Project Choose Your Own Adventure

[ScottyB]

Man I'm sorry to hear about your wife but it sounds like things are hopefully under control health wise?  And as it relates to this build it sounds like the timing was probably best so that you didn't have to go ripping up tons of your wiring

thanks.  much better these days.  we have been super fortunate that she has good healthcare and we're in an area of the state that's saturated with specialists.

yeah, again, got completely lucky.  had i pushed ahead i'd have to either demo part of the trailer to run 120V A/C lines, or just...i dunno, punch a hole in the screen and run an extension cord 

[Apoc]

Any concerns about fire hazard, with running an extension cord under a mattress? I'm always super paranoid about running lengths and daisy chaining.

What gauge did you use?

[ScottyB]

Any concerns about fire hazard, with running an extension cord under a mattress? I'm always super paranoid about running lengths and daisy chaining.

What gauge did you use?

none, although we'll have an extinguisher onboard as well as a smoke detector.  but its a very good thought to keep in mind.

the inverter can only supply 300w, we couldn't even run a hairdryer for a minute.  its only meant to supply power to the APAP and possibly a random laptop charger or phone charger on a whim.  there are circuit breakers on the positive lead, and internally in the inverter, and the overload protection in the powerstrip itself as well in the case of overdrawing or a surge.  

both the powerstrip and outlet line are 14 gauge.  that can carry well over 1500 watts.

[.RJ]

220, 221, whatever it takes.

[ScottyB]

220, 221, whatever it takes.

damn right

[Apoc]

Any concerns about fire hazard, with running an extension cord under a mattress? I'm always super paranoid about running lengths and daisy chaining.

What gauge did you use?

none, although we'll have an extinguisher onboard as well as a smoke detector.  but its a very good thought to keep in mind.

the inverter can only supply 300w, we couldn't even run a hairdryer for a minute.  its only meant to supply power to the APAP and possibly a random laptop charger or phone charger on a whim.  there are circuit breakers on the positive lead, and internally in the inverter, and the overload protection in the powerstrip itself as well in the case of overdrawing or a surge.  

both the powerstrip and outlet line are 14 gauge.  that can carry well over 1500 watts.

I've got a 4000w generator. I went overkill and got a 50' length at 10 gauge. I'm pretty sure I could build a suspension bridge out of it.

[Senor_Taylor]

Any concerns about fire hazard, with running an extension cord under a mattress? I'm always super paranoid about running lengths and daisy chaining.

What gauge did you use?

none, although we'll have an extinguisher onboard as well as a smoke detector.  but its a very good thought to keep in mind.

the inverter can only supply 300w, we couldn't even run a hairdryer for a minute.  its only meant to supply power to the APAP and possibly a random laptop charger or phone charger on a whim.  there are circuit breakers on the positive lead, and internally in the inverter, and the overload protection in the powerstrip itself as well in the case of overdrawing or a surge.  

both the powerstrip and outlet line are 14 gauge.  that can carry well over 1500 watts.

I've got a 4000w generator. I went overkill and got a 50' length at 10 gauge. I'm pretty sure I could build a suspension bridge out of it.

That probably cost more than many cars I've purchased.

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[ScottyB]

I've got a 4000w generator. I went overkill and got a 50' length at 10 gauge. I'm pretty sure I could build a suspension bridge out of it.

heh - you mean 1/0 gauge (10ga is pretty noodly) and that's rad. if you manage to melt that stuff its because you accidentally hooked up directly to the neighborhood power grid and are probably already dead.

[Apoc]

It's definitely 10 gauge, so maybe the sheathing is *really* heavy - it's almost as thick as one of my fat fingers. We get a lot of wind storms in Seattle and losing power for days isn't uncommon (none of our lines are buried), so I wanted to be able to run a line from my backyard to an oil filled radiator and maybe 1-2 other things in a common sleeping area. The generator is 3300 continuous (4000 surge) and the heater is 1500 watts. We actually put a 30 amp circuit in our house because this thing kept flipping 15 amp breakers. Of course, our house hasn't lost power since I bought the generator 3-4 years ago. Guess it's doing its job.

Maybe I missed it, but how are you charging the battery beyond solar? Do you have a plug/play input? As in, do you just run a cord from your house and plug it into something to charge the battery? Or is more complicated than that? What if you're at a campsite with power? Do you power the strip directly or run it through the battery first? I'm interested from a HOLY SHIT EARTHQUAKE 12.7 IN SEATTLE perspective. Emergency officials in the area are recommending people be prepared to live on their own for at least a week. I'm curious what I could rig up in a pinch.

I bet you could stash away a really small generator if you were going on longer trip away from power. It's not ideal, but medical stuff is medical stuff and Honda makes some wicked quiet small generators these days.

It would be cool if there was a regenerative braking kit you could slap on the thing. Then your battery would always be charged when you got to wherever you were going.

[Sully]

I mean you have to think 10 gauge extension cord really holds 3 10 gauge single wires in it so it would still be pretty thick.

I used 1/0 gauge for the amps in the truck. If you had to put 3 together, you'd end up with a cable between 1.25 and 1.5" in diameter

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[ScottyB]

I mean you have to think 10 gauge extension cord really holds 3 10 gauge single wires in it so it would still be pretty thick.

oh yeah, it didn't click in my brain that Chris was talking about an extension cord. 3 different 10ga wires would be a yuge cable.

It's definitely 10 gauge, so maybe the sheathing is *really* heavy - it's almost as thick as one of my fat fingers. We get a lot of wind storms in Seattle and losing power for days isn't uncommon (none of our lines are buried), so I wanted to be able to run a line from my backyard to an oil filled radiator and maybe 1-2 other things in a common sleeping area. The generator is 3300 continuous (4000 surge) and the heater is 1500 watts. We actually put a 30 amp circuit in our house because this thing kept flipping 15 amp breakers. Of course, our house hasn't lost power since I bought the generator 3-4 years ago. Guess it's doing its job.

i can't blame you for wanting back up power out there. between natural disasters, and the weather you get i think its smart. what brand did you go with?

Maybe I missed it, but how are you charging the battery beyond solar? Do you have a plug/play input? As in, do you just run a cord from your house and plug it into something to charge the battery? Or is more complicated than that? What if you're at a campsite with power? Do you power the strip directly or run it through the battery first? I'm interested from a HOLY SHIT EARTHQUAKE 12.7 IN SEATTLE perspective. Emergency officials in the area are recommending people be prepared to live on their own for at least a week. I'm curious what I could rig up in a pinch.

I bet you could stash away a really small generator if you were going on longer trip away from power. It's not ideal, but medical stuff is medical stuff and Honda makes some wicked quiet small generators these days.

It would be cool if there was a regenerative braking kit you could slap on the thing. Then your battery would always be charged when you got to wherever you were going.

battery is charged from an onboard battery tender that just hooks up to normal 120v power (you can see a picture on page 10). there's a marine-rated power receptacle on the side of the tongue box (where the battery and electronics live) where you can just hook an extension cord up. the plan is that the battery just stays topped up at home and that will have it ready for a couple days when we get to camp. most campgrounds have power, and we won't use enough to outrun how quickly the tender can keep it topped off. that said, if the campground doesn't have power to hook up to (many places on the blue ridge parkway don't), we'll have an onboard 100w rigid solar panel that will constantly supply enough power for our needs too.

alot of guys run a 7-prong trailer hookup from the car to the trailer which can be wired to charge the camper batteries from your car battery while you drive. i like the idea, but since we have a solar panel onboard anyway, we'll just let it keep the battery topped off as we drive.

we'll have to see how the battery power works out on the first couple trips. everything looks good on paper but we may need a little generator after all, or maybe a larger battery. they also make travel-specific APAPs that are super tiny and efficient but the expense may not be worth it.

[Apoc]

Our generator is a DuroStar DS4000S. I hadn't heard of the brand before, but it was very well reviewed. Hardcore preppers out here buy multi-fuel generators, but that was overkill. I managed to find a brand new one on ebay via a reputable seller for 40% off retail.

I haven't had good luck with solar out this way. Our campsites are almost always shaded by massive evergreen trees, because PNW. We have solar for our flagpole lights at home and they only last like an hour in the winter because of clouds, short days, and low angle of sunlight. Do you have a way to measuring how much power you're getting from your panel?

[ScottyB]

Do you have a way to measuring how much power you're getting from your panel?

my solar controller has the capability, but i need to get a bluetooth dongle to be able to see the info on my phone.  for now, its not important so i'll buy it once we get out the first few times.

to your point though, solar can be tricky.  here in the SE where we'll be doing 90% of our camping, its about average solar exposure.  half the game is also having the panel at the right inclination too, so conservatively i'd say we'll likely never surpass 60-70% efficiency no matter where we go.  again, not a huge deal breaker though since our power usage will be deliberately minimal.

[BLINGMW]

Glad to see progress again and that she can still handle the wood! I would be pretty tempted to fully charge the battery and run the APAP off it at home it with an extension cord for a couple nights just to double check your math/assumptions. I would do just about anything to not have a generator. I don't know much about them, is there some kind of alarm or something for it to wake you up if it's dying to prevent the user from dying? Or is it not *that* critical?

[ScottyB]

Glad to see progress again and that she can still handle the wood! I would be pretty tempted to fully charge the battery and run the APAP off it at home it with an extension cord for a couple nights just to double check your math/assumptions. I would do just about anything to not have a generator. I don't know much about them, is there some kind of alarm or something for it to wake you up if it's dying to prevent the user from dying? Or is it not *that* critical?

we'll def do some trial runs at home.  there's actually a lot of testing we'll need to do with the camper just parked in the driveway before we take off on the first camping trip.  stuff like battery testing running the lights/fan all night, waterproofing and leak checking, doing lots of nut/bolt checking etc.

thankfully the APAP is more of a sleeping aid then a medical emergency thing, it just keeps her breathing more consistently and not getting awakened out of REM sleep constantly.  if the power ran out she'd just have a lousy night of rest.  i think the APAP sounds an alarm on a non-voluntary shutdown like if your house had a power outage or something, since its kinda hard to breathe with the face mask on but no air flowing through the machine.

[Evan]

Im guessing the APAP motor runs on DC (24v?), did you think about a DC to DC converter? would be smaller and much more efficient.

[ScottyB]

Im guessing the APAP motor runs on DC (24v?),  did you think about a DC to DC converter?  would be smaller and much more efficient.

here's a clip from the user manual (its a ResMed AirSense 10) thats relevant:



i never considered DC to DC...i'm not familiar enough about electrical systems to have ever thought of that.  so you're saying i could bypass the AC power supply completely and somehow hook a DC converter up to it?  i'm definitely intrigued although at this point i'm not sure its worth it to tear the AC inverter back out.

[Steve85]

Nice! Well done on quickly coming up with a solution and soldiering on!

We'll let you know if altitude impacts solar output as well via an 8th grade science fair project. I mean, can't argue the results of those highly controlled well thought out experiments because science! (So far the hypothesis is affirmed)

[Sully]

Some type of step up converter. Would it have to be exactly the specs or will it only draw what it needs?

https://www.amazon.com/SMAKN[emoji2400]-...ref=plSrch

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[ViPER1313]

No need for any converter. 2 12v batteries run in series will power that.