16

Show off your projects here! / Easy reading and work light

« on: August 24, 2015, 02:14:28 pm »

Well, this is not really a "project", but while I have upgraded most of the lights to LEDs, there are still some places where an LED reading light - fixed or portable - would be welcome.

1. My wife loves to read, sitting in the turned around passenger seat, in the evening.  Why didn't Winnebago put a reading light there?
2. Working on various things - either in the garage or on the road - I could really use a nice portable work light that I could attach or hang somehow. Holding a flashlight in my mouth isn't ideal. 

A couple of weeks ago I found this on Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000NPPBYM?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s01

Ordered them and they came a few days later.  2 of them for $11!  Have a magnet and a hook for hanging.  Really bright.  Flashlight or work light.  Only downside is you have to unscrew 3 phillips head screws on the back to change the batteries.

And between the headliner and the main cabin trim of the EVC, the trim is backed up by metal.  My wife can't wait to try this out on the next trip.  See attached photo

17

Winnebago "Full Campers" / Re: Winnebago AUX/house battery, solar thread.

« on: August 22, 2015, 04:47:39 pm »

Dan,

oops. Just found that info under your name in the "Coach Battery Upgrade and Rewire Questions" Subject. 

Thanks.

18

Winnebago "Full Campers" / Re: Winnebago AUX/house battery, solar thread.

« on: August 22, 2015, 07:19:14 am »

Dan,

Thanks for prompt response.  Will be interested in your work with the PDI installation.  Please post photos after you do it.

Where did you get box?  Where did you get the battery disconnect switch?  Looks like the kind on some sailboats (French - Beneteau, Jeanneau, Dufour)

19

Winnebago "Full Campers" / Re: Winnebago AUX/house battery, solar thread.

« on: August 21, 2015, 04:52:07 pm »

Well, I did my homework.

Calculated my energy needs and came up with 2 basic scenarios, with and without a 12v fridge. 

In all scenarios - Electric water pump runs sparingly and a 12v fan running all night.  We currently do not have a 12v fridge, but use an Engel ice chest and it serves our needs for now.  All our lights are now LEDs, and our iPhones, tablets can be charged about every 3rd day.  We carry enough camera rechargeable batteries to last 2 weeks until we hook up to 110v.  No inverter needed at this time.  No microwave, no TV, no stereo running all the time.

Without refrigeration - 10 AH/day
   
With (future) refrigeration - 30AH/day
   I assumed a 2.5A 12v fridge like a Truckfridge with a duty cycle of 8 hours per day.

Other assumptions / guesses
I don’t want to rip the entire back out. So the existing battery box stays for now.  Current battery is 13”x7”x9+” high (could fit 10”)

If i am going to spend money it will be a high quality battery.  Several Lifeline AGMs fit this space but I am thinking of the GPL-31XT with a 20 hours rate of 125AH. Might as get get most AH I can.

I think this will be fine for the Without Refrigeration scenario.  We generally stay only 2-3 days at one place, driving around during the day and then on to the next place, so I figure that should be enough charging, if we don’t plug in.   Obviously, with a fridge, the load really means I need to plug in more often or I might get solar for additional energy input. OR bigger battery bank.  Fridge is off a bit for now, $ wise.

GPL-31XT Charging Instructions and Voltages:
Bulk Charge Voltages: 14.20 - 14.60v
Absorption Charge Voltages: 14.20 - 14.60volts
Float Charge Voltages: 13.10 - 13.40v
The GPL-31XT is designed for charging amperages up to 312.5 amps or 250% of the rated Amp Hour Capacity due to low battery internal resistance.

So which charger?

I was looking at the Prosport Gen3 chargers and the PDI 9200 series, that others have put into their EVC and been happy with.  Also within budget.  However, I noticed they have 2 very different charging profiles:

Prosport (profile for Flooded and AGM the same)
ProSport Charging: During this mode the “Charging” indicator will be red. ProSport will use all of its available charging amps (as controlled by temperature) until the battery voltage is raised to 14.6VDC (Flooded lead-acid factory setting).

ProSport Conditioning: During this mode the “Conditioning” status indicator will be amber. Batteries will hold at 14.6 VDC (factory set for Flooded lead-acid batteries) to complete charging while conditioning each battery connected. Upon completion the ProSport will go into its maintain mode.

ProSport Ready / Maintain: During this mode the “Ready/Maintain” status indicator will be green and remain on with the blue “power” LED indicating that your batteries are fully charged while being maintained at a precision 13.4 volts (factory set for Flooded lead-acid batteries) and are ready to go when you are.

ProSport Storage Recondition Mode: During this mode the ProSport “Recondition Mode” green indicator will illuminate with a slow fade in and out pulse indicating that while your batteries/boat are in storage the ProSport will automatically recondition all batteries for up to 3 hours once a month extending battery life and maximizing on the water battery power performance.

PDI 9200 Series

14.4 Volts (Boost Mode) – Returned the battery to 90% of full charge in approximately 8 hours. The battery reached full charge in approximately 11 hours.

13.6 Volts (Normal Mode) – Required 40 hours to return the battery to 90% of full charge and 78 hours to reach full charge.

13.2 Volts (Storage Mode) – Required 60 hours to return the battery to 90% of full charge and 100 hours to reach full charge.

EQUALIZATION MODE: When in storage mode the microprocessor automatically increases the output voltage to 14.4 volts for 15 minutes every 21 hours. This will help to reduce the buildup of sulfation on the battery plates.

Is PDI “Normal” the same as Prosport “Conditioning”? If so, how will the lower PDI "normal" charge of 13.6 affect the batteries?

Any advice will be appreciated.

20

Interior! / Re: Neat interior idea

« on: August 18, 2015, 12:11:22 pm »

Strange.  Looks like some sort of air-lock passthrough. 

21

Share your adventures! / Re: River Adventures

« on: August 18, 2015, 06:29:14 am »

Somewhere - maybe here or on the Yahoo group or Samba - I remember reading something about spark plugs and spark plug wire for the EVC. 

(1) use only VW (i.e. Bosch I think) plugs specifically specified for the Eurovan and (2) use only the VW wire made for the Eurovan.  The wires for a Jetta or Passat also work but they are tad shorter than the Eurovan and that tiny difference causes problems in real use - wire pulls off spark plug, etc. 

My plugs, wires and ignition coil are all aftermarket, so that may have contributed to the misfire code. For now, everything is working fine.

22

Shiny things you no longer want / FOUND A HOME - "Repaired" EVC skylight

« on: August 17, 2015, 05:22:04 pm »

Found a home - Skylight not longer available

23

Shiny things you no longer want / Re: Looking for a Home - "Repaired" EVC skylight

« on: August 17, 2015, 03:15:19 pm »

Actually, more like the place that attracts "low garage door kind of folks". 
My house was built around 1900, garage maybe late 1930's.  They didn't have Class B campers then.

24

Share your adventures! / Re: River Adventures

« on: August 16, 2015, 03:05:17 pm »

I have seen that "misfire in cylinder #" once before. 

Traveling back from NC this spring, leaving a rest stop, I punched the accelerator quickly to pick up speed and the CEL came on.  Code reader gave me that message.  Continued my drive home - another 300+ miles.  EVC ran fine the whole way, very smooth.  I have had a misfire in a car a long time ago and I know what that feels/sounds like - this was not that.

My local VW dealer checked it out and could not find anything wrong.  Engine was running great.  Possible culprits are bad spark plug or spark plug wire or, worst case, ignition coil.  He recommended not doing anything and monitor it.  Drove another 1000 miles on it and everything is fine.  I also now accelerate smoothly, with no "punching it".

If it happens again (and more than once), I will replace that particular spark plug + wire, and see how that does.

25

Shiny things you no longer want / *FOUND A HOME* - "Repaired" EVC skylight

« on: August 16, 2015, 10:13:20 am »

Looking for a Home (i.e. Free),

Yep, I clipped my skylight on the garage. Fortunately, it forced me to take accurate measurements on clearance and replace it with a Fantastic Fan-Vent.

But before that I did "fix" the broken skylight.  It was only broken in 2 pieces and I was able to reassemble and, with methylene chloride (what you use to actually "weld" plexiglass together) and some backing pieces of plexiglass over the crack on the underside, get back in one piece.  Also fixed the snapped hinge piece.  I spray painted it all gloss black and put it back on and worked fine.

So if you need one to replace your broken one (it does look better than plastic duct-taped over the opening) I am just outside Philadelphia.  I can ship this, too (if you pay for shipping and handling - just need to find a box).  Will post photos if interested.

26

Shiny things you no longer want / Looking for a Home - Original sliding door panel

« on: August 16, 2015, 09:47:05 am »

Looking for a Home (i.e. Free)

Just replaced the original sliding door panel on my 1999 EVC with a baltic birch panel (see Interiors if interested).

So now I have the old panel.  All the clips fell off on the back and most are lost (I have a few).  The panel is actually 2 pieces - one big piece (the one you see) and an interior spacer, about the length of the panel, that came unglued.  Some small holes where window shade tension spools were attached.

Yours if you want it - but too big to ship.  I live just outside of Philadelphia.  Will send photos if interested

27

Interior! / Re: Replacement Panel for the EVC Sliding Door.

« on: August 16, 2015, 08:38:10 am »

itsamoto,

No, the cabinet facing is the original.  Thought about changing the face on our original fridge, but don't really see how to do that; on a new fridge, we could probably do it.  I did replace the kick plate under the seat with a baltic birch panel.

But as I have added shelves, I have used the same baltic birch for some consistency.  We love the light inside the EVC, so the intent has always been to use brighter/lighter materials.  For instance, the galley window shade broke, so we just took it out and replaced it with sheers (for light and privacy) on a tension rod.  Easy to take the whole thing down when we drive for visibility.  Will probably do the same for the sliding door now, attaching sheers with integral magnets sewn in.

28

Interior! / Replacement Panel for the EVC Sliding Door.

« on: August 15, 2015, 12:55:12 pm »

I started this a few weeks ago and just finished this afternoon.

Attached is photo and a pdf with more photos and narrative of the building process

29

Winnebago "Full Campers" / Re: Interior Mods, Gadgets, or Additions

« on: August 15, 2015, 12:50:58 pm »

FINISHED!

I have completed the replacement sliding door panel and have posted a new thread with a pdf of the instructions in the "Interior" section.

30

Winnebago "Full Campers" / Re: Coach Battery Upgrade and Rewire Questions

« on: August 11, 2015, 01:08:11 pm »

$157.50 for 9245C at Best.  Amazon does not always have the lowest price.  And at least if you have a technical question, you can call Best.