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JayTizzoe View Drop Down
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Joined: 02 Aug 2016
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Posts: 12 		Direct Link To This Post Topic: Generators
    Posted: 08 Jun 2017 at 9:13am
Question for your regarding this:
I am going to dry camp this weekend and wanted to use the fridge on propane and the AC to sleep at night. I have a 2017 RPOD179. I am not an electrical specialist by any means so bare with me.
If I have the fridge running on Propane for three days will that kill the battery?
ALso, if I use a honda 2200 generator for the AC, do I just connect that power cord that I got with my RPOD(with the adapter of course) right to the generator to run the AC? Also, when this is connected, will it recharge my battery automatically? Thank you all for your help.
-John Torrey
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GlueGuy View Drop Down
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Posts: 2629 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 08 Jun 2017 at 9:27am
Originally posted by JayTizzoe

If I have the fridge running on Propane for three days will that kill the battery?
You can run the fridge on propane several days on propane. The battery draw in this mode is very low. Battery life would be more dependent on what other things you are running on battery at the time.
Originally posted by JayTizzoe

Also, if I use a honda 2200 generator for the AC, do I just connect that power cord that I got with my RPOD(with the adapter of course) right to the generator to run the AC? Also, when this is connected, will it recharge my battery automatically? Thank you all for your help.
The 2.2KW will be "just enough" to run your AC, with not a lot left over. Charging the battery will take another couple hundred watts. I might put a Kill-a-watt on the outlet to see how much power each of your devices uses.
bp
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mcarter View Drop Down
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Posts: 3419 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 08 Jun 2017 at 4:28pm
JayTizzoe,

With the converter CB ON, and generator connected to Pod. The charging circuit will charge your battery. Posts have indicated some issues with 2Ks and running charge circuit and AC. You need to check yourself. Plug your Pod into the genset - with Converter CB ON. Turn ON the AC, if it does not overload, you're good. If it does - Turn your Converter CB off - realize your Pod is now running 12 Volts from the battery, no recharge. Run your AC if required. When cool, turn your AC off and your Converter CB back on your genset will recharge your battery. You can also use your TV to recharge the Pod battery, hook it up to 7 pin connecter and start your TV. Your refer should be good for three days on propane. Smart power management is the key, use your resources. Happy Trails.
Mike Carter
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Rustler View Drop Down
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Posts: 100 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 08 Jun 2017 at 6:08pm
Here is one thing to keep in mind if you are using something like the Progressive Industries EMSHW30C surge protector - electrical management system. Such a system expects that it will be connected to a campground or home electrical system with the neutral bonded to the ground at the power company entrance panel. 

Many portable generators do not bond the ground to neutral since it is expected that the bonding will take place elsewhere. Thus when such a generator is connected to a camper the electrical management system will detect the open between ground and neutral and disconnect the generator from the camper. One way around this problem is to make a bonding connection by means of a 3-prong male extension cord plug. Just connect the ground to neutral with a short 14 gauge jumper with no other connections. Then this plug can be inserted into one of the duplex outlets on the generator, effectively bonding the ground to neutral at the generator set. The second outlet of the duplex pair is then used to connect to the camper. 

If you don't feel comfortable doing this, ask for help from a electrician or other knowledgable person. Mike Sokol has a discussion of this issue on his website. He also sells a plug like the one I described.
Russ
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SDTrialer View Drop Down
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Posts: 29 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 09 Jun 2017 at 6:39am
I can run the AC with a Honda e2000 but would run out of gas if it was left on all night. 
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GlueGuy View Drop Down
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Posts: 2629 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 09 Jun 2017 at 11:24am
I did some exploring, and found that R-pods "usually" use a converter from WFCO Industries. Ours has a model WF-8955, but yours may be different (http://wfcoelectronics.com/product-category/power-centers/wf-8900-series/).

According to the specifications for that model, it can charge at 55 amps, which is way more than I expected. Doing a little napkin-calculation, that comes to around 800 watts of power if/when doing a bulk charge. The specifications say it pulls up to 940 watts, so there is some fudge in there.

However... This all tells me that if your AC unit is pulling 1500 watts or so, and your converter is pulling 940 watts, then you will be at a nominal 2440 watts. About 240 watts more than a 2.2KW can do. 

So I would say that a 3KW generator would probably be a wise choice.
bp
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StephenH View Drop Down
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Posts: 6288 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 09 Jun 2017 at 1:07pm
The wattage of the converter will depend on the state of battery charge. The 940 watts would be for a badly discharged battery. It would taper off once the battery was past the bulk charge stage. If it is just doing float charging, then the draw of the converter should be minimal.
StephenH
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GlueGuy View Drop Down
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Posts: 2629 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 09 Jun 2017 at 1:27pm
Originally posted by StephenH

The wattage of the converter will depend on the state of battery charge. The 940 watts would be for a badly discharged battery. It would taper off once the battery was past the bulk charge stage. If it is just doing float charging, then the draw of the converter should be minimal.
Of the charge controllers I know, they will all go into bulk charge mode at startup. How long they stay there is dependent on the charge state of the batteries. If you are monitoring the voltage of the batteries, it will be "ramping up" to whatever the absorb voltage is.

During that time, the controller will be limited only by the maximum current it can put out (55 amps in the case of a WF-8955). Once the batteries increase resistance to a pre-determined point, the controller should drop to the absorb stage, which is no longer current limited, but is a pre-defined voltage. Once the controller has determined that the batteries have absorbed all they can (usually by monitoring the current flow at the absorb voltage), then the controller should drop to the float voltage. Float is more-or-less the "maintain" voltage that keeps the batteries happy.
bp
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TheBum View Drop Down
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Posts: 1407 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 09 Jun 2017 at 1:30pm
Originally posted by SDTrialer


I can run the AC with a Honda e2000 but would run out of gas if it was left on all night. 


External gas tank:
https://smile.amazon.com/IPI-Industries-Breeze-Extended-Generator/dp/B002SWCUGK/

We use the dual-feed model with our tandem EU2000is.
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Rustler View Drop Down
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Posts: 100 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 09 Jun 2017 at 1:42pm
Originally posted by StephenH

The wattage of the converter will depend on the state of battery charge. The 940 watts would be for a badly discharged battery. It would taper off once the battery was past the bulk charge stage. If it is just doing float charging, then the draw of the converter should be minimal.

Another thing to be aware of is that the converter is not 100% efficient. While it may be putting say 800 watts into a discharged battery, it may be drawing 900+ watts from the AC source. The difference is heat and other inefficiencies in the electronics.
Russ
2009 Toyota RAV4
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