Heynow999
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Joined 17 years ago
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Re: Well nut size for large solar panels?
I'm the guy who is building the Tesla powered 5th wheel. I am also a former residential solar installer, and I installed solar on trailers for the film industry (maybe a dozen trailers) My next project for the trailer is to add solar. What I'm going to use for my Tesla 5th wheel are these mounts Fast-rack talon which are used for asphalt shingle roofs. They are a bit pricey, and then you need to attach rails to the mounts, which adds more cost. I think it is worth the extra money because I am always thinking about resale. I want to be able to explain to a prospective purchaser with confidence that my installation will never leak. As well as the piece of mind a good installation gives me. I am planning my system and ordering parts this week. I'll post pictures in my on going thread. I really like the brackets that Got Dirt made. They look great and im sure will do the job. What I don't like about them is that they seems to offer only one level of protection (Like most of the advertised "RV" brackets, which are just basically just screw an L-bracket into the roof). I couldn't believe it when I watched a video of a solar install by a coach manufacturer and they were doing just that. When the Dicor fails they could leak. The way im going to install the Fast-rack mounts, I should be able to have 3 levels of protection that water will have to get past. I'm still thinking like I did from my old job as an installer, whats going to last 25 years, because it going to be a hell of a job to track down and fix a leak under a large solar array.506Views0likes0CommentsRe: My Tesla powered Toy Hauler
I have done all the high power wiring between the battery, inverter and new breaker panel. This is between the battery and the inverter. I used 00 welding cable as recommended in the manual. Seems like overkill. There is a 200 amp fuse on the positive (top) post of the tesla battery. You cant really see it but its there. Next is an on/off switch, then there is a contactor under the yellow cap. It is part of the battery management system (BMS) It will cut off charging when the battery is full and disconnect it if the voltage falls too low. Below that, on the negative wire, are two shunts. The first one is for the Victron battery monitor and the second one is for the BMS. I wasn't thrilled with the idea of putting two shunts in line but I had little choice. They are different millivolt values and I didnt want to start muking around trying to make the inverter work with the BMS shunt, or the other way around. I dont like the extra connections, ill just have to keep an eye on them and occasionally check them for tightness After looking at the picture, I can see that I put red heat shrink on the negative instead of black! D'oh! I better fix that704Views0likes0CommentsRe: My Tesla powered Toy Hauler
Im back working on the trailer. We go to Florida over Christmas and then I leave the trailer down south. We then go back for March Break and bring it back with us. I dont like the noisy converter that came with the trailer so I replaced it with an Iota 55 amp charger with an IQ4 smart charge controller. This will give the house battery a proper charge so it will last a long time out with the old in with the new I mounted the IQ4 module just inside the opening that gives you access to the converter plug705Views0likes0CommentsRe: My Tesla powered Toy Hauler
1slomofo wrote: jcain wrote: If it's 55lbs then it is only a 5.2kw with 444 cells. By my math on the Panasonic 18650 cells depending on the housing, wires, and BMS he may have as many as 550 ish 18650s in that pack. Still the math isn't adding up. Especially if it's been modified from 24v to 48v OP Here. Yes you guys are probably right with those numbers. The battery has 444 cells. What I actually meant is that it could put out 17kw (or Kwhrs, I get those confused)704Views0likes0CommentsRe: Suburban sf30-f troubles
So here is what I ended up doing. I ran it on my bench. I was only getting 2 volts from the sail switch. I by passed the sail switch and it continued through the cycle. I could hear the gas valve open, and the igniter sparking. I tested the high limit switch and it was working, at least it was closed at room temperature, not sure if it will open when over heated. Since I am selling it, I figured I am just going to replace what I can see is broken. My local dealer did have a sail switch, so I picked it up and installed it. I bought a regulator and hose and bench tested it with propane and it ran. Re installed it and everything worked. $24 part. Wife was mad that I didn't do it when we were using it.379Views0likes0CommentsRe: Suburban sf30-f troubles
The endless troubles were it just not firing up. It would go through the start up sequence then not fire up. Changed the board twice, changed the regulator. It would work for one vacation then not work the next vacation. Im not really looking for advice to fix it yet, im more looking for what wear and tear items I should replace when I have it on my workbench Right away it looks like the sail switch, any more ideas. I have no local dealers that carry parts so I need to put a list together to order it online. The local dealer even said to order the parts online! $125/hr shop charge!379Views0likes0CommentsSuburban sf30-f troubles
HI I have a 2008 5th wheel with a Suburban sf30-f furnace. It has given me endless trouble through the years, to the point that we would just stay in hotels on our way to Florida and not use it at all. I have bought a new 5th wheel so I have come to the realization that I need to fix it. I am going right now to remove it from the RV an I would like to get some recommendations as to what parts I should replace to do a rebuild of the furnace. My plan is to replace the cheap and easy parts that would typically wear or break, and then look to troubleshoot it from there if it doesnt work. I build custom trailers at work so I have installed several furnaces, but I have not had to deal with repairs. I have had training to make and test gas connections. Thanks1.5KViews0likes8CommentsRe: My Tesla powered Toy Hauler
Naio wrote: Your battery 'pen' looks great. I do have one concern. It looks like you have screwed the crosspieces into the cut edge of the plywood. That part of plywood will not hold screws -- they will come out. With the weight of the battery and the movement of the toyhauler, they will come out SOON after you get on the road. I can help you redesign it, if you need. Thanks for the advice. I will keep an eye on it. It is screwed and glued. I put the screws in at a slight angle so they go through several layers of the plywood. Maybe I'll run some metal plumbing strap over the vertical pieces283Views0likes0CommentsRe: My Tesla powered Toy Hauler
About the battery. I actually dont know exactly how many cells are in it, but it is 17 kw. In all the other trailers I have done I used lead acid golf cart batteries. They weigh about 65lbs each. The Tesla battery is equal to about 9 of those batteries. The Tesla battery weights 55lbs. So the Tesla battery is equal to about 585 lbs of lead acid batteries. It should last several times longer than lead acid. I have a BMS system that will stop the battery from over-charging so fire should not be a problem. I can also see on the battery pack that each cell has a tiny wire going to it from the buss bar that I believe acts as a fuse for each individual cell. To be safe, I'll put a smoke detector in the compartment. I do intend to use the RV for vacations. The risk of fire I believe is when the batteries are being charged so I will make sure they are not charging at night283Views0likes0Comments
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