Gary Cole

11 hours ago, Mike H said:

PHd's were lucky if they could get a job at a 7-11 or Eckerds. 

I'm reminded of a joke that made the rounds in Houston in the  mid 70's when my brother in law, with degree in petroleum engineering and laid off from Phillips 66 , went to work part time pumping gas at a Phillips 66 station, (you can't make that up) not to far from his house because he could walk to work.  " What is the difference between a seagull and a petroleum engineer in Houston ? A seagull can make a deposit on a new car".

4 hours ago, Scotty Hutto said:

How much? That’s virtually impossible to quantify, because failure of electric motors is difficult to predict. 

I agree. The high amp start surge is brief. Particularly if the motor starts unloaded which is the case with a refrigeration compressor. The brief heat generated is absorbed and dissipated by the motor's mass in a well designed system and has less of an impact on windings than voltage spikes which occur for a number of reasons.  And hermetic compressors are very well designed as shown by their trouble free long life. Soft starts seem over priced for what you get and the vendors seem to be overselling some benefits. I noticed they don't provide any hard data on certain implied benefits.  One can now buy a VFD for less which has hundreds of fun programable functions including soft start, delay, torque management, current management, power and speed control, digital and analog I/O, the list goes on. My choice without a doubt if I wanted to play around with reduced load starting with the option of load management.  Most drives have more than a 1000 programmable parameters and functions. There is a phenomenon called conductor ringing which produces high voltage spikes at long conductor lengths. The reason for inverter rated motors. Not a problem under 100' or so.

Need to consider minimum rpm necessary for compressor oiling for anyone who might do something like this. 

A VFD will not produce more voltage than supply voltage to the DC bus however it can reduce motor speed using frequency control in the case of low voltage. Something to consider for low voltage park problems?

I'd be interested in the ice chest at $3.00 just for fun.

46 minutes ago, Ivylog said:

…stop looking at the gauge

Pull into the next Harbor Freight and buy a $10.00 gauge in order to verify that you even have a problem. Duct tape would hold 25 lbs of pressure for a while because of a fitting mismatch. If you don't have a problem they might even give you a refund if you haven't lost the receipt. I'd try it.  😄

You must have more than zero boost or your engine would be very sickly. Remove your closet engine cover and check the line which goes to your pressure gauge. Mine had not been securely fastened and developed a leak at the fitting and a deep abrasion from contact with metal. Probably would have eventually come completely off if I had not of noticed it during an inspection

4 hours ago, Gweedo said:

What are the signs that it is bad? 

I was wondering the same. If it failed at the extreme of open or closed then it would be detectable because you would have to much or no differential pressure. I never have however there is a bench method of testing to verify that the valve is moving.  A valve which worked sometimes or out of range would be another matter. 

You aren't going to know until you have gone thru the entire process of charging the system and then discover there is a problem. I'm thinking now that it might be good practice to just replace the valve on older systems. Maybe Ivan will tell us why he replaced his.

Your shocks take the load of the axle. I used to do it quite often however now I'm having second thoughts about the practice.

On 5/15/2023 at 9:56 AM, Ivylog said:

So much for needing to change the fuel filters every year.

Filters become more efficient after some time because the fluid or gas flow is increasingly restricted, that is filtered, the purpose of the filter. The process is not completely understood however particles seem to wind up in higher flow regions, passing thru the larger  holes in the filter and blocking them  .  Also changing light viscosity lubricants too often is detrimental  because the  natural shearing action of  the mechanical processes  homogenizes, that is,  reduces the long chain molecules into short chains.  Which is a necessary characteristic  of a good lubricant. Ford Motor Co did a study some years ago which demonstrated that oil achieved it's best lubricating property, pre synthetic, after 3000 miles. One reason that synthetic lubricants are superior  is that they have more uniformly short molecules and fewer abrasive long chain molecules.

People should give some thought to having their RV towed to a safe place and then call a mobile mechanic or a known shop  rather than throwing yourself at the mercy of a questionable or unknown shop. You can negotiate a reasonable tow charge if you are not stranded on the highway or blocking traffic.  Once you pull onto a shops property and give them the keys you have granted them nearly complete control of your rig due to the power vested in them thru mechanic lien laws. They don't care if you threaten to sue them. The courts don't care if you feel that you were overcharged or cheated as they are not in the business of setting rates or debating  the finer points of the mechanics skills or lack thereof. In the case of a dispute the only certain way you can regain possession of your rig is to pay the bill and argue about it later. Paying a lawyer,,, no guarantee and you'll think the mechanic's bill wasn't as bad as you thought 

It looks like the truck passed roughly 20 stripes in 8 seconds. If my count was reasonably accurate and using the standard stripe length and spacing then the trucker was traveling at something more than 65 mph.  The motorhome appeared to be traveling well over the speed limit. As others have pointed out the sharp passing maneuver might have worked in a car but clearly did not in the heavier vehicle. Did anyone else notice that alligator in the next video? 

On 5/12/2023 at 10:43 AM, CountryB said:

Would need to figure out what size compressor I need to fit with my OEM condenser and evaporator/drier. The one listed below is 20cc (not sure what the OEM compressor size is).

20 cc is a very small compressor. It does run at higher rpm however still  not fast enough to do big boy work. The law of diminishing returns as to higher rpm applies here. Our compressors are probably 100 cc or so. 

Paul those trucks are light years distant from the 1949 LJ Mack which I learned to drive on the farm. Two stick 10 speed, clutch so heavy it pushed a skinny kid like me out of the seat, power steering was huge steering wheel with a spinner, heater was straight exhaust pipe 1" from thick steel firewall, wooden dip stick for fuel gauge, 180 HP and black smoke into the next county, 50 mph downhill.  

2 hours ago, Craggar said:

Almost everything we own has off shore parts including the new one probably. 

That is true. However companies with a brand to protect are much more diligent in their efforts to insure quality when using off shore manufactured components. A product coming out of an offshore factory run by Intel, Ford, Cummins, for example, does not resemble a knock off produced by "Asian photocopy  criminals" working out of slum factories with little more than a post office box for an address and selling on Amazon and Ebay. Intel for example typically rejected 3 times as many chips produced in Chinese factories as its American counterparts so that those chips did not make it into their supply chain. The last I heard the problem was getting worse and not better. Cummins and others do not risk warranty claims on expensive engines by using the junk filters and electronics that are available online to anyone who wants to

Grant I should have mentioned that you can also use a rubber tipped air nozzle if nothing else is available. Keep your fingers out of the way. Sometimes it happens fast.

You can retract the cylinder using compressed air. Some cylinders use a standard tapered pipe thread. Others use a straight thread boss with an o-ring. Either way its a common fitting which is readily available for a few $ which you can adapt to your air hose.  

I've been thinking about going to a 5" exhaust from the turbo with a free flow muffler.  That short elbow looks very restrictive. Pittsburg Power has a good website with a lot of information about how opening up the intake and exhaust on newer smog diesels can have substantial benefits including horsepower increase ,reduced turbo heat, and lower top engine heat. They specialize in upgrading new trucks with better systems. Our RV's certainly need help there. No one wasted any money on the air intake or exhaust system.  The resulting increase in turbo boost from a freer flowing system also decreases engine heat. I  did not know that until I started researching their website. Seems counter intuitive. They have been around for a very long time. They made their reputation tuning older mechanical injector diesels such as the 855 NT Cummins to produce a reliable 780 hp to the ground. Owner operators loved them. 

I'm wondering what is  the difference between rebuilt and remanufactured? If the shop doesn't rewind the alternator how do they determine the condition of the windings? I'm guessing that they megger the windings however a passing megger test doesn't predict the future. I'm thinking given the difficulty of accessing and replacing any component on our RV's, particularly the rear radiator models, is saving a couple hundred over new a good gamble? Not sure I would want to pay a shop in case I lost the wager on rebuilt/repaired.  Or even worse,  do it myself while everyone else is gathered around the barbecue holding their beer, anything but that one, and offering their advice.

Bill there is clearly a crack at the area of the leak which is probably going to continue down the length of the manifold. Might drill a small hole at the end of the crack in order to stop the spread and try the JB weld as Jim suggests.  Nothing to lose for a small effort and a lot to gain if it worked.

8 hours ago, Tom Cherry said:

if you can or will simplify and translate my explanation

Tom you explain things quite well and oftentimes in an entertaining way. That is a bonus for all on the forum. Particularly for those who might not have a background in the topics. Which includes myself on pretty much every topic. I've been coasting along for 50,000 miles without any problems,,, none. So I haven't had to learn anything. However, now I live in fear that my luck will change, not if but when.  Just thought for those persons KVA might be easier to understand what occurs in the relationship including how power factor comes into play with those loads which have an inductive element.    

On 4/29/2023 at 7:20 AM, Tom Cherry said:

50 + 50 equals 100 Amps

? The current carried by each conductor is still an average  RMS of 50 amps, because peak amplitudes of the sine waves,  are 180 degrees apart in single phase. 

Tom it might be more understandable for some to use KVA, (ignoring power factor for simplicity) in order to compare the actual energy available vs voltage.

Looks like there is a low sump temp code as mentioned in the post. Indicates that the temp sensor is out of low range indicating a faulty sensor. Nothing to do with fluid level 

"Is this a Chinese filter?"

Yes it is. Here is the main office. I looked them up after they came up on Amazon constantly. Companies pay Amazon for top search ranking so that doesn't count for anything.  I'm not sure that they solely specialize in the design and manufacture of air filters.  They also have a very nice line of rubber hose and chrome lug nuts.  Chinese filters in my opinion are simply to risky even if they were offered for free. 

After having to rebuild 6 carburetors due to rust on a vintage motorcycle a few years ago I cut the fuel filter in half and discovered that it was a fake, made in Russia of all places. Bought it from a large regional auto parts chain. They offered me another filter. The decision to rebuild the carbs myself was one of those "hold my beer moments". Never do that again.

In the electrical industry SCT describes a straight blade connector in a NEMA classification as opposed to twist lock or pin and sleeve for example. I really don't know if it means the same in automotive terminology. 

The downside to not having a working AC is that the compressors dehumidifying function in defrost mode is not available and can result in that annoying condensed water vapor on the inside of the windshield. 

1 hour ago, Happycarz said:

It could go to nowhere.  I have both wiring and a relay for a tag axle I don’t have. Very frustrating. 
 

Does that 145 show any of the schematics?  

Harry when did you notice that your tag axle was missing?😁

Wiring harnesses are largely generic by necessity. You people with shorter coaches wondering why you have so much extra length coiled up. Cause they long enough to fit a 45 footer and have conductors for every available, sometimes fanciful,  salesman's option.