3 weeks in new build

[mojoman]

We did a good test of the Promaster build. 3000+ miles, 7 days dry camping in Utah desert during the heat wave then on to Yellowstone 100+ to 30's temps. I was most impressed with the power of the stock gas engine. Since gas was so cheap outside Calif., I kept with the flow of traffic at 80+mph even up the grades, basically drove it like my car. The fuel milage suffered as I averaged 14.7mpg for most of the trip vs 17.8mpg keeping it under 70mph. The van's AC was able to cool the entire van in the desert 100+f so I could have gone with a smallest roof air instead of the 13500 Mach8. The insulation worked better than I planned as we didn't have to use a heater even when the temps got down into the 30's. The Isotherm fridge provided enough heat to keep the interior warm while running. I ran the generator for 1 hr per day while dry camping to keep the batteries up to 80% while the solar panels made up for the rest. We ran the AC for about 1 hr a day and used the electric hot water heater,microwave and induction stove. If we didn't use the AC, we would have never needed to run the generator.

[BBQ]

.

Nice to hear.

Do you have a blog of your build?

Any videos?

[mojoman]

There's some info here:
http://www.classbforum.com/forums/f8...ress-3342.html
I would add the most important and effective part of the build was the insulation and sound proofing. I made the van super quiet inside while driving and in noisy camp ground environments. Its something a manufacture could not provide due to the labor involved.

[BBQ]

Originally Posted by mojoman

There's some info here:
http://www.classbforum.com/forums/f8...ress-3342.html
I would add the most important and effective part of the build was the insulation and sound proofing. I made the van super quiet inside while driving and in noisy camp ground environments. Its something a manufacture could not provide due to the labor involved.

Wow... nice build.

Thanks for sharing.

[rjf7g]

Impressive...

[booster]

Have you had enough time on it yet to get a feel for what "average" daily power use is running? The desert was probably on the fringes of average, though. Same question with parasitic load, just sitting with the power active. I know that sometimes it can get pretty hard to really know what you are using because of the solar replacing some on the fly, so you have to be resetting all the AH counters at the same time and adding and subtracting them.

[mojoman]

Every component/device is wired with its own individual switch inline, 12v and 120v. I don't have parasitic loss as everything is powered off until needed. Only the DC Fridge is on all the time averaging 3amps, and that is powered by the van's alternator when the engine is running. I run the cell booster,wifi booster, electric step and Fridge if needed, through the Aux AGM 65AH battery, dedicated 40watt solar panel and its own battery to battery charger. When camped, I switch the Fridge over to the main lithium bank, the 40watt solar panel kept up aux battery with the power usage of the boosters and electric step when used occasionally.

[booster]

Aren't there some electronics and relays in the lithium pack that would use power?

[mojoman]

I have a main battery switch that shuts them off completely when not in use. When turned on the BMS operates the the main relay. The BMS uses a 2amp fuse. I usually turn off the main battery at night and turn it on when the sun comes out to utilize the solar panels. The Aux battery keeps the fridge running and lights etc... at night if desired. I am still getting a feel of the system and don't trust the amp hr gauge yet. The BMS will alarm before overcharging or low voltage and trip out the batteries before damage. The solar has been generating more power than I planned, but I live in an area where we get sunshine year round.

[mojoman]

One observation I noticed was all outside noise came through the Maxxair vent, even when closed. I plan on fabricating a double walled lid with Aerogel and an insulated panel.

[Davydd]

Originally Posted by mojoman

One observation I noticed was all outside noise came through the Maxxair vent, even when closed. I plan on fabricating a double walled lid with Aerogel and an insulated panel.

We have a snap on insulated panel for our MaxxAir Fan. It was meant for cold climate insulation. I've never noticed noise intrusion coming for the fan that made any difference.

[mojoman]

People outside the van talking sound like they are on the roof. Very little noise from hail and downpours except from the vent and front windshield.

[BBQ]

Originally Posted by mojoman

One observation I noticed was all outside noise came through the Maxxair vent, even when closed. I plan on fabricating a double walled lid with Aerogel and an insulated panel.

That's funny.

[cargovanconversion]

Good to hear, that everything is working as expected.
Have fun.

Van Williams