Using fan on battery power
Printed From: R-pod Owners Forum
Category: R-pod Discussion Forums
Forum Name: Podmods, Maintenance, Tips and Tricks
Forum Discription: Ask maintenance questions, share your podmods (modifications) and helpful tips
URL: http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=7599
Printed Date: 22 May 2024 at 6:37am
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Topic: Using fan on battery power
Posted By: howmanyds
Subject: Using fan on battery power
Date Posted: 20 Mar 2016 at 3:47pm
| I was under the understanding that the fan inside the R-pod would work on battery power when there is no shore power – that it was just the AC that does not work. Am I wrong? My fan does not seem to be turning on. |
Replies:
Posted By: podrunner
Date Posted: 20 Mar 2016 at 3:50pm
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It is the bathroom fan that will work on 12V, not the a/c fan. ------------- 2010 R Pod 151 2017 4runner 2006 Honda Metropolitan |
Posted By: Leo B
Date Posted: 20 Mar 2016 at 3:54pm
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Ditto !
------------- Leo & Melissa Bachand 2017 Ford F150 2021 Vista Cruiser 19 csk Previously owned 2015 Rpod 179 2010 Rpod 171 |
Posted By: howmanyds
Date Posted: 20 Mar 2016 at 3:56pm
| Ok. Thanks. I guess I'll be bringing one along! |
Posted By: osage
Date Posted: 20 Mar 2016 at 6:13pm
| we use a battery operated fan we got at walmart less than 20 bucks works on 8 D size bat. have had it for at least 5 years and only replaced the batteries once works great |
Posted By: furpod
Date Posted: 20 Mar 2016 at 7:22pm
I am confused here.. The Fantastic fan is already there. It will try to suck you out of the roof on high, try just opening the windows and turning on the FF, you might be very surprised how much air it moves. ------------- |
Posted By: jstrenn
Date Posted: 20 Mar 2016 at 10:03pm
Exactly!! We turn the fantastic fan on low and crack a couple windows open and that creates a nice breeze in the pod. No need for another fan!
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Posted By: howmanyds
Date Posted: 20 Mar 2016 at 11:38pm
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Hmm. I had it on while working on the pod all afternoon today and didn't notice much breeze -- but that may be because I was moving around and not sitting. It was an especially hot and sunny and not breezy day; I wonder if the FF can't counteract temps and still air of a certain degree.
|
Posted By: furpod
Date Posted: 21 Mar 2016 at 9:01am
Ours will make the drapes stand out on high. The stock FF control panel has 3 speed settings, where you on "3"? ------------- |
Posted By: howmanyds
Date Posted: 21 Mar 2016 at 10:03am
| Yes. This was the first time I plugged in these GC2s from Costco. They haven't had a full charge from my van's power yet, though the indicator said they were full. Could that be an issue? |
Posted By: furpod
Date Posted: 21 Mar 2016 at 12:23pm
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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. ------------- |
Posted By: howmanyds
Date 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. |
Posted By: furpod
Date Posted: 21 Mar 2016 at 2:59pm
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What inverter did you buy? Those are awfully large cables.
------------- |
Posted By: Keith-N-Dar
Date Posted: 21 Mar 2016 at 7:20pm
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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 |
Posted By: techntrek
Date Posted: 21 Mar 2016 at 9:11pm
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I agree about the built-in fan, it will produce a nice breeze through the open windows. ------------- Doug ~ '10 171 (2009-2015) ~ 2008 Salem ~ http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=1723 - Pod instruction manual 
|
Posted By: howmanyds
Date Posted: 22 Mar 2016 at 1:29am
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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. |
Posted By: furpod
Date Posted: 22 Mar 2016 at 9:02am
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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. ------------- |
Posted By: CharlieM
Date 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 |
Posted By: howmanyds
Date 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? |
Posted By: TheBum
Date 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. |
Posted By: howmanyds
Date Posted: 22 Mar 2016 at 3:39pm
|
I don't know why I didn't think of this before (other than the crazy idea that was lodged in my head that I needed more wattage) but I think I'll just wire some 12v plugs, which I was going to do anyway, and just use my Goalzero Yeti 400 for the laptops, etc.
I can charge it from the 12v plugs if and when it runs down. Actually, I'm off track again, aren't I? I bet the Yeti 400 would take too much out of the two GC2s to charge it all the way up, wouldn't it? Guess I need to be saving for solar panels. |
Posted By: furpod
Date Posted: 22 Mar 2016 at 3:49pm
Not necessarily.. if you were planning to use it with the engine running, and the alternator of the van providing the 12v, that's fine up to a point. I have used a 2000watt that way to run a skilsaw etc. But to draw straight from a battery bank.. not good, not good at all. A 75watt will run your tv. I personally wouldn't do more than a 250watt. We own a 200 watt Pure Sine. Have used it once or twice. We added 12v outlets long ago, and recently updated them. Happy with that. If it's a/c weather, we camp with hookups. Both our laptops use the same Dell charger, so we bought a 12v dc/dc converter to charge them as needed. But now we both have pretty decent smart phones, and honestly have not taken the laptops with us in the last year.. ------------- |
Posted By: furpod
Date Posted: 22 Mar 2016 at 3:54pm
Your Pod batteries won't charge the the Goal Zero anyways. You can't charge 12v with 12v. Your tow vehicle can charge it, when running, because it will output 13.8 to 14.4 volts. ------------- |
Posted By: howmanyds
Date Posted: 19 Apr 2016 at 1:43am
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Back to an earlier discussion point... The battery shutoff switch.
Should I be occasionally NOT shutting off the batteries to allow them to drain all the way while the pod is parked? Or is it fine with deep cycle GC2s to never quite use all the juice? |
Posted By: CharlieM
Date Posted: 19 Apr 2016 at 7:30am
Unlike Nicads, lead acid batteries SHOULD NOT be totally discharged. Doing so will shorten their life. Ideally they should not be discharged more than 50%. Occasional discharge to 30% SOC will have some, but not negligible, effect on life. Leaving a lead acid battery sitting in a discharged state will kill it. ------------- 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: Don Halas
Date Posted: 19 Apr 2016 at 8:11am
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I just bought a 500w inverter. I don't expect to use often as we don't intend on camping too often without shore power. It's intended purpose is to power coffee bean grinder in the morning, hand blender for drinks and emergency use of the television. As you mentioned, if worse comes to worse it can be clamped on the TV battery with the engine running.
And I concur about the fantastic fan. In a word it's 'fantastic'. |