Advancing Alvar

[mikes47]

Van Williams: I will be getting a large binder of useful OEM information tomorrow when I take delivery of IMAGINE at ARV. I will see if the solar panel manufacturer and specs are included and post what I find.
Mike

[pattonsr]

Another technical item that originated in the marine world is the Dometic Start Start that Advanced RV uses to tame the A/C current rush when the A/C starts up and the inverter has to carry the load if dry camping. Boaters carry a Honda 2000 as their generator and wanted it to run a marine 16,000 BTU A/C. The article below explains what Dometic accomplished. You can ignore the first post.

http://www.sailnet.com/forums/gear-m...tioning-3.html

[cargovanconversion]

Originally Posted by mikes47

Van Williams: I will be getting a large binder of useful OEM information tomorrow when I take delivery of IMAGINE at ARV. I will see if the solar panel manufacturer and specs are included and post what I find.
Mike

Thanks and have a great day tomorrow!

Van Williams.

[Davydd]

This is the kind of documentation Mikes47 will get tomorrow along with a CD of it all.

[booster]

pattonsr, very good information on the Lifeline life. I think they may be scrambling a bit right now, and some information I had received seems to be changing, again. The information has to do with allowable charge rates, where they always said at least 2.5c was OK, and even up to 5C, but when I called them to get a recommendation of batteries, I was told no more than C/4. It also said C/4 on their charging charts. The guy I talked to really didn't want anything over C/4. Now the C/4 seems to have gone away. Lifeline has all their eggs in one basket, and that basket is probably one of the most vulnerable ones in the battery business being threatened by lithium.

I think Lifeline started putting equalize suggestions in to try to counteract the undercharge problems and stretch the life a bit. The damage from the equalize is probably less than the damage from leaving the with reduced charge and capacity, from undercharging.

The list of 4 types shows what happens very well, and I think would also be pretty accurate for the top brands of true deep cycle wet cells. On our last trip of 7 weeks, were in group 2 to a large extent, our shore charger gets the batteries (wet cells) very full due to it's charging profile, and we go home with them checking in perfect shape with no need to equalize. Getting totally full once a week is probably enough to keep them good, and if you have a really good charger that takes the batteries to their minimum acceptance amps (which also automatically gives you the minimum 2 hours hold at acceptance that AGMs and wet cells want), you might do even a little better for life in category 2 and be closer to the life in category 1, but that is only speculation.

I totally agree that the lithium's huge advantage is being able to work in the center of the SOC range without needing to get full. Even if you believe you can charge AGMs at 5C, you still would have about 2 more hours of hold time to get them totally full. I think that is what is killing the sailers, although if they had big alternators to get the AGMs up quickly in the morning, I would think solar to could handle the topping. Lithium takes care of it all, though, I have heard rumors that Lifeline and Trojan are both working on lithium. I hope they all get the prices into the realm of practical for a larger portion of the RV folks.

Personally, I don't think category 1 exists much in the RV world. Not because folks don't sit in on shore power a lot, or get a on charge every cycle, but because the chargers they have never get their batteries full, so they would be closer to category 3 or 4 in battery life. Those with AGMs and big alternators (and the wiring to with them) and who drive a lot may actually be overcharging them if they don't have some kind of cutoff on the charging when the batteries get full. AGMs don't like overcharge that much. If you have a solar setup and also are on shore power a lot (depending on the controller), you can also overcharge things.

[Davydd]

Starting today we will be getting reports from Mikes47 on his new ARV. Most of those reports I suspect will be posted extemporaneously on the Facebook group, "B'ing in an Advanced RV. It is an open group readable by anyone even if you don't join.

My delivery date has been pushed back to February 9.

[mlts22]

I can't wait to see pictures of Alvar when you take possession of it. This thread has been a motherlode of ideas, and engineering fixes that both you and ARV have dealt with.

One question: Who made your RV safe? Just looking at it from the outside, I like the fact that it can be set to either require a PIN, credit card, or both for entry, and that it has two holes on the back to string power cords. This definitely would be the de facto home of my MacBook while on the road, with the rubber coated shelves on the right being used with Velcro as secure spots to stash an external hard disk for backups.

[Davydd]

I'm not sure who makes the safe. I went searching online but could never quite find that size which I believe is around 7" x 20". Maybe Mikes47 will be able to answer that question.

I know one thing. Another hint on the bed. This Pizzaque oven will fit underneath the bed.

[SiennaGuy]

Are you going to heat the bed with a pizza oven? Use it to power the disco ball, strobe lights and fog machine???

[mikes47]

ARV installed a Residence Safe (US patent D617974) in Imagine. It uses one 9v Alkaline battery. I also promised to research the solar panels. While the documentation indicates that a Max-MPPT Solar Charge Controller is installed, the actual brand name of the panels is not included in the manual. I did learn that the panels are foam backed and mounted directly on the roof ridges ... the net effect is that air circulates underneath. There are 3 panels and I believe Davydd explained the independent set-up in an earlier post.

[obgraham]

Maybe Mikes47 and Davydd will get owner manuals reflecting what is actually in their rig, instead of the random bits of documentation that came with my RT. (Often manuals for devices not installed, and lacking manuals for some that were.)

[Davydd]

The manuals are pictured in a few posts above. That photo is from the Myst ARV that went out before Imagine. Mikes47 could probably tell you more. When we got our Great West Van we got a zippered leather case that included every manufactured item that went into the van by third parties including the installation instructions. The Owner's manual itself prepared by GWVan was not very much but it covered the basics of operating your van and what everything was.

[cargovanconversion]

Originally Posted by Davydd

The manuals are pictured in a few posts above. That photo is from the Myst ARV that went out before Imagine. Mikes47 could probably tell you more. When we got our Great West Van we got a zippered leather case that included every manufactured item that went into the van by third parties including the installation instructions. The Owner's manual itself prepared by GWVan was not very much but it covered the basics of operating your van and what everything was.

So far it seems that ARV is fairly meticulous.

BTW I liked the A/C cover on Mikes47 van. Will you have the same or do they come with different patterns.

Van Williams.

[Davydd]

It looks as if the air conditioner might be a Coleman Mach 8 Low Profile. I don't recognize the cover pattern as none shows up in a Google search. The ac should be 15,000 but. Is mine the same? I don't know.

The three solar panels I was told was 480 watts total. Each panel would thus be 160 watts. Each has its own MPPT controller. As you can see they are flexible solar panels over an insulation board edge trimmed with aluminum that is tight to the rib peaks and bends with the crown of the roof. The panels come from Europe.

I see the bathroom skylight is a dark plastic. They used to use an opaque white plastic but I requested the ability to see through it as I had in my Great West Van as I like to check the sky conditions when I get up at night. Mike might have been a benefitee of my request if it is see through. Here is an in message view.

[Davydd]

The air conditioner cover is a a custom Advanced RV cover on a Coleman Mach 8 low profile air conditioner according to the van owner on Facebook.

[pattonsr]

Davydd,

Does the customer choose the air conditioner or is Advanced RV now using Coleman Mach 8 low profile over a Dometic Penguin?

[Davydd]

Beats me. I've seen different air conditioners on Advanced RVs. I did look for that cover on the Internet and could only conclude it had to be a Coleman Mach 8 low profile and then Mikes47 confirmed it was a custom made cover.

Does the customer pick? I don't think so but I suppose they could if they had a strong preference for something as that one person is doing asking for a composting toilet for instance. I was kind of thinking I might get a new air conditioner they were looking into but I'm missing the window on their research and development.

[mikes47]

I tried to press ARV for more details on the Solar Panels and all I could get was that they are custom made to ARV specifications in Germany. My Spec Sheet says 450 watt Solar Panels.

ARV wanted the A/C cover to match the exterior of the coach, so they did the custom design to replace the OEM. It is a 15k BTU unit. I do not recall specifically choosing the A/C. The A/C shows up on the "Equipped With" side of the Specifications Sheet as contrasted with the "Selected Possibilities" side of the sheet. With respect to the bathroom skylight: from the inside, it is opaque.

[pattonsr]

Davydd,

I wonder why the A/C unit is not centered on the roof? I am sure there is a good reason.

[Davydd]

Mike,

With me they've been all over the board in regard to the solar panels. It's been 450, 420 and in my last communique 480 watts. It probably doesn't make a lot of difference. Anyone of those numbers will accomplish what I think I need. It seems the second alternator will negate much of the daily need especially if you drive. Probably the only time there will be clear benefit will be in the southwest desert. Rarely do I park in the open in the upper Midwest.

I did ask for a translucent see through skylight in the bathroom.