Recent content by alfaeric

The problem with panels on your roof isn't lift, it's drag. And you can put an air diverter in front and even along the sides, that will not seal the undersides of the panels. Where this may get mixed up a little is when the airflow makes a lot of disturbance which will shake the panels- and...

No. And I'm not sure how that's such a feature when you can get a small space heater that is quieter and more efficient at turning electricity to heat.

Our single hose one is less than 50lb. For our RV, weight matters. My next step will be to insulate the hose.... If I could figure out where the condenser cooler inlet is, I would make sure it got "clean" air. Can't say that I really understand why a dual hose would be *that* much heavier-...

If you can find one that weighs less than 50lb, post it. All of the ones I've seen that are two pipe are at least 75lb- which means that IF I wanted to take it out, it would be much harder. It's funny that only +12k BTU coolers are dual hose. The all brag that you can cool more space with...

Single, and I do very much understand that they are not efficient. But it was the easiest solution, and it does work. Helps that we are not really paying for the power. Can't put a roof unit on, as we need the low clearance, cutting a hole for a window unit was unrealistic, but modifying a...

I had thought that a small unit would work for our small 17ft unit (12ft inside), which is also very short). But when it got to the 90's an 8000BTU portable unit had a tough time keeping it cool. It works, though- and if you can use a window for an outlet (which is what we do), there's your...

True. but the compressor vent can be indoors. Our trailer is sealed- if I want air to move in, I have to open it. I'm not dissing you because you have an absorption fridge, so at least accept that others don't want one for whatever reason. I didn't want gas in my camper, and I also...

Why DC fridge? No gas. No need for leak detection, no need for CO alarm (I have electric stove), no worry that my absorption fridge will burn down my camper. And when you compare LPG to electricity, I'm not sure if the cost balance is that bad- and I know my battery has more than enough...

Correct, I would just run an extension cord to the fridge. Other than that, maybe the cable modem, but that takes almost nothing. we have already spent a few hours in our trailer when the power went out, 12v tv for the win. But to be able to keep the food safe would be nice.

It would only need to run a handful of things for the home. For the camper- stove, microwave, AC/Heat, and coffee maker would be the big stuff. My surge protector tracks power usage, and this weekend, I'll start a spreadsheet of daily usage.

I'm sure we are not alone in getting more events where our power goes out. But it seems that it would be a good idea to use a camper trailer that would be set up for solar off grid power to also be used to supply some back up power to some appliances in your home. At least it does to me...

A question to the group about the set up.... Is there a reason why someone could not just tap into just 12 of the 24V battery? If you have two batteries in series, one spot is 12V, right? Is the fact that the discharge would be that unbalanced be a problem? That would allow the 12V system...

How does one shop for good power factor?

Yes, can someone please elaborate more? Especially how to shop for good components. We have thoughts to convert more to "off grid", and getting a good electric cooking device would be pretty key.

We thought the same thing when building our trailer- and kept gas out of it. But there could be a time where getting power doesn't happen- so you may consider getting a small gas burner that uses one of the tiny bottles to run it. If not used for primary cooking, they will last a very long...