Hi. This is going to be a long posting. If you aren't interested in DC-to-AC inverters or battery monitoring you might as well move along to another thread ---- unless you are having a hard time falling asleep!
For those times when our small-but-mighty Camplite CL11FDB is not plugged into a power source, I thought it might be useful to have an inverter to supply 115v power. We don't have any major need for 115v power so my thinking leaned towards a 300W unit to minimize the unit's own self-consumption of precious ampere-hours. I also wanted an inverter that I could wire to an outlet and remotely switch on & off.
I settled upon the >> [a href="http://www.morningstarcorp.com/products/suresine/"]Morningstar SureSine-300 Pure Sine Wave Inverter[/a]. << From the online reviews it came highly recommended. One feature I liked is the heavily heat-sinked design does not incorporate a fan so it is silent and has minimized its own self-consumption. When actively inverting from DC to AC the unit's self-consumption is 450mA. To that of course you'd also consume whatever amperage is consumed by the 115v device you plug in. If the unit is switched on but has no 115v device plugged in, it will automatically go into a standby mode that self consumes 25mA. Remotely switched off it self-consumes nothing.
(That 25mA is from the specs that came with my unit. I see the Morningstar webpage I linked says 55mA. I don't know which one is wrong).
I was able to install the 10-lb inverter to the floor next to the water pump in the main utility compartment. Screwing it to the aluminum floor likely further helps with cooling since the floor contributes as a even bigger heat sink. As a safety feature the unit will automatically turn itself off if it gets too hot.
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I read the whole thing!! Nice job.
Now that you can get real amphour data while not connected to shore power, how about reporting how many AH you really use after camping for a while. I have a strong suspicion that it won't be much. My guess is 10-15 AH per day. But that will go up if you watch TV and have a Blue Ray player both running or run the furnace all night in cold weather.
I have a new battery monitor that I just have to buy a shunt for to get it to work but I am too lazy to install it. Since we have never camped more than 3 days without moving (in which case the TV recharges the battery) I just watch the resting voltage and it has never dropped below 12.1.
So give us some feedback as to what you really use. I think if many here knew their real AH use they would forget about solar panels and Honda generators.
David
[p]I run the Victron BMV too. It is a great product. Mounted mine along side the tank monitor and the PD HW30c surge monitor display on the access panel instead of above it. You didn't say where you mounted the shunt unless I missed it. Mine is hitch mounted in a weather tight box. [/p][p]
[/p][p]Enjoy the 120v. I have a Victron 300w inverter ready for this application sometime[/p]
Yes David - this season I should try to get a real understanding on our energy use. As you suggest it likely isn't all that much. We have tended to live very simple unplugged lives when we camp.
I imagine the water pump is the biggest power hog by far. Next biggest would likely be the two fan-tastic vent fans but we don't overuse those. All our lighting is LED so that doesn't use much and the small-but-mighty trailer is so small we rarely need more than one light on. We have no TV, radio, DVD players, X-Boxes, electric blankets, foot massagers, electric can openers, tanning beds, computers, electric razors, or electric appliances other than the three-way fridge. The fridge is usually running on propane if not on shore power. We don't string up miles of patio lights or do laser light shows. We do have a 12v dustbuster (50-cent yard sale find) but that doesn't get used very often.
We do often put the fridge on 12v when we are towing. I'd hope the tow-vehicle charge offsets that amp-hour draw.
If I found out we have excess capacity then I'd consider getting a blender for the camper. Frozen margaritas would be a nice upgrade to our simple camplife experience! Oh, something new to dream about!
Someday I would like to add solar pv panel(s) --- I'll pick your brain on that when I see you at the [a href="http://livinlite.proboards.com/thread/1045/livin-lite-gathering-fundy-national"]Fundy National Park Camplite Jamboree[/a] in June. 8-)
Hi Whoofit - I mounted the shunt on the trailer interior. In one of the pics you can see it just at the bottom edge of the orbit front in the compartment that is the front of the dinette.
[p]Well it looks great. Does it see the charging current from the TV alright?
The TV does in fact replenish the battery while running the refer in DC mode in our trailer. In 1:45 of highway driving the battery was mostly full by the time we got home. This from 12.1V to 12.48V.[/p][p]
[/p][p]I do like that we have the DC option in ours. I understand Dometic got rid of that option either this year or last on some models.[/p][p]
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I like that Victron Battery monitor a lot, I'll have to investigate that one. Thanks for posting
Why do you guys use DC on your fridge while towing? Maybe you want to be safer and close your propane tank valve when you travel?
I don't worry about it and run the fridge on propane all of the time unless we are in a campsite with 120V power, but that hasn't happened yet.
FWIW while the fridge is on DC it is essentially in hold mode. It supplies enough cooling to keep a fridge cold that is already cold but it won't do much to cool down warm food put inside. I think that it provides about 1/3 the energy on 12V as on 120V or propane.
David
I run mine on DC for safety and for cooling. I don't like having the tanks on while travelling. Road debris cutting a gas line is one reason. Certain I've cooled the refer down on DC alone? I've seen 180W there.
Either way gas only is an option too.
If I use the 12v fridge operation when towing it is generally because it gets windy in our region and I don't trust the burner to stay lit. Our winds can be very gusty. Also living on an island means to leave we have to cross either a 8-mile long bridge or take a ferry. As you might imagine it can get quite gusty on the bridge. It is often closed to "high-sided vehicles" due to the wind. I attach a pic of the bridge. It is a serious bridge!
The ferry requires you turn off all propane appliances and close your tank valve. To get on the boat you need to verbally declare compliance and put a tag on your dash. You aren't allowed in your vehicle during the crossing. During the crossing staff will check compliance and I suspect you'd be in big trouble if you broke the rule. I also attach a pic of our small-but-mighty Camplite CL11FDB on the Ferry just about to leave for Nova Scotia. Notice they need to anchor the motorcycles.
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Great photos of the bridge and ferry. I wondered how PEIslanders get around. That Morningstar inverter is an excellent choice. Very rugged and safe. Most of my solar equipment at the house is Morningstar and it's been bullet-proof reliable. I did basically the same thing with a Samlex 300W sine wave inverter for that really useful small amount of 120V AC when off shorepower. I went with the Samlex only because I didn't want to hardwire.
And don't bother warning about long postings.......this is what we do. ;)
These are great pictures. What a beautiful place. Nova Scotia and PEI is one of the places on our list of destinations. My wife and her family used to camp there when she was growing up. Loved the picture of the ferry. Answers a big question in my mind about getting a camper on a ferry.
Now it increases my desire to hook up the camper and go somewhere, and we just got back on Monday! :)
Thanks.
Doug
Hi PEIslander, loved the pics and explanation. Having grown up in Canada, Vancouver BC, we studied all the provinces in great detail. As a youngster, I was totally fascinated with Prince Edward Island. I have this vivid memory of learning that it had the friendliest cows in the entire country. Someday, I hope Mighty 11 and I can visit your beautiful area. I, too, have concerns about wind as it can be very strong here in the Columbia River Gorge. I might just have to recruit some big fella for ballast. smile!