Video

Your awesome..ty

QUESTION We never miss your tech tip Tuesdays and have learned a lot. I have a Victron Plus II 3000-watt inverter and when I run my onboard generator it shows on the Victron graphic that I have NO L2 Voltage in but shows an L2 voltage out. I was told if that is true I can not run both AC since one AC is on L1 and the AC is on L2. What say you!

o Over engineered for nothing. Just go to a switch. If one is going to lithium he is not going back and why do we have to discharge a perfectly good battery???

Leaving the fan in the on position will prevent the reverse rotation. They could use the automatic mode when home and run constant when gone.

Something like window louvers?

Make lovers for the sides and the back. This way the "incoming" wind will not get in enough to spin the fan but will open when he fan kicks on and blows air out.

I put 8, 550-watt solar panels (4,400 watts) on the roof of my 35ft motorhome and built a 620-watt liftable array on the side over my bedroom window for a total of 5,020 watts of solar. The secret is to rack large residential panels over all your roof protrusions like A/C shrouds, vents, skylights, etc.. This eliminates any shade from these items on your panels. This also allows plenty of cooling air to flow underneath them cooling both your panels, for higher solar production and shades your roof, so there is less load on your A/Cs. A person with a 42ft or bigger coach or fiver could fit 2 more 550-watt panels on the roof for 5,500 total watts without any special tricks like side mounted arrays, sliding rooftop panels or solar awnings. I just replaced the old Dometic propane fridge in mine with a residential fridge, even though I live off-grid almost exclusively, as I have solar power to spare as well as 23.5kwh of batteries consisting of a 16.4kwh 48v battery and a 7.1kwh 12v battery. The best way to calculate how much power your fridge uses, which takes into account its duty cycle, is to look at the yellow energy star tag that comes with each new fridge. Mine draws 345kwh/yr. divided by 365 days is 945 watt/hrs./day. Rounding to 1kwh/day works for me. If I generously estimate it will consume 1/2 of this power at night that's only .5kwh a night my fridge will draw. We also run our EG-4 mini split heat pump all night, almost every night. It averages around 32ah or 10% of our 48v battery to run all night, so I'll round up to 1.7kwh/night. So, I need 2.2kwh to run these 2 appliances overnight off of my 16.4kwh 48v battery, giving me power to spare for other uses, as my solar array always charges the battery at or near 100% capacity at sundown, even in the winter and on overcast or rainy days.

For parasitic draw, just plug chargers into a switched power bar. Turn off the power bar switch when you do not want to use your chargers. We do that with our TV entertainment stuff in our home, as well as all our RV stuff. Also install a master switch on your rv battery. So it has no parasitic draw.

Please define "not that expensive"! I hear this all the time, but when I look up the actual price (not including installation) I almost have a heart attack!

Make sure the fan is on High all the time: don’t use the auto fan setting. It’s worth a shot.

Ha, I was confused and the single shaft thing clicked in my mind at exactly the same time you said it. 😂 Scott

Great video. Does a Progressive Dynamics power center fit exactly into the same hole as where the old WFCO-8735-P power center comes out of? And does it have the exact same wires to hook up also?

Leave the fan in the on position and check the direction it will be hard with out taking the filter cover off Make shore it is not moving then start the fan then put the cover back Then leave the fan in the on positions The average users will not have to do this

Blah, blah, blah.

This is one of the BEST videos you've done... it answers a burning (or would that be cooling?) question we've had for a long time. Sending you an email with details! You Da (Bearded) Man! Be seeing you!

An air dam was my thought, short of leaving the fan on like others below say. Having the fan on costs $ in electricity if they have to pay that. Also, unnecessary wear on the fan motor.

I would think that a RV roof shade would help to reduce the amount of wind going through the roof unit, and that should help.

Peace out Brother! Love your content.

Great videos I enjoy them a lot. I wouldn’t recommend putting a big piece of plywood on the roof. A diverter 3 to 4 inches high behind the AC probably 3 to 4 feet back from the AC put a pool noodle or weatherstripping between the material that you put up there and the roof of the camper simple ratchet straps just be careful not to overtighten should be sufficient. It will work similar to a bug shield on an automobile divert the wind up without adding a lot of extra weight or something too much to grab the wind. Diverter can be made out of aluminum or plastic maybe attached to a piece of wood like a 2x4

Interesting questions. One of the best parts of attending the fundamentals class at the NRVTA was the chance to ask specific questions like these and get the expert advice from Todd and other instructors.

If the RV is in a permanent location and doesn’t ever roll down the road, disconnect the rooftop section and turn it 180° (kinda like Todd’s hat), resecure. Now when the wind hits it, it’s blowing the fan in the correct direction.

4 cinder blocks on top of a piece of plywood . . .

I'm diggin the backwards hat look. It's a new energy.

Set up a 3 sided carport and that will keep the wind out

Could they replace the domestic with another brand without that type squirrel cafe fan? Also he they replace their thermostat with the smart Microaire. That way they would be alerted to when it happens and they can remotely restart the system.

Hey Todd buddy….i want you to think on the second persons name 😂😂😂 they might have got you my friend… say it real slow!!! (Hint,hint) keep up the good work!! We Enjoy the videos

I saw the post from the person that asked about the AC issue and said it's a Dometic AC. Our RV has a Dometic Penguin II. It intakes are on the passenger and rear sides of the unit and exhausts it out the vents on the driver's side. So, if you attach some fabric over the exhaust vent so that it's well secured along the top and front edges and long enough to almost touch the roof. It needs to be able to be blown open when the fan is running to allow air out. However, when the fan isn't running, it can lay over the exhaust vents to prevent the wind from blowing in. I'm thinking a little rain fly material and some tie-wraps. Maybe some VHB tape too.

What if they leave the fan on not auto ?

I have a question, but it's not concerning the AC. I would like to know what would cause a trailer to catch on fire when nobody had been there for about a week? It's was just a pull behind travel trailer.

Hey Todd!!! Thank you so much for answering my question!!! You are correct in that I am talking about my domestic ac’s. Since the fan is all one shaft that connects the condenser fan to the squirrel cage fan. I was thinking something similar to what you were saying. I was going to lay a piece a plywood down angled on the back of the unit so that it redirects the wind up and over the unit, so it doesn’t go through the condenser and spin the fan motor. And It shouldn’t cause any type of air blockage when the ac if running properly. I just wanted to ask the pro before I did anything like that. Thank you again!!! Hopefully I’ll see y’all down at the NRVTA in the next year or so.

I'm going to risk getting myself in trouble here. Questions regarding condenser fan: Doesn't condenser fan pull air through condenser coils?; Isn't hot air exhausted from both sides or top of the rooftop unit, depending on manufacturer/design?; Wouldn't air into face of condenser coil spin fan in normal direction?; Wouldn't wind have to come from both sides or top to spin fan in reverse? Questions regarding evap fan: Squirrel cage fan is centrifugal. Although designed for more efficient flow in preferred direction of rotation, won't air still flow regardless of rotation direction? Seems more likely to me that the severe wind could be resulting overcooling of refrigerant in condenser. Also sounds like the system may be a little undercharged. I'm completely willing to be educated if I'm thinking incorrectly. I'd love to see a video of the reverse rotation.

What about gauge of extension cord?

Flapper door on backside of AC unit. Leave enough room so the wind can't block off air when wind is pushing against fan. The bad news is you will have to drill into the cover.

They make electric motor shaft brakes that are easy to install and they release when the call for the fan is received

My suggestion on the first one is to make the air dam out of Kydex. It's really easy to form and work with. Doc

Thanks for the advice Todd! Unfortunately your advice on my "whisper quiet" ac hasn't helped but while up there everything seems fine. May have to pull the unit off and really dig in. But I did notice the compressor was really hot (to hot to touch) how hot is too hot for the compressor? Unfortunately I don't have a temp gun yet. But the lines were nice and cold.

For the A/C wind blocker, I would recommend getting a large plastic storage bin and creatively remove portions to allow a slower controlled air flow. Some bungee cords or cargo straps to hold keep it from flying away. Thank you for sharing and have a great day.

Also, put a bluetooth temp sensor in the RV to alert at a present temp. If its 83 inside in this situation what would happen if the power was out. This will give piece of mind for you about the temp for your dogs!!!!

Sandbags

Would you be able to attach exhaust fan shutters to the condenser side?

Leave fan on.

Hey, Todd and NRVTA gang! Love the tech tips. You've taught me a ton! I was hoping you could provide some tips on how to protect an RV interior when it's in storage and not connected to any power. I have to store my RV in a storage lot with no power, so I can't run a dehumidifier or have an AC set to keep humidity down. I live in the south (FL) so it's a concern. Any tips or things I should be doing to protect it? Thanks!

I'm new to travel trailers. I plug directly into my generator (Firman WHO3342), but when I turn on my AC unit, it will trip the 20A breaker. What is the issue? Or fix?

My 15,000 Btu dometic ac is less than one month old and it’s freezing up. Yes the inside is taped up right keep hot air from cold. I’ve checked the amps many times and yes the amps are good. It may run 24 hours very good and then it might freeze in less than 2 hours.

When to disconnect coach battery vs house

The Chargers will draw power without a device attached. They can be plugged into a power strip then turn off the strip when not in use.

If the DC board has a parasitic draw of up to an amp, as you say, why wouldn't my battery monitor register that? My shunt based monitor registers the draw of its own backlight, when on, at 0.05 amps. It reads 0.00 when off. Its positive is tapped at the battery terminal and there is nothing tapped between the shunt and battery on the negative side. I did not "zero" the monitor when I set it up and haven't seen it has that function.

My valve is closed shut and won’t open. The rod pulls open but the valve stays shut. I’m afraid of what I need to do. Any advice?

If there's a parasitic draw of about an amp from my DC board (or anything else), as you say, why doesn't my shunt battery monitor register that? It registers the 0.05 amp draw from its own backlight when it is on. I did not "zero" the monitor either when I set it up and I'm not aware that the monitor I currently have has that function. The monitor positive is tapped at the battery post and nothing is before it or the shunt on the negative side. My monitor reads 0.00 amps when nothing is on.

Just had a 50A service installed at my house, and it works, kind of. In the main house electrical panel is a GFI 50A breaker, okay right? The RV runs everything but I hear the converter fan running often which is not normal. The GFI in the house panel also trips often and randomly. Never had either issue on generator, 120V 20A shore power, or at 50A service in a camp ground. Help please.