Using fan on battery power

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   If your pod isn't plugged in at home, they are going to go dead in only a few to 10 days. The pod has several unavoidable parasitic draws. If you are not running the air conditioning, you can plug into a standard outlet in your garage etc, using an adapter. 

Your van may, or may not be able to charge your batteries while towing. A full charge, on a set of dead, or mostly dead, GC-2s, by a tow vehicle, would probably take a 24 hour tow. If it can do it at all. Try to avoid depending on the tow vehicle for battery charging, unless you are towing somewhere every day, and have shore power at the CG.

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furpod Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Moderator Group - pHp Joined: 25 Jul 2011 Location: Central KY Online Status: Offline Posts: 6128	Topic: Using fan on battery power Posted: 21 Mar 2016 at 12:23pm
	If your pod isn't plugged in at home, they are going to go dead in only a few to 10 days. The pod has several unavoidable parasitic draws. If you are not running the air conditioning, you can plug into a standard outlet in your garage etc, using an adapter. Your van may, or may not be able to charge your batteries while towing. A full charge, on a set of dead, or mostly dead, GC-2s, by a tow vehicle, would probably take a 24 hour tow. If it can do it at all. Try to avoid depending on the tow vehicle for battery charging, unless you are towing somewhere every day, and have shore power at the CG.

howmanyds Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Groupie Joined: 07 Feb 2016 Location: Murrieta, CA Online Status: Offline Posts: 71	Posted: 21 Mar 2016 at 2:46pm
	Oh, ok. Thanks! I'll definitely charge it up all the way on packing up day. I also put a switch on the batteries to shut them off when it's parked. To digress... I'm having a dilemma with that battery switch because it uses 4 gauge cable. I want to run my inverter with 0/1 gauge cable which means I can't run it through the switch. Am I right in thinking I would need a separate switch with 0/1 or just let the inverter be controlled by its own remote? Also, I just realized that the zamp cables should probably bypass the switch too so that when I get solar panels they can still charge up the battery even when it's switched off... Not sure when I'd be leaving out the panels when the battery is off but anyway... Sorry - thinking out loud.

furpod Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Moderator Group - pHp Joined: 25 Jul 2011 Location: Central KY Online Status: Offline Posts: 6128	Posted: 21 Mar 2016 at 2:59pm
	What inverter did you buy? Those are awfully large cables.

Keith-N-Dar Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List podders Helping podders - pHp Joined: 03 Apr 2011 Location: Mayville, WI Online Status: Offline Posts: 1447	Posted: 21 Mar 2016 at 7:20pm
	If it needs that large a cable you won't have to worry about using it for long on battery power...
	Keith-N-Dar Boris & Betty (Boston Terriers) 2011 R-Pod 177 2010 Ford F-150

techntrek Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Admin Group - pHp Joined: 29 Jul 2009 Location: MD Online Status: Offline Posts: 9059	Posted: 21 Mar 2016 at 9:11pm
	I agree about the built-in fan, it will produce a nice breeze through the open windows.
	Doug ~ '10 171 (2009-2015) ~ 2008 Salem ~ Pod instruction manual

howmanyds Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Groupie Joined: 07 Feb 2016 Location: Murrieta, CA Online Status: Offline Posts: 71	Posted: 22 Mar 2016 at 1:29am
	The inverter is just a modified sine 1500W energizer inverter: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00APL77T6/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awd_hpn8wbE1MF5V3 I don't plan to use it continuously, but if I need to, say, use my heat gun for a few seconds while its at the storage facility without power in order to remove a pesky microwave sticker, then I'll have that option. I'm also going to test the TV and see if it works with modified sine. The I'll have to do some trials and see how many (if any) movies we could watch on a three day trip without running the two batteries all the way down. Of course, we've never watched movies while camping before -- seems like that's not the point, really -- but I want to know my options. The reason for the size is that I'm installing the inverter nearly ten feet of cable away. With a peak of 3000W, and with 80% efficiency, we're looking at an amperage draw of 200A. From everything I read 2/0 would be a safe bet, but a little overkill in wire thickness never hurt anyone. Besides, I found a cheap and well-rated 0/1 cable from Amazon that is in a kit for powering amplifiers/subwoofers. The cable is quite flexible.

furpod Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Moderator Group - pHp Joined: 25 Jul 2011 Location: Central KY Online Status: Offline Posts: 6128	Posted: 22 Mar 2016 at 9:02am
	You realize what will happen to your batteries if you draw at a 200aH rate for any kind of extended time, ie: longer than 4-5 seconds? Lead acid batteries just don't like that. And the faster they are discharged, the shorter, much shorter their life and charge.

CharlieM Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: 23 Nov 2012 Location: N. Colorado Online Status: Offline Posts: 1797	Posted: 22 Mar 2016 at 9:33am
	You've got to be kidding! 1500W from a 12V system? I'll take the contract for replacement batteries.
	Charlie Northern Colorado OLD: 2013 RP-172, 2010 Honda Pilot 3.5L 4WD PRESENT: 2014 Camplite 21RBS, 2013 Supercharged Tacoma 4L V6 4WD

howmanyds Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Groupie Joined: 07 Feb 2016 Location: Murrieta, CA Online Status: Offline Posts: 71	Posted: 22 Mar 2016 at 11:18am
	Oh! 😳 I think I got bad advice last summer when I picked this thing up for my van. Ended up not installing it. Clearly, didn't do enough research. What would be an acceptable amount of power in an inverter?

TheBum Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: 26 Feb 2016 Location: Texas Online Status: Offline Posts: 1407	Posted: 22 Mar 2016 at 3:30pm
	An inverter needs to be sized according to peak surge power, not just continuous power. I would agree that 1500W is excessive though. I'm installing a 400W inverter, which will have plenty of overhead for anything I'm likely to plug into it. Mostly, it will run the TV when I'm off the grid; the TV is only rated at 17W.