Power Sag/Current Issues at Seasonal Site

[ryankenn]

We are in our first year at a seasonal site we think we will be staying at long term. Everything is great, but the power. We only have a small Jayco 16XRB but even its 8K Btu AC and fridge prove challenging.

I haven't had my meter on it yet but you can tell by the sounds of the fans or AC that either the voltage droops badly or the run on the 12 wire from the looks of it is so long current isn't being delivered as fast as its demanded. Depending on neighboring usage fans will start slow and ramp up.

I am looking for ideas on how to combat this? I have setup a solar array at home before, but I don't know what to search for in terms of a device like an MPPT controller, but instead of the panels, that input is line. I would like a bank of batteries to be controlled and charged by the pole 120V (or sagged level its at) and the controller to supplement the supply using the batteries and an inverter so the trailer has steady voltage and good current delivery.

I had hoped a device existed but in searching it may be more practical to just have the site run a charging system that keeps a bank of batteries full and I draw from an inverter.

Thoughts or experience here would be great. The Norcold has already had one control fault leaving us with spoiled food and the neighbour has had some HW boards and the in trailer 12V inverter board fold because of the same issues and I want to avoid this.

Thanks!
Ryan

[time2roll]

Lynnmor wrote:
The two stages are a good thing, but Frank passed away about five years ago.

Yes it is too bad his booster went with him. I met Frank about 15 years ago when I picked mine up at his home in Los Angeles to save shipping. Nice man. RIP.

[wa8yxm]

I have a Hughes 50 amp I no longer have a use for... One park the post showed less than 90 volts... My RV's indoor meter was "in the green". As I like it.

[Lynnmor]

time2roll wrote:

Lynnmor wrote:
An autoformer will boost 10%, your 100 volts will become 110. Since 108 volts should be considered the minimum, I would bet that there will be times when your boosted voltage will drop below that.

Possibly two autoformers will be needed.

My Franks booster goes 16% in two stages and has worked fine when needed. Only one place near Glacier NP was the voltage too low to boost until sundown and the other air conditioners started cycling.

The two stages are a good thing, but Frank passed away about five years ago.

[wa8yxm]

I will add to this
I used an autoformer.. I still have it but no longer have an RV

[time2roll]

Lynnmor wrote:
An autoformer will boost 10%, your 100 volts will become 110. Since 108 volts should be considered the minimum, I would bet that there will be times when your boosted voltage will drop below that.

Possibly two autoformers will be needed.

My Franks booster goes 16% in two stages and has worked fine when needed. Only one place near Glacier NP was the voltage too low to boost until sundown and the other air conditioners started cycling.

[ryankenn]

Two weekends with the Autoformer, and wow. Totally transformed our experience on this site. I no longer hear the dips and strains in all of the appliances, our power bricks for phones are no longer red hot, and we can now toast bagels in only 1.5 cycles instead of 3 lol.

Our site the last two weekends has been pretty good, 104 was the lowest I saw, but the lowest I saw inside was 111. I am not sure how it works, but it seems to not attempt to boost unless the pole voltage dips to below about 111-112V, and I never saw any voltage higher at the plug meter than 118V, so I don't seem to have worries it would ever over voltage anything.

I built a wooden enclosure for it with venting top and bottom as I did note it gets a little warm. Never hot, just warm.

I finally was able to switch the fridge back to shore power and it really helped smooth the temps out, both in the fridge and the trailer.

Very happy! Thanks for the help.

As a PS, the park had its worst power weekend ever last weekend because of the heat and humidity, people left angry and lots were flipping breakers 6 times a day. Well this week the campsite across from me said the owner and both Ontario Hydro and a private contractor were onsite doing measurements and the idea is over the next two seasons the power is going to be addressed, so I am glad I didn't dump $2500 into this.

[ryankenn]

Well its been a few weeks of tinkering, and I bought the Hughes Surge Protector with the Bluetooth so I could track the trailer for a full weekend of use.

We average about 12kwh of use in 24 hours. The average current we draw is 8A at about 104-108V. I did some testing and with the A/C on we tried the Microwave and saw the 95V at 17.5A. So its obvious we can't do that, but knowing that I went ahead and ordered the Autoformer. Worst case it doesn't work but Amazon's return policy is so good I am not too worried. While I had the Watchdog I used it on my neighbours trailer. He blows the 20A from time to time (I have not yet). He is drawing about 15.5A with his rooftop A/C on, and when the fridge he has on his deck kicks in he see 30A spikes, which is crazy. I am surprised he doesn't blow it all the time.

I also ordered a Frigidaire 6K Btu which is far quieter than the stock PD unit, and is far more efficient, drawing 4.6A instead of 6.4A the current one does. I did it more for volume than efficiency but every little bit helps. It arrives the 24th I think, so I will at least post up how it does for me.

As an aside, the Watchdog Surge is a very nice unit, very stoutly built compared to the others I've seen. But the phone app is lacking. It keeps track of the total kwh used since on, but has no functions for keeping a log of the voltage/amperage usage, or high and lows when I am not at the trailer. I bought a small $15 Engbird temp sensor for the fridge, and with 2 AAA's and bluetooth it fully logs the temp and can send it to the app when I get back to the trailer. I wish Hughes would do the same for such an expensive unit. I also wish the Autoformer which has surge, also had the bluetooth reporting, because I have to make the decision now whether to keep both which sucks.

[Lynnmor]

An autoformer will boost 10%, your 100 volts will become 110. Since 108 volts should be considered the minimum, I would bet that there will be times when your boosted voltage will drop below that.

[S_Davis]

ryankenn wrote:
Oh wow those babies are pricey! I guess you get what you pay for.

Yes they are, and you need the remote as well.

[ryankenn]

Oh wow those babies are pricey! I guess you get what you pay for.

[S_Davis]

The other nice thing about the Outback inverters is they are built in three sections, if one burns up you don’t scrap the whole inverter just replace what went bad.

[S_Davis]

ryankenn wrote:
The only issue with controllers like this is the charge circuit is too robust. This unit, even the smallest can draw 60A AC maximum. Being on a 20A circuit I need to limit how much it draws when charging. Since it can run from a generator of questionable voltage I am going to send them a message to see if that input would be more suitable.

The input draw is adjustable, you can set two different input draws one for utility and one for generator depending on their capacity.

AC Current Settings
The AC current settings, Grid Input AC Limit and Gen Input AC Limit, control the amount of current that the inverter draws from the source. Adjust these settings to match the input circuit breakers.
? The adjustment is meant to protect a generator or source that cannot supply enough current for both charging and loads. If the combined charging and loads exceed the setting, the inverter will reduce its charge rate and give priority to the loads. If the loads exceed this number on their own, the charge rate will be reduced to zero.

[ryankenn]

The only issue with controllers like this is the charge circuit is too robust. This unit, even the smallest can draw 60A AC maximum. Being on a 20A circuit I need to limit how much it draws when charging. Since it can run from a generator of questionable voltage I am going to send them a message to see if that input would be more suitable.

[S_Davis]

A outback VFXR should do everything you want, including load assistance from the batteries. It will handle voltages as low as 85 volts.


https://www.outbackpower.com/products/inverter-chargers/fxr-vfxr-series