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Topic ClosedBattery levels - Event Date: 03 Jan 2020
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Olddawgsrule View Drop Down
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Location: New Hampshire
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Posts: 1014 		Direct Link To This Post Calendar Event: Battery levels
    Posted: 05 Jan 2020 at 3:51pm
Originally posted by Buffalohunter

I am not a fan of guessing levels...especially if they have indicator lights. So the voltmeter will be a permanent part of the pod package.  Don’t know why they could not have put a clear “sight gauge” on the side of the tanks...but that is an unanswerable “why” question. Thanks for the heads up...new perspective on idiot lights and pods.

I agree here! Hey, why not a simple float gauge like my gas can or mower.. 

I also have become used to what we do and how long things last. Sad it has to be this way..

If anyone actually does ever open up the a tank and sees what this electric gauge is, I'd like to know! I'm sure 'we' could find a better gauge to wire it to! Talking water and waste here... 
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StephenH View Drop Down
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Location: Wake Forest, NC
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Posts: 6417 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 05 Jan 2020 at 7:22pm
Look at the videos on this web site and you will see why the current setup does not work well. The video is the one below the pictures of the Horst probes. Both the videos above and below the pictures of the probes are good for illustrating why. I am considering ordering a set of these since the SeeLevel system is significantly more expensive than just replacing the current probes.
StephenH
Happy is the man that findeth wisdom,...

ouR escaPOD mods
Former RPod 179
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offgrid View Drop Down
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Posts: 5290 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 06 Jan 2020 at 7:54am
All three tanks are 30 gallons. You can see the level in the fresh tank just by looking at it. If you use your 12 pump and don’t connect to city water and empty your gray and black tanks whenever you fill your fresh tank they can never overfill so there is no need for any gauges. Using that approach also keeps your trailer weight and balance within a known and reasonable range, because you can never have more than 30 gallons on board.
1994 Chinook Concourse
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StephenH View Drop Down
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Posts: 6417 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 06 Jan 2020 at 9:33am
However, the weight distribution of that 30 gallons changes as it is used. For example, in the 179, the 30 gallons of fresh water is forward, nearest the tongue. The black tank is next, just ahead of the axle. The gray tank is farthest back, behind the axle. Transferring that 30 gallons to mostly the gray tank shifts that 250 lbs of liquid from in front of to behind the axle. That should be taken into account because of the risk of sway if the tongue weight drops below 10%. OTOH, some models have the fresh tank behind the axle so use of the water should decrease the risk of sway.

I will have to re-figure some of my setup. I just ordered an Expert Power LiFePO4 100AH battery from Amazon and a WF-8950L2-MBA (replaces the main board in the WFCO-8955 converter) main board and is for LiFePO4 batteries. Links are below:


This will take the place of the dual-6V batteries I have been using since we purchased our 179 in December, 2015.
StephenH
Happy is the man that findeth wisdom,...

ouR escaPOD mods
Former RPod 179
Current Cherokee Grey Wolf 24 JS
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offgrid View Drop Down
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Posts: 5290 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 06 Jan 2020 at 1:02pm
Originally posted by StephenH

However, the weight distribution of that 30 gallons changes as it is used. For example, in the 179, the 30 gallons of fresh water is forward, nearest the tongue. The black tank is next, just ahead of the axle. The gray tank is farthest back, behind the axle. Transferring that 30 gallons to mostly the gray tank shifts that 250 lbs of liquid from in front of to behind the axle. That should be taken into account because of the risk of sway if the tongue weight drops below 10%. OTOH, some models have the fresh tank behind the axle so use of the water should decrease the risk of sway.

I will have to re-figure some of my setup. I just ordered an Expert Power LiFePO4 100AH battery from Amazon and a WF-8950L2-MBA (replaces the main board in the WFCO-8955 converter) main board and is for LiFePO4 batteries. Links are below:


This will take the place of the dual-6V batteries I have been using since we purchased our 179 in December, 2015.

Yes, in the 179 particularly the weight distribution changes significantly as the water gets used and shifts rearwards. My tongue weight drops from close to 15% with the fresh tank full and the gray tank empty to just over 11% with the gray tank full and the fresh tank empty, total change in tongue weight is about 3.5%. Once I convinced myself that these were the limiting cases I knew I was good at either extreme, so any water loading in between the two would also be OK. If there were an unknown amount of water distributed among the three  tanks it would be a different story.  

Congrats on your conversion to Li battery power!
1994 Chinook Concourse
1995 RV6A Experimental Aircraft
2015 Rpod 179 - sold
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