this is why
Hi Folks, This is why Li batteries are not a good fit for me. https://weather.gc.ca/city/pages/sk-32_metric_e.html -40 on Wednesday night.
Forum Discussion
time2roll wrote:
And somehow the modification can keep himself warm but not a battery.
Hi time2roll,
The OEM battery box had room for 3 group 29. It is open to the elements on the rear, originally with a slide out tray.
I chose to "give up" the storage bay closest to the OEM batteries. The floor was beefed up with 5/8" plywood and a steel brace was welded underneath. It has a vent to the great outdoors on the upper rear wall, and another on the lower front wall. It can hold 4 group 29 batteries.
So both banks tend to be at the ambient outdoor temperature.
The rv does have enclosed waste tanks. I added a 120 volt outlet and use a mechanical thermostat to operate a fan based 600 watt heater to prevent freezing.
The return air grill for the furnace was replaced with a twin window fan, which happily pressurizes the furnace duct work. Long tube heaters and a 240 incandescent bulb are controlled by a mechanical thermostat inside the cupboards between the water pump and the outside wall.
The fridge is protected with a thermocube operating a 60 watt incandescent bulb. Air flow is deliberately restricted by twin computer fans in a mask at the top of the chimney. These are thermostatically controlled to boost cooling in the summer time.
The floors are covered by tempertec electric heated carpets. These are based on a carbon so it is possible to have holes for the dinette table supports.
I've added electrical outlets in the hose storage area, and in the pass through storage. These are switched from the interior of the RV.
I have a magnetic heater that may be used on either the generator, or the fixed propane tank. So far, I've not had to use it.
The wheel wells were bare metal inside the RV. I've added as much insulation as I can.
Additional insulation included insulbright covers for all windows, vents, skylights, door, and the cab area.
I've toyed with the idea of using spray foam on the bottom, but I'm afraid of leaks developing.
There are several other modifications--but these are what came to mind first.