R-pod Owners Forum Homepage

This site is free to use.
Donations benefit a non-profit Girls Softball organization

Forum Home Forum Home > R-pod Discussion Forums > Podmods, Maintenance, Tips and Tricks
  New Posts New Posts RSS Feed: Texman 182g Mods
  FAQ FAQ  Forum Search   Calendar   Register Register  Login Login

Topic ClosedTexman 182g Mods

 Post Reply Post Reply Page  <1 2021222324 33>
Author
Message
texman View Drop Down
Senior Member
Senior Member
Avatar

Joined: 24 Jul 2014
Location: TeXas
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 446
Direct Link To This Post Topic: Texman 182g Mods
    Posted: 12 Feb 2019 at 4:27pm
thanks motor, i will check.  it is off (i think)  i really have no idea what it could be.  it is total silence inside, which doesn't mean alot.  all of the mods i made that are electrically related have a switch. the new meter i added is 4 ma.  i wonder if i have the tv booster on.  i plan to start pulling fuses i guess and hope that yields some results.  but, once identified, that does not fix the problem of the drain on the battery. 
TexMan 2015 182g
2018 Sequoia
TexManMods
Back to Top
StephenH View Drop Down
podders Helping podders - pHp
podders Helping podders - pHp
Avatar

Joined: 29 Nov 2015
Location: Wake Forest, NC
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 6288
Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12 Feb 2019 at 7:39pm
Is by any chance the switch for the antenna booster turned on? That is a likely candidate for a higher current draw.
StephenH
Happy is the man that findeth wisdom,...

ouR escaPOD mods
Former RPod 179
Current Cherokee Grey Wolf 24 JS
Back to Top
texman View Drop Down
Senior Member
Senior Member
Avatar

Joined: 24 Jul 2014
Location: TeXas
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 446
Direct Link To This Post Posted: 13 Feb 2019 at 7:59pm
After clearing the Klein to start at zero, I consistently get .57-.59amp at all off. The meter I installed is close but I think I need to reset again. Pod is on battery so I will check in the morning again.
Thanks for all your help.
TexMan 2015 182g
2018 Sequoia
TexManMods
Back to Top
offgrid View Drop Down
Senior Member
Senior Member


Joined: 23 Jul 2018
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 5290
Direct Link To This Post Posted: 14 Feb 2019 at 6:56am
0.59 sounds a lot better but still a little high, I'll check my "no load" current draw for comparison and post it. 
1994 Chinook Concourse
1995 RV6A Experimental Aircraft
2015 Rpod 179 - sold
Back to Top
texman View Drop Down
Senior Member
Senior Member
Avatar

Joined: 24 Jul 2014
Location: TeXas
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 446
Direct Link To This Post Posted: 14 Feb 2019 at 8:49am
i think i found it.  After pulling all the fuses, even the 40 amp, i could read only minor changes from the 580 ma current at the battery.  what else could it be?  Some ClownEmbarrassed, left the inverter turned on. Embarrassed
been on for a year probably. don't have the exact specs, but amazon reviews say .6 amps when on and 30 ma when off.  i dont see how it can draw when off.  Do inverters draw current even when switched off?

Since it had over/under voltage protection, i direct wired to the panel.  You will most likely tell me that was a really bad idea.  it has a built in switch, but i am thinking it needs to be switched or at least fused.  I think that it must draw current even when off.  i measured the current at the battery with the inverter disconnected from the board and my current was almost null.  i reconnected the power, with the inverter off, and my current at the battery was 250ma.  which is much better than the 580ma. 

Texman (starving Electrician)
TexMan 2015 182g
2018 Sequoia
TexManMods
Back to Top
GlueGuy View Drop Down
Senior Member
Senior Member
Avatar

Joined: 15 May 2017
Location: N. California
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 2629
Direct Link To This Post Posted: 14 Feb 2019 at 11:15am
Originally posted by texman

Do inverters draw current even when switched off?
I would think not, unless they had some sort of "auto on" capability where they are measuring the load (whereby they would automatically turn on). Otherwise, I would expect off to actually mean off.
bp
2017 R-Pod 179 Hood River
2015 Ford F150 SuperCrew 4WD 3.5L Ecoboost
Back to Top
texman View Drop Down
Senior Member
Senior Member
Avatar

Joined: 24 Jul 2014
Location: TeXas
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 446
Direct Link To This Post Posted: 14 Feb 2019 at 11:20am

should i add a circuit breaker to the inverter even though it has built in over/undervoltage protection?  how many amps if so for the breaker?
the inverter is 300w and 600watt peak.  so 600w/12v=50 amp?


But I have 10 ga wire that is 2 ft long. That should be 30 amp.
TexMan 2015 182g
2018 Sequoia
TexManMods
Back to Top
GlueGuy View Drop Down
Senior Member
Senior Member
Avatar

Joined: 15 May 2017
Location: N. California
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 2629
Direct Link To This Post Posted: 14 Feb 2019 at 12:11pm
If you think you're going to run it at peak, you would need a 50 amp breaker. There are a couple of considerations. First, since that is a peak rating, you may want to fuse it lower at a sustainable level, so that you don't accidentally overload it with something that surges longer than it can handle. Second, DC circuit breakers are "special" in that they need to be much more robust than AC circuit breakers. This is because AC circuit breakers cross the zero-current boundary 120 times per second. DC circuit breakers have to break the circuit at full rated load, and need to be designed to not arc at that full load.

It might be simpler to use a fuse instead of a circuit breaker.
bp
2017 R-Pod 179 Hood River
2015 Ford F150 SuperCrew 4WD 3.5L Ecoboost
Back to Top
offgrid View Drop Down
Senior Member
Senior Member


Joined: 23 Jul 2018
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 5290
Direct Link To This Post Posted: 14 Feb 2019 at 2:01pm
Many higher quality inverters do have a standby mode where they draw a few tens on mA to run the control board only, then turn onthe power section every say 10 seconds long enough to see if there is a load on the ac line. If there is they stay on, otherwise they shut down the power section off.

Yes you should have a fuse or circuit breaker on the inverter positive line if that is coming off the battery. It is there for the same reason you have cb’s in your panel, to protect the conductors from burning up from shorts and faults. So you size the wires and fuse or cb the same way the electric code would require you to do it for your ac household circuits. That is, you would size the conductors for the max rated inverter input current and then select the fuse or cb for that wire size. That max current should be in your inverter manual, if not it is going to around the inverter max output power rating divided by 12 divided by the inverter efficiency, which is usually around 80-90 percent, so around 60A for your inverter. That will be 4 awg wire. I know that sounds high but you’re dealing with a lot of current at only 12V. Many bigger inverters are run with 2/0 or 4/0. By doing it that way you won’t have nuisance cb trips or fuses blowing if you use the inverter at full load, and most importantly you won’t have circuits burning up. The cb or fuse should go as close to the battery positive terminal as you can so it protects the whole circuit from faults and shorts.
1994 Chinook Concourse
1995 RV6A Experimental Aircraft
2015 Rpod 179 - sold
Back to Top
texman View Drop Down
Senior Member
Senior Member
Avatar

Joined: 24 Jul 2014
Location: TeXas
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 446
Direct Link To This Post Posted: 14 Feb 2019 at 2:19pm
the only thing we use it for is our air mattress which is 120vac, 0.9amp and 105 watts on the rating.  I am getting a 30 amp inline fuse for the inverter and using 10 ga wire.  the wire is only 2 feet long from inverter to the board connection.  i will put the fuse in that 2 ft span.  no hair dryers allowed. 
TexMan 2015 182g
2018 Sequoia
TexManMods
Back to Top
 Post Reply Post Reply Page  <1 2021222324 33>

Forum Jump Forum Permissions View Drop Down

Bulletin Board Software by Web Wiz Forums® version 9.64
Copyright ©2001-2009 Web Wiz