Battery life off-grid |
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fwunder
Senior Member Joined: 04 Oct 2013 Location: New Jersey Online Status: Offline Posts: 1676 |
Topic: Battery life off-grid Posted: 21 Mar 2015 at 2:35pm |
The short answer(s): Yes and Yes
Be aware that 6 volters are considerably heavier than 12 volt. They are taller also, which means they will not fit in "normal" 12 volt battery box. Click the link in my sig to see how I did it. -fred
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2014 RPod 178 => MyMods and Buying Habits
2008 4Runner Limited 4.0-liter V6 Yes, those are wild ponies dining on grass while dumping tanks! |
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Andy and Lisa D
Newbie Joined: 15 Mar 2015 Location: Beaverton Orego Online Status: Offline Posts: 5 |
Posted: 21 Mar 2015 at 2:01pm |
Is connecting 2, 6V batteries in series as easy as just connecting battery 1 '+' to battery 2 '-'?
What about recharging them from the TV via jumper cables - just connect to the "outer" set of terminals? |
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Andy & Lisa
4-legged family: Gunner (RIP), Autumn, Dewey 2015 RP179 2003 Nissan xTerra Oregon |
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lamarkeiko
Newbie Joined: 18 Feb 2015 Location: Grants Pass, Or Online Status: Offline Posts: 27 |
Posted: 28 Feb 2015 at 4:56pm |
Thanks Charli. The dog bone looks like exactly what I need.
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Lamar
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CharlieM
Senior Member Joined: 23 Nov 2012 Location: N. Colorado Online Status: Offline Posts: 1797 |
Posted: 28 Feb 2015 at 3:43pm |
1tulip,
The only caution with the jumpers is making sure you have + to + and - to - and you're careful when handling the cables during connection/disconnection. The Tacoma's charging system will protect against any over-charging. The OEM monitor in the Pod is totally useless for determining battery charge level. A better way is to check the battery voltage under no charge/discharge or very minimal discharge. Inexpensive digital voltmeters for this purpose are available. After a short resting period you compare the reading against published charts to determine State Of Charts. Lots of threads around here help you figure it out. |
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Charlie
Northern Colorado OLD: 2013 RP-172, 2010 Honda Pilot 3.5L 4WD PRESENT: 2014 Camplite 21RBS, 2013 Supercharged Tacoma 4L V6 4WD |
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CharlieM
Senior Member Joined: 23 Nov 2012 Location: N. Colorado Online Status: Offline Posts: 1797 |
Posted: 28 Feb 2015 at 3:32pm |
Lamar,
The item you're holding in the picture is what we refer to as a hockey puck adapter. It looks like it will not fit due to the recessed socket on the generator, but the idea is good. Another option is http://www.amazon.com/Voltec-16-00502-15-30-Adapter-E-ZEE/dp/B004ZMUKH2/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1425154302&sr=8-8&keywords=15+amp+30+amp+adapter This is called a dog bone adapter and is a available from many vendors. You could use the puck you have with a standard short extension cord. Short cords rated at 15A are easily obtained and you would plug it into the generator; then use your hockey puck adapter between the extension cord and and the RPod power cord. With your 1000W gen your not going to draw more than 8 Amps so a 15 Amp rated extension will be fine. If you're going to spend money I'd go with the dog bone. |
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Charlie
Northern Colorado OLD: 2013 RP-172, 2010 Honda Pilot 3.5L 4WD PRESENT: 2014 Camplite 21RBS, 2013 Supercharged Tacoma 4L V6 4WD |
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1tulip
Groupie Joined: 21 Feb 2015 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 44 |
Posted: 28 Feb 2015 at 3:03pm |
If I used the high quality cables between the Tacoma's battery to my pod batteries, what are the risks to over-doing it and damaging my batteries? What precautions should I employ? Is it appropriate to monitor the panel inside the pod and discontinue charging when all four lights are on?
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lamarkeiko
Newbie Joined: 18 Feb 2015 Location: Grants Pass, Or Online Status: Offline Posts: 27 |
Posted: 28 Feb 2015 at 2:57pm |
I need a smaller image file. Hope this is better.
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Lamar
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lamarkeiko
Newbie Joined: 18 Feb 2015 Location: Grants Pass, Or Online Status: Offline Posts: 27 |
Posted: 28 Feb 2015 at 2:41pm |
I don't know what a dogbone or hockey puck type adaptors look like, but attached is a picture of my generator receptacle, and the adaptor that was supplied with my pod.
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Lamar
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techntrek
Admin Group - pHp Joined: 29 Jul 2009 Location: MD Online Status: Offline Posts: 9062 |
Posted: 28 Feb 2015 at 2:19pm |
The pod has a 30 amp 120 volt plug, you can buy a "dogbone" or "hockey puck" adapter cheaply. The "dogbone" type is safer to some degree.
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Doug ~ '10 171 (2009-2015) ~ 2008 Salem ~ Pod instruction manual
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CharlieM
Senior Member Joined: 23 Nov 2012 Location: N. Colorado Online Status: Offline Posts: 1797 |
Posted: 28 Feb 2015 at 2:14pm |
Yep. Been there, tried that too. When using the truck inverter I plug a short heavy extension cord into the truck and join the Pod cable to it using a "hockey puck" adapter. About the same place you're going.
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Charlie
Northern Colorado OLD: 2013 RP-172, 2010 Honda Pilot 3.5L 4WD PRESENT: 2014 Camplite 21RBS, 2013 Supercharged Tacoma 4L V6 4WD |
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