Generator/LED Questions
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Forum Name: Podmods, Maintenance, Tips and Tricks
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URL: http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=3212
Printed Date: 12 May 2024 at 4:48am
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Topic: Generator/LED Questions
Posted By: renosteve
Subject: Generator/LED Questions
Date Posted: 03 Feb 2013 at 4:56pm
| We are going to buy a generator for dry camping. We plan to run it just to charge the 2 batteries by using the shore power cord and trailer charger. My questions are: (1) Can we charge the batteries this way? (2) How long will it take to charge the batteries if they are down to 25%? (3) Any recommendations on the smallest generator(s) for this purpose? I am also replacing the light bulbs with LED ones. Does anyone have a good source for these LED bulbs? Thanks. |
Replies:
Posted By: Burt
Date Posted: 03 Feb 2013 at 5:13pm
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Renosteve: Batteries you should not let a battery go below 10% of their charge prior to re-charging. In order to charge a battery, you must put at leas 2V more into the battery. 12V charge should be 14V input. Do not let a battery get down to 25% or you will soon be buying new batteries. For dry camping, you could use for instance, the Honda 2000EUI but then it does not have the 30Amp hookup on the side. Their next size up does and it will cost you more. Honda's are the most expensive generators and yet, the quietest and most reliable (my opinion). You can also gang 2 of the 2000EUI together with a special cord. So, to answer your question, the 2000 is the smallest but highly recommended is the 3000. You can charge your batteries with the 2000 but the connections will need to be changed or you will need some adapters. The 3000 has the 30Amp connector built in. The 2000 does not. Every camper I have known has had a problem of the "assumption of cities" when camping. Just turn on the heater, the stove,etc....so, either mark everything good when just "charging" the batteries or expect a crapout. LED bulbs...I found them a DHGate. They are shipped over here quickly and are the best bargains of all. We changed every bulb in ours out to LED's. Burt |
Posted By: Kickstart
Date Posted: 03 Feb 2013 at 8:11pm
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Either a Honda 2000 or a YamahaEF2000is would do a good job for you, but you're looking at nearly $1000 for either. You do get what you pay for here, as both are quality generator/inverters, and being inverters is important to protect electronics. A 1000 Yam or Honda would also charge well for you, would be 20 or so lbs. lighter, and a couple hundred dollars less. I've never timed it, but it usually takes a couple three hours to charge my battery with my 2000 Yamaha. Some of the knock off brand generators are considerably cheaper, but may not be inverters and up to now have been pretty noisy compared to the Honda and Yamaha. I, too, replaced all of the lights in our Pod with LED's bought on EBay from China. They were cheap and work well. Just be careful, as some LED's have a bright white glow and some are more creamy. Some people like one and some the other. ------------- '10 RP 175-Replaced by 2014 Kodiak 173 QBSL '12 Toyota Tundra '05 Sportster (half a Harley) Retired-We're on Beach Time! |
Posted By: Keith-N-Dar
Date Posted: 03 Feb 2013 at 10:06pm
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I have a Champion that is big enough to run everything on a Pod and was less than $400. It has a clean output and is a few db louder than the Honda, but is twice the output of a 2000, and works well. You can't run any of them in quiet time and the noise is not objectionable. You need to decide how to spend your money.
------------- Keith-N-Dar Boris & Betty (Boston Terriers) 2011 R-Pod 177 2010 Ford F-150 |
Posted By: renosteve
Date Posted: 04 Feb 2013 at 7:54pm
| Thanks everyone for the info. I think I'll compare several generators. The Hondas seem expensive. |
Posted By: techntrek
Date Posted: 04 Feb 2013 at 9:31pm
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Welcome. As was mentioned above, you are taking your battery too low. The correct info is - keep it to 50% SOC (state of charge) most of the time, but you can occasionally go as low as 30%. Never go below 30%. Batteries accept a charge faster the more discharged they are, and will quickly charge up to 80%. Its the last 20% that takes a very long time. So for best use of your fuel keep an eye on the SOC via the voltage (see Wind Sun's battery FAQ for a chart and lots of good info). Once you get down to 50% then start the generator for an hour or two. You may find you only have to do this every 2-3 days, but not every day. As for that last 20%, don't try to put that charge into the battery via a genset, that will be a big waste of fuel. Wait until you get home and let the grid do that. With on exception - if you will be on the road for longer than a week, once a week you must get the battery back to 100% to prevent sulphation. ------------- Doug ~ '10 171 (2009-2015) ~ 2008 Salem ~ http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=1723 - Pod instruction manual 
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Posted By: P&M
Date Posted: 05 Feb 2013 at 9:12am
Burt, any chance you remember or know of the part numbers you used when ordering these? I want to change mine out and went to this website & the prices are great, but trying to find the right ones out of the hundreds offered is a bit mind-boggling.
Thanks - P ------------- P & M ... and Comet too! 2012 171 -- The Monkey Pod 2018 Ram 2500 |
Posted By: CharlieM
Date Posted: 05 Feb 2013 at 9:44am
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Regarding LED replacements for the interior lights, I have found these units from SuperBrightLeds.com to be the best I can find. They use 18 type warm white 5050 LEDs. They are just a bit whiter than the factory 921 bulbs, are of equal or slightly greater brightness, and draw about 1/6 the DC current. They seem expensive at first look, but I've tried several of the cheaper planar multi-LED units from China and you get what you pay for. Too blue, unregulated, poor quality, and generally less acceptable. I've ordered an amber version to try in the "porch" light. http://www.superbrightleds.com/moreinfo/miniature-wedge-base/194-led-bulb-18-smd-led-wedge-base-tower/397/ ------------- Charlie Northern Colorado OLD: 2013 RP-172, 2010 Honda Pilot 3.5L 4WD PRESENT: 2014 Camplite 21RBS, 2013 Supercharged Tacoma 4L V6 4WD |
Posted By: Burt
Date Posted: 05 Feb 2013 at 10:17am
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LED questions: Yes, I do have all the part numbers and will supply them later on today. I'm on PCT, so you will likely be getting my reply late tonight. Our POD is a 171. I'm confident however, the bulbs and fixtures are the same. My biggest clue to replace these was putting my hand on the Porch light and feeling the intense heat. That got me going fast to replace the LED's throughout. BTW, I also have used SuperBrightLED's. They are good and somewhat competitive. However, if you understand the kelvin ratings and what they mean to colors, you can get the same stuff less expensive. I've been making LED flashlights for years now. You can turn an ordinary flashlight into one that will last you forever with a few dollars and understanding OHM's law to reduce the amperage. Another BTW, I know a guy here that replaced lights with LED's in his motorhome. It cost him over $400 from a trailer supplier. For a drill and the fun of it, I priced out the DHGate bulbs and came up with $120. Ours cost us $70 for every bulb in the POD Burt |
Posted By: renosteve
Date Posted: 05 Feb 2013 at 1:54pm
| Hey Techntrek: Thanks for the reply. Have you installed a more accurate meter than the factory panel to keep track of your battery charge status? Seems like this would help keep better track of charge. |
Posted By: Podsible Dream
Date Posted: 05 Feb 2013 at 3:39pm
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Renosteve- see my post and related ones about the Watts-UP meter: http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=2898&KW=watts+up&PID=27452&title=electrical-current-draw#27452 - http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=2898&KW=watts+up&PID=27452&title=electrical-current-draw#27452 . It works great - needs a #6 or 8 wire from the main battery lead in, but has many functions and you can monitor total current use. We bought two sets of 10 LED paddle style 921 replacements for $30 each set direct from China, postage free, on line thru eBay. They are 10 LEDs per paddle. I think I googled " 921 LED replacement". So far only one of 11 installed has failed. Rather white, but one gets used to it. Current draw is miniscule. Walt ------------- Chris and Walt '10 RP-171 'Free Spirit' '13 Dodge Durango Crew 5.7 L Hemi V8 |
Posted By: Burt
Date Posted: 05 Feb 2013 at 4:36pm
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Led info: Here are the inside LED's I used in the RPOD. http://www.dhgate.com/white-t10-wedge-w5w-68pc-3020smd-automotive/p-ff808081304a1ef8013069788ed92a0c.html - This
is direct from China and there are multiple LED's called "corn" on
these bulbs. 68 LED's in all on each "bulb." They put out more light
than the incandescents did. I placed them side by side once to test. These will the the greatest amount of LED's you will purchase for your POD. If you want the "Warm White ones," get them from superbrightleds.com The only place we used them was in the bedroom area for the warmer colors. With all changes, you must accept some adjustments. The white colors don't bother us and we're glad to be using less amperage as a result. For generators, the current Consumer reports has a high rating for Troy bilt XP700 for $900. However, I still swear by the Honda's. They are very quiet and consumer small amounts of fuel. Good Luck, Burt |
Posted By: techntrek
Date Posted: 05 Feb 2013 at 7:58pm
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By coincidence, while researching 3rd brake lights today (going on the back when my lighting recall is done), I found that etrailer has a bunch of interior LED fixtures. Not drop-in replacements for the bulbs themselves but I thought I would pass this on: http://www.etrailer.com/dept-pg-Trailer_Lights-sf-Interior_Lights-pc-LED_Light.aspx - http://www.etrailer.com/dept-pg-Trailer_Lights-sf-Interior_Lights-pc-LED_Light.aspx As for monitoring the battery, I stick with measuring the battery at-rest voltage (look up Wind Sun's battery FAQ for more info). I do like the monitoring systems like the Trimetric. ------------- Doug ~ '10 171 (2009-2015) ~ 2008 Salem ~ http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=1723 - Pod instruction manual
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Posted By: dsmiths
Date Posted: 05 Feb 2013 at 9:53pm
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Burt, I used (sorry) a chinese companty and replaced 2/3 of the bulbs in my 172 for less that $15.00, it was on an older thread, maybe a year ago. go to the search function and you should be able to find it. they are a bright blue light but do well for the price. ------------- Dane and Donna Smith 2011 RP-172 2008 Chevrolet Trailblazer 4X4 lift kit prodigy wireless brake controller |
Posted By: Burt
Date Posted: 05 Feb 2013 at 10:04pm
Posted By: Burt
Date Posted: 05 Feb 2013 at 10:09pm
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Yes, I did also use a Chinese company. Although I replaced every light on the POD with Chinese Led's and the total cost was $70 and I have plenty of spares. This included all interior, exterior running, marking and porch lights. I have used SuperBrightLed's on occasion but for different purposes. They are a good company and yet, are still a re-seller. Going direct cuts out the middle seller. Glad U did better than me but if I had gone to an outfitter for RV's and trailers, it would have cost me 2 or 3 times as much. The main thing is to save those amps and keep you on the road without battery failure and lit up. Thanks, Burt |
Posted By: P&M
Date Posted: 06 Feb 2013 at 9:07am
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Thanks for all the info on the lights ... I definitely want to get them changed out before we start our camping year! ------------- P & M ... and Comet too! 2012 171 -- The Monkey Pod 2018 Ram 2500 |