the hub cap wouldn't 'seat'. J.B.Weld is wonderful stuff! (Stuck my antique tractor's broken gearcase together. It's held for ten years!)

That's a beautiful photo @DougH.

DougH said:

.... tried to deform the sleeve to create more tension with the main axle housing, but nothing would work, and I just couldn't get the EZ Lube sleeve to stay seated.

So I went with the miracle of J.B.Weld. I hope the next place I take it to for repacking / replacing the bearings in another 20k miles has an angle grinder.

DougH · January 2020

DougH · September 2020

DougH · October 2020

Winter Use of our T@B

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