wamcneil

“If I had to buy a new Magnum inverter and other components what would you recommend? It would be nice to have more than 2000 watts of power...“
If I were doing it again, I would go to higher voltage 24v-48v. Trying to get more than 2000w out of 12v is just silly in my opinion. On my rig, the 12v system has preposterously long 4/0 cables and is nowhere near capable of efficiently handling 200a, much less the 300a needed for a bigger inverter. 
I don’t have any victron gear, but I would agree with anyone that says the victron ecosystem is superior to anything you can cobble together with magnum hardware. Victron is a thoroughly modern and well integrated system. Magnum is not. 
But when I upgraded from the old xantrex inverter I bought magnum. 
For me, there were just too many other costs involved with building up the victron system to the point where I could take advantage of all the greatness. Once I evaluated the logistics and cost on both the 12v system , 240v side and solar, the ms2000 was the far more compelling option for me. 
Magnum has a 2-in/2-out hybrid inverter that is nowhere near as cool and integrated as a victron system, but would be a very simple drop-in upgrade for your old ME
 

1 hour ago, Gary Cole said:

For those who are concerned about the tape adhesive many of the 53' vans on the road use the system to attach outside panels to the trailer structure. Of course this system is better suited for those with a metal roof.

In general, I have a lot of confidence in the HB tape! That's what I used on the 2"x3" brackets holding my panels to the roof and no fasteners.

My concern is only the differing rates of thermal expansion adding up to something significant over a 20' length.

Take my input with a grain of salt though... I don't have a degree in this discipline, nor do I have any practical experience bonding a 20' piece of metal to fiberglass... 

54 minutes ago, John C said:

Could you please tell me what 3M Pre Cleaner you used? where did you buy the pre cleaner & 3M Tape? there are so many fake products on Amazon I want to buy genuine 3M.

I'm sure pre-cleaner can only be a good thing... But I don't trust that'll completely remove 20 years of chalk and sun damage from the gellcoat. Personally, I wet sanded the area with 1200 or 2000 or something like that to remove any chalkiness and wiped down with acetone. Pre-cleaner would probably have been better than the acetone.

“Lay two aluminum struct channel in parallel (10' or 20' depends on location) and with glue the channels to the roof with 3M tape (that will be much stronger than just glue the bracket), I know I will use much much more 3M tape this way and I am willing to pay for the extra tape.”

With the long sections of channel, I’d be concerned about different rates of thermal expansion between the AL and the roof fiberglass. 

There are a number of good and widely accepted ways to attach the panels….
But the original poster has made it very clear that he’s dead set on going waaaaaaasyyyy overboard and using big fasteners down into the steel roof structure. 
I can sympathize… I too am afflicted with a sometimes overwhelming urge to over-engineer things that need to be fixed and fix stuff that’s not broken…😳

1 hour ago, Cubflyer said:

...  *A common problem with the factory lift pump, watch for fuel dripping off the starter and bell housing….

Ken

Yeah, that's what put CAPS failure on my radar couple years ago. I would notice a little puddle of diesel on the ground after I parked the rig, but never when running. Pump gasket was leaking. 

Through great contortions, I managed to tighten the fasteners and get it to stop leaking, but still want to have positive pressure and not be slurping air through the CAPS!

What's a KW pump?

Yeah. That pump is on my radar. Looks like a great solution... I just wish it was 1/3 the price. The gross margins must be absurd. 

I sure agree that having a pump in the system would make the filter changes a lot easier! First time I changed my filters, I replaced BOTH filters at the same time. And then installed the new filters dry of course... assuming I would turn on the key and the lift pump would just pull fuel through the system...

What an ordeal that was... Didn't make that mistake again!

7 minutes ago, timaz996 said:

 

From my research the FASS setup will still require a new return line because the stock line can't handle the volume of fuel being returned to the tank. Even with my FASS being located in the engine compartment I ran another larger return line. Stock and new line are still in play.  

Yeah. That's my understanding too. That's why I'm motivated to put a fass on top of the fuel tank and make the new return line real short. Tee'd it in with the vent fitting looks like a good solution. 

Did you delete a bunch of pictures from the earlier post? The notification on my phone has a bunch of pictures of your setup (thanks!) but I'm only seeing one in the thread above.

Thanks guys. I've read most of the FASS/AirDog marketing messages about the pure, airless fuel they promise to deliver. And I'm sure they do that...

I'm just not convinced that fuel aeration is an actual problem that needs to be fixed. Other than FASS/AirDog marketing, is there some compelling body of evidence to support the notion that fuel aeration is an actual problem that needs to be fixed?

On the other hand... I do believe CAPS failure is an actual problem that I'd rather not experience. So, I am motivated to supply positive pressure to the CAPS.

The main reason FASS is on my radar is because there's not a big price differential between those systems and an American-made pump that I perceived to be reliable enough to trust. A $600 pump will seem pretty cheap when I'm on the side of the road looking at my failed $200 pump (likely chinese in origin...). My biggest argument against those two pumps I referenced is that I'm finding folks in diesel forums complaining about them failing.

So the two options I'm looking at are:

1. a pump in the back because it doesn't require a return line forward to the tank
   • Perceived to be somewhat easier
   • Pumps are not draw-through, so if the pump fails the motorhome will stop (unless I make some kind of check-valve bypass manifold)
2. a FASS close to the tank because I'm not willing to run a return line up from the back of the coach
   • Keeps the entire fuel system pressurized and absolutely solves the imaginary problem of air in the fuel
   • Maybe a bit more work than option 1, but not huge
   • Requires relocating my spare coolant and oil jugs 😞 

Ok, so the FASS system I bought cheap on ebay didn't work out so I'm abandoning the thread I started a little while ago.

Now I'm interested in FASS alternatives. My only motivation is to supply constant positive pressure to the CAPS on my engine and abandon the original part-time lift pump.

Lots of folks installing FASS systems on their motorhomes, and aside from the obscene cost, I don't have a problem with it. In general though, I'm not convinced that a fuel air separation technology is compelling, so it's an obscene cost for something I don't think will substantially benefit me. Plus all the work of installing a completely separate fuel filtration system when I already have a perfectly good fuel filtration system.

So I'm thinking about a full-time lift pump in the rear, between the primary and secondary filters. I bookmarked JDCrow's thread on installing just such a pump a while back and think that's a pretty good model to follow. The pump he used is wonderful, but also obscenely expensive. 

Why on earth should diesel engines require monstrously large extremely heavy-duty $600+ pumps to move less than 3 gallon/min of fuel???? 

Is there any good reason why a pump like this wouldn't work just fine as a lift pump for a 400hp engine for around $200?

Diesel Fuel Lift Pump - GM and Dodge (113050000) 810505020768 – Pacific Performance Engineering (ppepower.com)

Features:

Up to 160 gallons per hour (GPH) fuel flow

High-flow 1/2 inch NPT inlet and outlet

Eliminates vacuum from fuel tank to high-pressure fuel injection pump

Compatible with biodiesel, and low sulfur diesel

Or, if the reliability of that PPE pump is questionable, maybe this airdog pump at about $300 

Raptor R1SBU369 Lift Pump Universal 100 GPH Pump Only (airdog-pureflow.com)

2 minutes ago, jacwjames said:

I installed the TSD08100G which is a 100 gph flow rate but it has an internal pressure regulator to limit pressure to ~16psi.

Not sure what the big difference is and whether the additional pressure would be a problem.  I'd be concerned with leaks down stream. 

You could consider putting in a pressure regulator with at return to tank on the excess.  I'm sure a work around is possible, just not sure what all is involved.  Working with higher pressure fuel might be an issue. 

 

 

Moot point now... but the plan was to replace the 70psi regulator spring with 16-18psi regulator spring

"I think/hope that the various fass "Titanium Signature Series" units are all basically the same and the 16-18 psi regulator spring (PS-1001) is all I need to bring the pressure down to suit the ISL CAPS system."

Yeah, I've been vacillating between a pump like yours in the rear -vs- pump/filter "air separation system" up front. 

I'm not convinced that "air separation systems" are critically important or provide any measurable benefits beyond those of good filtration. Seems to me that just putting a pump in-line with the original filtration equipment would be a good solution.

The price is shocking though. Even for just the pump. Good grief, it's a simple DC motor with a pump head. The gross margins on these pumps must be obscene.  

Nevermind on the original question about pressure reduction... the ebay seller just contacted me to say they don't actually have the thing in stock anyway.

Hi all,

I'm trying an experiment with FASS system.

There's a seller on ebay closing out discontinued FASS model TSD11110G that is marketed for ram ecodiesel 3.0. It's cheap enough that I'm willing to experiment a bit. There's one left if anybody is interested. Asking price $295 and accepting offers.

Anyway, this is 110 gph @ 70 psi. Too much pressure.

I think/hope that the various fass "Titanium Signature Series" units are all basically the same and the 16-18 psi regulator spring (PS-1001) is all I need to bring the pressure down to suit the ISL CAPS system. Hopefully the regulator spring and installation kit are the only significant differences.

Fass lists various replacement motor/pump assemblies for the titanium series that appear to be permutations of two different motors with three gear reductions.

What do y'all think? Are there likely to be complications from altering a 70psi pump to output 16-18psi?

I figure that a positive displacement pump like this (vane?) will spin at the same speed and deliver the same volume, but have less work to do pushing against a lower output pressure.

On 5/6/2024 at 2:49 PM, Venturer said:

That's what I was hoping for, as I found those part numbers for an 05 Navigator. Hope the year difference doesn't matter. Thanks to all.  

Hopefully those part numbers work for yours too! If not, it should be pretty straightforward to find replacements before taking the old ones off.

On a car, every hose is special and needs to be ordered by P/N for that application. But as far as I can tell, not like that on motorhomes. Each hose is just a certain length with at most, a single bend. And pretty much all the same ID.

On my isl/dynasty, folks discovered that if you buy two certain hoses for a semi-truck, you can cut those two hoses into all of the angles and straight sections needed, without having to buy a separate hose for each location. It would work just as well to get separate hoses, but cheaper and less waste to just buy the two.

So, rather than trying to find specific part numbers for your application, you could measure the length on either side of a bend and look for hoses like Benjamin suggested on Summit. They should have hoses listed by ID, angle and length of each leg. Make sure they're at least as long as you need and then cut down to fit.

2 hours ago, John C said:

I thought it was 1/2", just looked at again, I believe it is 3/8", that is how I did it on my previous coach.

Maybe a little overkill...

 

A 'little' overkill??? Overkill, btw is my 2nd favorite kind of kill.

Take a look at what's holding the ladder to the fiberglass skin on the outside of the coach...

Somehow that ladder will safely support a big ol' RVer that eats a lot of fried food. 

The solar array just barely needs to be held down. Especially if it's got 50lb of uni-strut underneath it. 

Something like this rooftop deck? Sure... 3/8 bolts in the metal structure would be good:

On 4/29/2024 at 7:31 PM, John C said:

...I don't want to start a debate that the 3M is good enough or not here...

Good luck with that. 🤐

On 4/29/2024 at 7:51 PM, John C said:

The question is I need to find a mounting point for my 1/2" lag bolts to the roof.

The 1/4" plywood and luaun board is not strong enough for my lag bolts

Good grief. 1/2” lag bolts? Are you mounting solar panels???  
Or building a deck up there???

And when you remove the shaft, make sure make it doesn’t leave an old o-ring way down in there where it’s hard to see… I learned that two o-rings are not better than one and would up rebuilding mine twice. 
Also, a new screw is very tight in a new shaft and doesn’t cut new threads easily. Mine broke and I wound up re-using the original screw. 

I had problems with the HEIC files several years ago when Apple made the switch, but not recently. At that time Microsoft had a HEIC decoder that could be added to windows through the Microsoft App Store. 
Android 10 should deal with HEIC natively https://www.androidpolice.com/heic-files-open-android/

Maybe need to update Android if the HEIC files are still a problem?

Eek. 40ftlb sounds like a lot of torque. I didn’t attempt to put a torque wrench on mine. 

It’s not a fun job. I would up rebuilding mine twice because I didn’t check real good and left an old o-ring stuck down in the bore. Working with my head right up against the slobber tube. Took a lot of washing to get all the nasty black oil out of my hair. Ugh

Have you tried our parts list? I’d bet it’s in there. 

W

23 hours ago, dennis.mcdonaugh said:

Anyone have any idea how much fluid I’m likely to lose changing out that valve?  

Not the same engine (isl), but I drained about 4 gal when rebuilding my coolant filter valve

On 3/25/2024 at 6:10 PM, dennis.mcdonaugh said:

I've been running Peak OAT coolant in the coach since about 2008 and continue to run regular coolant, Prestone this time, in the generator. Carrying the left over quart of Prestone antifreeze doesn't seem as big a deal as the procedure you have to go through to change to OAT coolant in the generator.

The “procedure” is basically drain and refill. My OCD requires a flush with distilled water also, but Cummins say’s that is not necessary. 
You asked what everyone else is doing… and I think a lot of us use an extended life HD coolant that is much better than what is spec’d for the generator, and then pretty much never change it again. 
If you want to continue to use conventional coolant, probably best to follow the maintenance schedule for conventional coolant. 
W