[encantotom]

I'm home but it is HOT here....ha

tom

[Guy]

Tom, we love visiting with you two folks but,,,,,, The key word in my post was if all elese fails, wait until fall 

[Guy]

I agree. a new thread is a good idea. We are in Virginia. Only Virginia , Virginia Landing to be exact. I (we) had the bright idea to relocate from the Solvang Califonia wine country to make Virgina a jumping off point for Washington DC tourism this fall. How long could a pandemic last afterall ? We went to Lowes amd "installed" an 8000 btu indoor a/c unit, which is doing a spectacular job hillbilly style. IE vented out drivers window.

[encantotom]

i was at our small town post office and saw a single cab pickup with a household window air conditioner in the rear window.

cant be more hillbilly than that

tom

[Richard]

We will be back in florida in early October

[jdkskyking]

Great info all around and to Richard’s comment regarding idling a Diesel engine... you run the risk of damaging injectors which can lead to other problems such as a stuck valve which can strike a piston...

[cknuth]

Posting this report at Tom’s suggestion.  If it should be located elsewhere, please advise.     

After being parked for several months - plugged in - I got the coach ready to move and found the start batteries dead.    From the pilot seat, I reflexively reached for the merge switch and brought 600AH of lithium house batteries into action.    Turned the key and everything went dark.  I had blown the 400A fuse protecting the hot side of the house bank.    Additional follies ensued before I stopped trying things.    The original problem was the failure of the Echo Charger, now being replaced with an AmpL charger per thread http://newellgurus.com/showthread.php?ti...rge+switch.

My experience with the lithium batteries thus far has been that they will handle a huge charge rate and will put out huge current if given the chance.    In this case, I asked them to provide charging current to the start batteries (at 7.5V) in addition to cranking the Detroit 60 engine.  Not sure what that total would be, but the start batteries total 2800 CCA.  My attempted procedure may work with lead acid house batteries - any experience to report? 

The solution in this case was to (after restoring the fuse) merge the batteries and just wait for the start bank to come up to voltage.  (Even this was an emergency measure, as the unmeasured current into the 8D lead acid batteries was making them bubble vigorously.  It would have been preferable to charge them properly.)  Then un-merge and start the engine.  Bottom lines: not advisable to start the engine with a lithium house bank, and “Don’t just do something; stand there.”

I've attached a sketch of my charging system.    The Sterling charger replaces the original battery isolator, to modulate the house battery charging by the alternator while driving.
Comments welcome.

579 Elec Overview 021521a.pdf Size: 410.91 KB  Downloads: 44

[encantotom]

chuck has a really nice setup with his battleborns.

what he is saying is this.......if you have low starting batteries and use the merge function with LiOn batteries on the coach side AND immediately try and start your engine, the high current draw of the engine starter will make it highly likely you are going to blow the big fuses you have at your batteries or at your fuse block on the big battery cables. this is because the LiOn batteries will throw more current at it immediately than conventional batteries will.

i have used the merge function with my agm batteries many times with no issues.

those big round fuses on your batteries are typically 600a (at least that is what is on mine)

tom

[cknuth]

    Thanks for the clarification Tom.   I've found that my start batteries are also bad, so now working with O'Reilly's as you suggested and wanting the blade-type terminals instead of the round posts.    Is the attached image what you're using?   Assuming they fit in the battery well, I'm uncomfortable with the need for new critical insulation of the terminals near the stainless steel wall.

Cheers,

[bikestuff]

I believe Tom is talking about something like this