CAT Stephen

12 hours ago, Joe Lee said:

Also … here’s a video of the dash voltage meter when I move the key switch from the off position to the run position, then the starter position. See the voltage drop?

IMG_7867.MOV  

 

IMG_7867.MOV 30.01 MB · 3 downloads  

 

IMG_7867.MOV  

 

On 12/28/2022 at 5:44 PM, Joe Lee said:

Hello All - I having a new problem today. My 1996 Monaco Crown Royale Signature won’t start!  Ugh. 

I replaced the chassis batteries(even through they tested good at O’Reillys), but when I tried to start her, I get nothing. The dash voltage meter drops below the 8 volts on the meter, but when I put my meter on the (new) batteries, the voltage only drops a bit when I turn the key. I pulled out the ignition switch and tested the terminals for continuity. All seemed good as I placed the switch in the different positions. 
 

Any ideas from my fellow Monaco friends?

Thanks for any advice or suggestions!!

 

Joe

Joe,

In your video, your starting batteries are showing ~12.0V before you crank the engine at the key run position.  12.0V at rest means that your starting battery bank may be discharged to the 50% level.  If your starting bank was fully charged, it would show 12.6V at rest.  I'm concerned that you may have a battery charging issue that is contributing to the starting issue, assuming that your inverter also charges your starter battery bank when you are on shore power.  Here is information on using battery voltage to determine state of charge:

- https://footprinthero.com/lead-acid-battery-voltage-charts

I recommend utilizing a set of jumper cables so that you can use your car or truck starting battery in parallel with your RV starter battery bank to assist with the start after you fully charge your starter battery bank.  The 500-700 additional cranking amps will make a substantial difference.  If it does not, you may have a fuel system issue.  On the Cummins M11, the fuel solenoid may have failed resulting in no fuel being delivered to the engine.

2 hours ago, Joe Lee said:

Hello All - I having a new problem today. My 1996 Monaco Crown Royale Signature won’t start!  Ugh. 

I replaced the chassis batteries(even through they tested good at O’Reillys), but when I tried to start her, I get nothing. The dash voltage meter drops below the 8 volts on the meter, but when I put my meter on the (new) batteries, the voltage only drops a bit when I turn the key. I pulled out the ignition switch and tested the terminals for continuity. All seemed good as I placed the switch in the different positions. 
 

Any ideas from my fellow Monaco friends?

Thanks for any advice or suggestions!!

 

Joe

Joe,

What engine do you have?

• This may be a fuel system issue.

On 12/24/2022 at 12:43 PM, saflyer said:

Thanks. I’m familiar with SOC, just not the term visibility in relation to it. I now see you mean readout or gauge.

You’ve helped me with the issue of isolated versus non-isolated. I have a Magnum Energy ME-ARC remote and an ME-BMK battery monitor kit. The BMK has a shunt, obviously. So are all shunts the same? Can more than one BMK be connected to the same shunt? Can more than one shunt be put in series on the same cable? I’d like to add a Victron BMV-712 monitor to get the Bluetooth capability.

Ed, 

Merry Christmas to you sir!!  Thank you for sharing your current equipment. 

The differences in shunts are power capacity and interoperability features.  Since you already have the Magnum shunt (That is included within your ME-BMK battery monitor kit) then I recommend that you stay with that Magnum shunt because your ME-ARC remote fully integrates with your existing Magnum shunt. 

All Lithium battery systems have a BMS for safety and some have integral shunts built into the BMS, but your ME-ARC remote is not compatible with that BMS shunt.  With that being said, there is no harm or suboptimal state by leaving your current configuration (i.e BMS shunt in series with your Magnum Energy shunt) as is.  This approach is common and standard as almost all lithium batteries are equipped with an integral BMS shunt to prevent overload. 

You "might" be able to connect a second Magnum BMK to your existing Magnum shunt.  I recommend that you contact Magnum Energy technical support to get their confirm that you can.  The technical support from Magnum Energy is excellent!!

Yes, you can place more than one shunt in series with the existing shunt.  Since your current objective that you shared above is to enable bluetooth connectivity for your battery bank, I recommend that you purchase a Victron 500A Smart Shunt which is available for ~$130 instead of a Victron BMV712 because it is less expensive and offers many additional features over the BMV712 .  One of the best features is the ability to monitor your battery capacity remotely by adding a Victron Cerbo GX in the future at your option.  Here is the purchasing information for the Victron SmartShunt:  

• https://www.currentconnected.com/product/smartshunt/

One key limitation to keep in mind with your vision of a shunt with Bluetooth connectivity is that Bluetooth range is very limited.  Since you have a 40' Class A coach and I assume your new Bluetooth enabled shunt is near the rear of your coach 38' behind your position in the drivers seat because the battery bank is located near the rear of your coach, then you will not be able to connect to your new shunt via bluetooth until you are located ~<15 feet from your shunt.  If that limited Bluetooth range doesn't meet your needs, then I recommend that you also purchase the Victron Cerbo GX in addition to the Victron Smartshunt to enable Wifi Connectivity for your smart shunt.  Here is the purchasing information for the Victron Cerbo GX.  Keep in mind that the Cerbo GX is expensive because it does much more than satisfy your use case above.  The Cerbo GX supports a 2.4 Ghz access point, a 2.4 Ghz Wifi Hotspot from your cellular provider, or GSM cellular connectivity on a low monthly cost dedicated cellular connectivity plan.  It also have its own access point built in so you may connect to the Cerbo GX directly via its SSID:

• https://www.currentconnected.com/product/cerbo/ 

Ed, 

I am presenting a technical deep dive for you because I don't know your technical knowledge level in RV electrical systems.   So please forgive me in advance if I cover details that you already know.

 Visibility to your battery bank state of charge is good to have because you will know how much energy that you have used and how much energy is remaining.   This measurement is called state of charge.   Without this visibility, you will not know how much energy is remaining in your batteries.  Measuring energy requires a shunt between the house negative battery terminal to all house electrical loads. 

Here is an example of the SOC visibility to the house lithium battery bank state of charge using two (2) SOK 206 Amp-Hour 12V Lithium Batteries wired in parallel:

• If you have installed a shunt on your house lithium battery bank, the shunt will measure the precise amount of energy that is used by your house battery bank as a percentage.  If you run a 12VDC 30 Amp resistance heater in your water bay for four (4) hours, the energy used is 30 amps * 4 hours for a total of 120 amp hours of energy at 12V.  Your shunt will know that this energy was used so it would calculate your state of charge by the following equation:
  • SOC % = (House Battery Bank Capacity in Amp*Hours - Energy Used in Amp*Hours) / (House Battery Bank Capacity in Amp*Hours)
  • Using the example data above, the SOC % = ((412 Amp*Hours Capacity) (120 Amp*Hours Used)) / (412 Amp*Hours Capacity) = 70.8%

You may already have a shunt today for energy measurement, but introducing a non-isolated DC to DC charger will make any shunt very inaccurate because non-isolated DC to DC chargers bypass your shunt through the chassis / house 12V ground. 

So, what should you do now?  Here are your choices:

• If you want SOC visibility either now or in the future for <$300,  your only choice is to buy a Victron Orion-Tr Smart Isolated DC to DC charger.  The Orion-Tr series is available in 18 amp, and 30 amp models and may be run in parallel for higher DC to DC charging rates:
  • https://www.currentconnected.com/product/orion-smart/
• If you elect to utilize the Victron Energy product path, it is critical that you purchase from a reseller with excellent technical support because Victron only provides product support through resellers.  I highly recommend purchasing from https://currentconnected.com as I use them exclusively because they provide excellent support for Victron products.  Avoid Amazon for Victron Energy products because their support is not strong for this specialized product category.
  • If you don't already have a shunt, I recommend a Victron 500A Smart Shunt which is available for ~$130
    • https://www.currentconnected.com/product/smartshunt/
• If you don't need SOC visibility either now or in the future, you may buy:
  • A Renogy non-isolated DC to DC charger.  They are available in 20 amp, 40 amp, and 60 amp models for less than $200.  
    • https://smile.amazon.com/Renogy-Battery-Batteries-Multi-stage-Charging/dp/B07Q4SVX3M/ref=sr_1_5?crid=3NAZM3PG7BOM8&keywords=renogy%2Bdc%2Bto%2Bdc&qid=1671812804&sprefix=renogy%2BDC%2B%2Caps%2C117&sr=8-5&ufe=app_do%3Aamzn1.fos.f5122f16-c3e8-4386-bf32-63e904010ad0&th=1
    • With this option, you must install a manual switch to enable and disable your DC to DC charger
    • Renogy product support is direct from Renogy.  Most people rate their product support fair to poor.
    •  
  • A Sterling non-isolated DC to DC charger. 
    • https://www.sterling-power-usa.com/batterytobatterychargers.aspx
    • They are more expensive than Renogy or Vitron, but they have better build quality than Renogy and Sterling provides very good support directly from the manufacturer

Ed,

Here is the process to determine the right DC to DC charging solution:

- Determine if you need visibility to your lithium battery bank SOC (State of Charge).  If you need SOC visibility, then you will need an isolated DC to DC charger. 

- Determine the rated output of your engine alternator by calling your chassis manufacturer

- Determine the maximum chassis electrical load by using a clamp-on amp meter while running the maximum chassis electrical loads such as your Diesel engine  air intake heater, all headlights/ running lights, and the 12v water bay heater (if applicable).

- Determine the maximum DC to DC charger draw by subtracting the maximum chassis electrical load from the alternator rated output then subtract 10%-20% safety factor from the sum.  Finally, subtract the DC to DC charger efficiency from the sum.  

- Select your DC to DC charger not exceeding the final sum determined above.  If you want to keep the DC to DC charging solution under $350.00, your choices are either Victron Energy or Renogy.  If you want the solution to automatically turn off when you are not running your engine, then your only choice is Victron Energy.  

8 hours ago, Rboss22 said:

Called RevRV group, that was useless.  Think I will try Bluefire directly.

The Rev RV Group can't help you, but if you look at your capacity plate that indicates GVWR, tire pressures, etc., the chassis manufacturer will be indicated there.  The chassis manufacturer designs and installs the CAN bus communication system (i.e. J1939, J1706, ect.) to their chassis.

Then, look underneath your dashboard for the CAN bus connector which typically has a round dust cover.

16 hours ago, Rboss22 said:

Anyone happen to know how many pins an 05 HR Navigator plug has to hook up a BlueFire set up?  I’ve only had it for a couple months and I am out town for work and can’t go look. Thanks. 

To avoid return shipping charges to Bluefire, call your chassis manufacturer (i.e. 90% of coaches use either Freightliner or Roadmaster) to determine if you have J1708 6 pin, J1939 6 pin, or J1939 9 pin.  And yes, there are two 9 pin variants which are not compatible with each other. 

Jim, 

That depends on your inverter.  What is the make and model of your inverter?

Never use ether with a diesel engine to avoid piston damage and piston melting due to the high compression ration of diesel engines.

Onan fuel filters are small and clog easily.  Replace the Onan fuel filter first then prime the fuel filter by turning over the starter in 15 second increments with a 1-2 minute starter rest time between increments for a total time of ~120 seconds

4 hours ago, bhsl8 said:

Looks like I need to replace my Norcold cooling unit, at least, again so I’m entertaining the switch out to residential. I’ve seen issues with the previously popular Samsung units. What are the current options in vogue please? I have the 1210 model. A perfect fit would excite me. 
 

Brouck Sleight

2002 Dynasty                                                        
2020 Explorer ST    
2022 Indian Pursuit                                           

On 7/15/2022 at 10:51 AM, Ann Henry said:

NOTE.  The THREADS HAVE BEEN COMBINED.

No punitive action taken  Please do not do coninuations or new threads with similar topics unless at lease a Month has transpired.

We are having trouble with our Norcold refrigerator. A red light is on behind the outside refrigerator panel. we rest it using a magnet so the red light goes off. We then start the rigerator with either electric or propane, it runs for about 15 minutes and then it shuts off and the red light is on again. any ideas as to what we can do?

Here are your options depending on your use case.  Your use case has a substantial impact on which option will fit best for you:

- Option 1: If you are on the grid nearly full time and do not have significant solar power, then stay the course with your existing absorption refrigerator, but make the following changes: 

• Buy a new 12V compressor style cooling unit for your existing refrigerator from JC Refrigeration.  Then, if you are within a reasonable driving distance from JC Refrigeration in northern Indiana, have JC Refrigeration install the new compressor based cooling unit.  You may also have JC refrigeration ship a cooling unit to a qualified local installer
  • https://jc-refrigeration.com/product-category/norcold-12v-hvac-cooling-units

- Option #2: If you have significant solar power (i.e. more than 300 watts) and have more than 200 amp hours of usable battery capacity (this is 200 amp hours of lithium or 400 amp hours of Lead Acid), and your solar power is available while your RV is stored , then do proceed exactly the same as Option #1:

• Buy a new 12V compressor style cooling unit for your existing refrigerator from JC Refrigeration.  Then, if you are within a reasonable driving distance from JC Refrigeration in northern Indiana, have JC Refrigeration install the new compressor based cooling unit.  These units only consume 60 watts when the compressor is running.  You may also have JC refrigeration ship a cooling unit to a qualified local installer
  • https://jc-refrigeration.com/product-category/norcold-12v-hvac-cooling-units/
• Another equivalent choice of a 12V compressor RV style refrigerator that has the interior storage and features of a residential refrigerator are the RecPro RV 12V refrigerators.  These refrigerators have doors that will not open when you are on bumpy roads just like your existing Norcold and they include standard mounting hardware so that you don't need to do a custom installation. The only catch is that they may or may not fit your existing opening, so measure carefully:
  • https://www.recpro.com/rv-12v-refrigerator/
• Another alternative, just for this use case, is to purchase a counter depth residential refrigerator that fits your existing opening, but keep in mind that will be a custom installation which requires that your inverter is on full time since residential refrigerators run on 120VAC.  Although most residential refrigerators run on 75-200 watts, the issue is that most inverters draw a significant amount of additional energy (typically 45-100 watts) which put a substantial additional load on your solar system and battery bank.  Be careful of advice to run a residential refrigerator without considering the additional electrical load of running an inverter full time.
  • Other big disadvantages of residential refrigerators verses the JC refrigerators compressor cooling units is that the don't have a provision to keep the doors from opening when encountering bumpy roads and they expel their heat into your RV instead of outside your RV.  Most RV rooftop ACs are barely sufficient, thus adding a residential refrigerator heat load will make make cooling your RV more challenging in the summer.

- Option #3: If you are not on the grid nearly and do not have significant solar power, then stay the course with your existing absorption refrigerator, but make the following changes: 

• Buy a new absorption style cooling unit for your existing refrigerator from JC Refrigeration.  Also, buy the ARP Absorption Boiler monitor (Called the Fridge Defend) from https://www.arprv.com to eliminate the potential of a cooling unit fire.  Then, if you are within a reasonable driving distance from JC Refrigeration in northern Indiana, have JC Refrigeration install the new absorption based cooling unit with the ARP Fridge Defend boiler monitor.  The ARP Fridge Defend will also substantially increase the lifespan of your absorption cooling unit by protecting against boiler overheating conditions which lead to internal corrosion and failure of the cooling unit.  For additional peace of mind and an absolutely "safe" refrigerant for an absorption cooling unit to make a fire impossible, JC Refrigeration also offers  helium based absorption cooling units so you can optionally select a helium based cooling unit instead of an Ammonia based cooling unit:
  • https://jc-refrigeration.com/product-category/norcold-gas-electric-cooling-units/
  • https://www.arprv.com/purchase.php
    • Purchase Option #1 from ARP because JC refrigeration controls their fans with a thermostat to maintain your warranty

Above all things, your personal safety comes first.  So, if you fit into use case #3 above, be advised:

• In all cases, never buy the Norcold or Dometic OEM new gas absorption refrigerators or their associated replacement cooling units due to the risk of fire.  Although both Norcold and Dometic have partially addressed their fire issue via safety cutoff safety switches for runaway boiler overheating situations, their cutoff switches don't turn off the boilers until a much higher temperature is reached versus the ARP Control.  Also, the JC Refrigeration units have much thicker tubing than the OEM units and are MUCH more efficient at keeping your refrigerator and freezer temperatures down in the safe range.  
•   The #1 insurance claim in the RV insurance industry is refrigerator fires.  NEVER run an ammonia based cooling unit without an ARP Fridge Defend and / or a fire suppression system attached to the cooling unit.  If you are depending on the Norcold and Dometic recall kits alone (i.e. thermal runaway switches) then you are at risk for an ammonia fire when the thin OEM cooling unit tubing corrodes and dumps flammable ammonia on your open propane flame or electric heaters.  I have personally been there and done that with my Norcold OEM cooling unit when it failed and was very fortunate. 
• The JC refrigeration Helium based absorption units are vastly superior to the OEM ammonia based cooling units from a safety perspective as there is no potential for fire as Helium doesn't burn.

On 10/3/2022 at 7:06 PM, klcdenver said:

I have a 2007 diplomat 40skq. Currently it has 2 penguin ii with heat pumps. I know the Houghton has a remote control thermostat. I also have 2 Atwood furnaces and all operate off of a Dometic 5 button thermostat. I would like to change my front unit to a Houghton. Question is how would the front furnace operate? Will it still work of existing thermostat or would some kind of retrofit be required?  Thanks in advance.

Kenneth

Hello Kenneth,

So, you can retain your current thermostat control as is.  Now this thermostat control will only control your furnace.  The Houghton is only controlled by the included remote IR (Infrared) thermostat control and does not have a wiring harness available to integrate with any other thermostat.  There is great functionality in the IR control as you will be able to control the Houghton from the drivers seat and you may also control the Houghton remotely if you have a cellular access point and purchase the Switchbot IR relay from Amazon. 

In summary, the Houghton will not work with any existing thermostat and there is no retrofit hardware for that possibility.

5 hours ago, alaskawalker said:

Can anyone tell me how I can replace a bad FET board in my Magnum 2012 inverter? On a Holiday Rambler Neptune.

I have the neq FET board, but no clue how to replace it. unfortunately there are no mechanics available. I am without any power.

I have a Magnum 458 Freedom inverter with two (2) 20A 120VAC circuits in excellent condition that I had to pull last week due to my changeover to Lithium batteries.  If you elect to replace your inverter, I can sell my inverter to you for a reasonable price and at a fraction of the new price.

6 hours ago, MHRookie said:

What’s an honest “poll” of these products??  Need some feedback.  Looking at dash upgrade.

Scan gauge is a small unit but seems reliable.  Getting codes is a slight challenge

Blue Fire - website forum is full of negative hassle type issues, Bluetooth sync signal issues.

I’m in a 2003 Dynasty.  I’m not going to upgrade to silverleaf or anything like that.

I have owned the BlueFire J1706 Interface for two years.  Initially, I had intermittent bluetooth connectivity dropouts that would require that I manually reconnect the tablet to the adapter via Bluetooth.  BlueFire's latest firmware and software automatically makes adjustments to resolve the Bluetooth connectivity issue.  I was initially disappointed, but I am now pleased with the product.  I now rarely experience a disconnect (Once every ~3 hours of operation).  When I do experience a disconnect, it now self-resolves the issue and reconnects automatically.

I have dedicated an Android tablet as a display to monitor the parameters that my dash instrumentation doesn't display such as actual Allison Transmission fluid temperature, turbo boost, engine load, actual engine coolant temperature, engine intake air temperature, and may other parameters not covered by my RV's instrumentation.

I would recommend this product to you based upon my experience. 

6 hours ago, Tom Wallis said:

Stephen, at the cost of having two cell plans and an FMCA membership plus being throttled to 12Mbps and possibly still not having coverage in some areas, is there a reason you wouldn't be interested in having a Starlink RV plan? Just curious.

Thanks Tom,

Yes, in my use case, its all about redundancy.  I RV primarily in the South-Eastern US where are trees are many and the open sky is in short supply.  Verizon (Full 5G speed, $30/month) and AT&T (12Mbps throttled, $60/month) together have ~99% coverage in the Eastern US and I am usually under a tree canopy where I RV. Starlink doesn't work well under tree cover.

On 7/16/2022 at 4:06 PM, TDaleABQ said:

What product do folks recommend for great WiFi.  I currently have Verizon and the hot spot on iphone is awful for real time viewing local channels via HULU.  A lot of buffering.  Upload speeds less that 1MBS Download less than 1MBS.  Thanks for your suggestions.

 

Tim D

ABQ. NM 2007 Monaco SKT

You have hit your monthly data limit which has caused additional throttling for video streaming.

Since Verizon has no "true" unlimited data plan (except for those lucky Verizon customers who were grandfathered into the previous unlimited plans which are no longer available), I recommend that you add an additional cellular plan with unlimited data and video streaming.  You can obtain the AT&T unlimited plan for $59.99 monthly from the Family Motor Coach Association here: https://www.fmca.com/index.php?option=com_fmcatechconnectv3&view=home

• This is a month to month plan so there is no long term commitment
• There is a one time nominal fee for the AT&T hotspot that is non-refundable (~$40)

There is currently no other cellular plan in the industry that beats the AT&T plan from FMCA.

Here are the caveats:

• You must be an FMCA member to get this offer (FMCA membership is $60 annually)
• You video is always throttled to 12Mbps which means HD only (1080P) but no 4K UHD

Like you, I currently also use Verizon as my primary data service, and I have also used the FMCA AT&T unlimited service since its inception this year for video streaming.  I have two cellular carriers for redundancy with AT&T primarily for video streaming and Verizon primarily for all other non-video streaming data.

And you can use your propane stove safely.  Simply powering off the refrigerator from the panel is sufficient.  Unplugging the refrigerator is not helpful because the refrigerator will still run off of propane automatically if you power on the refrigerator.  

2 hours ago, Ann Henry said:

We are having trouble with our Norcold refrigerator. A red light is on behind the outside refrigerator panel. we rest it using a magnet so the red light goes off. We then start the rigerator with either electric or propane, it runs for about 15 minutes and then it shuts off and the red light is on again. any ideas as to what we can do?

Ann, depending upon where you live, there are two professional installation options: RV Dealer or JC Refrigeration

• JC Refrigeration, located in Northwest Indiana, charges ~$300-$500 for the install of a new cooling unit.
• RV Dealers charge ~$500-$900 to install a new cooling unit

Assuming that you prefer to keep your dual fuel propane refrigerator, I personally recommend JC Refrigeration for your new cooling unit:

- https://jc-refrigeration.com/product-category/norcold-gas-electric-cooling-units/

And an absolute must to protect your new cooling unit from early failure is to add the ARP boiler controller:

- Buy Kit #2 https://www.arprv.com/purchase.php

So, your total repair bill will be:

• Install Labor
• Cooling Unit
• ARP Control
• New electric heaters (From JC Refrigeration, Don't use old heaters on a new cooling unit)
• New Condenser Fans (From JC Refrigeration, Don't use old worn out fans on a new cooling unit)

The extra 3000 BTU of cooling capacity will help you, but not by much.   So, making that big investment of ~$3000.00 for new Penguin 15000 BTU AC/Heat Pumps plus installation fees will not buy you much more cooling capacity.

My rig configuration is like yours (2 X 13500BTU Cooling). When I am stationary, I recommend and use this unit that you can vent out our your RVs window:

• https://smile.amazon.com/Whynter-ARC-14S-Conditioner-Dehumidifier-Activated/dp/B0028AYQDC/ref=sr_1_8?crid=33ZKHQ15FW46N&keywords=edgestar+12000+btu&qid=1654805009&sprefix=edgestar+12000btu%2Caps%2C72&sr=8-8

You will need to fabricate a small plywood partition for the intake and exhaust hoses to utilize your RV window.  I fabricated mine with a 1/4" piece of plywood with a reciprocating saw and painted it to match my rig.

Now the effective cooling capacity is 41000 BTU (13500 X 2 + 14000).  I use this configuration when travelling to Florida in the summer and can easily maintain 65 degrees inside when the outdoor temperature is 110 degrees.

Your DC to DC Charger must be rated as "Explosion Proof" or "Ignition protected" to be present in your battery compartment that contains any SLA starting and/or SLA or LA house batteries.  It it is a Renogy branded DC-DC charger, these chargers are not ignition protected.

Ekgflashnet,

The Renogy DC-DC charger is a good product at this low pricepoint.  Take care not to mount this DC to DC charger  in the battery compartment because it is not ignition protected which means an explosion in the presence of gassing from your SLA or FLA starting batteries.  There are ignition protected DC to DC chargers in available, but the pricepoint of the ignition protected DC to DC charger options are above $500.00

The battery specifications fit your application well, but you should avoid LiPO4 batteries that have not been extensively reviewed through full teardown and capacity testing by third party sources.  These Chineese LiPO4 batteries, like the one you referenced in your post, appear on Amazon & eBay for a short time then disappear after a few months rendering your battery warranty useless.  The exception in the 12V LiPO4 world is SOC, AO Lithium, Chins, and Battleborn which are tremendously rugged LiPO4 batteries from established long term companies that have excellent build quality, strong performance, very impressive warranties, with extensive testing and tear down by some great volunteer experts.  As Vito.a mentioned in a post above, Will Prowse is the primary volunteer in the industry that has the performed the most thorough reviews.  Before buying any LiPO4 battery, review Will's battery teardown and testing here: https://www.youtube.com/c/WillProwse/videos

I recommend SOC & AO Lithium above all other battery manufactures for your application.  SOC has a slightly better warranty and slightly lower cost per amp-hour than the AO Lithium, but has no built in shunt.  AO Lithium has a built-in shunt negating the need for you to purchase an external shunt from Victron and others.  Also, AO Lithium has the best thermal performance under heavy discharge which is rated at 1C discharge continuously, 2C discharge for 3 minutes, and 3C discharge for 30 seconds.  So, in your application with a 2500W Magnum inverter and four (4) 100Ah-Hr AO Lithium Batteries in parallel , you could run your inverter at 2500W full output (which is 2750W drawn from the battery due to inverter efficiency loss) resulting in 229Amp continuous load with no concern for thermal overload as your AO Lithium bank will be running at 0.57C which means minimizing overall life degradation because of low thermal stress.  

Dae Sung, do you have the flexibility to locate your DC to DC converter outside of the battery compartment (explosion proof DC to DC chargers are a 5X cost uplift)?  If you do, based upon your current Cummins ISB 160A Maximum output alternator, I recommend the following Renogy 60A DC-DC charger, assuming that your inverter is not attached to your alternator output: https://smile.amazon.com/Renogy-60A-Battery-Multi-Stage-Charging/dp/B07Z4GSYC2/ref=sr_1_3?crid=1778Q0M70R3UY&keywords=renogy+60a+dc-dc+charger&qid=1650393252&sprefix=renogy+60A+DC%2Caps%2C2149&sr=8-3

1 hour ago, Flyinhy said:

Hi guys,

Hope everyone is doing well. I'm pretty much done with the major repairs on the Exec. It's time now to start planning my improvements. I know I've read other posts on adding  batteries and charging options. I'm considering building a battery bank in my rear closet. It's directly over the battery compartment too. I currently only have 2 12v lead acid batteries running the Samsung fridge on trips and the charge only lasts about 2 hours before I have to crank the generator. I just wanted to get some ideas on what kind of systems you guys have and how long you can run without starting your generator. I only have one flat fixed solar panel but I have plenty of room to add 3 more of the same size. 

To size a new battery solution properly along with potential additional solar, please provide the following information:

- What is your average kwh consumption per day specific for your coach? (If you don't already have a shunt, you can buy a "cheap" shunt for ~$20 to get this information)

- What are the type and capacity of your current house batteries? (AGM/Flooded/Gel/Lithium, specify capacity in amp-hours)

- Is your refrigerator 120VAC running off your inverter, a 12V Compressor refrigerator, or a propane/12VDC Gas Absorption refrigerator?

- What is your inverter make and model number (to determine LiPO4 compatibility)?

- What is the rated output of your current solar panel in watts?

- What is your "primary" RV usage location (this can vastly impact solar generation and is a factor if you select lithium)? 

- What is your primary season that you use your RV (this vastly impacts solar generation)

- What is the manufacturer and model number of your solar controller?

- What is your use case? (near full time on grid / near full time off grid / %on & %off grid if mixed

Also be advised that placing batteries inside your coach can be very hazardous.  Lithium LIPO4 can leak very toxic chemicals if the case or cell(s) are mechanically compromised (this is rare). LiPO4 is if the safest of all options due to the BMS.  AGM and SLA variants can under certain circumstances vent explosive hydrogen gas inside of your coach (explosion hazard).  Flooded is not an option inside your coach.

For $20, you can precisely know your kwh daily power consumption before investing $100s/$1000s on new batteries, solar and other electrical equipment.

Everyone has a unique use case for electrical loads.

9 hours ago, Ivylog said:

Sounds like you are in the business of selling these grossly over priced , not so efficient refrigerators. My 21 Whirlpool draws 8 amps dc measured before the inverter or 96 watts but only when dry camping. Inverter loses are in the 3-5% range and The current draw of the Everchill Refrigerator for RVs # 324-000119 is 11 amps or 132 watts at 12 volts... smaller refrigerator drawing 30% more power. 

IvyLog, I am not in the business of selling anything.  I'm just an RVer degreed in EE (Electrical Engineering) who loves everything technology. 

Refrigerators do not run continuously (compressor or absorption) so a simple comparison of running compressor amperage (8A vs 11A) and running watts is not indicative of power consumption or efficiency.  What is relevant is watt-hours (wh / kwh) which is total power consumed over a period of time.   

True efficiency of the inverter must be utilized and continuous inverter energy consumption is present when your refrigerator compressor is not running .  Modern RV modified sine wave inverters on the market today run at ~93% efficiency (7% loss) (MSD will not work with some 120VAC compressor refrigerators) or ~90% efficiency (10% loss) in the case of a pure sine wave inverter.  Many lower end inverters have much lower efficiency.  All inverters consume substantial power continuously while powered on even when the refrigerator is not running due to FETs (Field Effect Transistors which invert 12VDC to 120VAC) and other electrical losses which are converted to heat.  Put your hand on the top of your inverter and you will feel the heat associated with this power consumption and other associated electrical losses.  Power inversion requires FETs that consume substantial power.  The larger the inverter capacity, the higher the power consumption by the FETs without load.  Thus when an inverter is on, even if the 120VAC refrigerator compressor is not running, the house batteries are being drawn down.

A 12VDC compressor refrigerator is superior for off-grid use in efficiency due to watt-hours consumed (versus a 120VAC refrigerator) as there is no energy loss from inverter overhead power consumption, inverter efficiency loss, and other electrical losses mentioned above.  For the on-grid use case having near continuous connection to shore power, a residential refrigerator is a good choice, especially if you are paying for the grid power (versus a gas absorption refrigerator in induction heating mode).    

The gap in the RV refrigerator market today is a lack of 12VDC refrigerators with large (residential sized) form factors.  It is exciting to see that some refrigeration manufacturers are finally responding to the demand in the RV market such as JC Refrigeration which sells 12VDC danfloss compressor conversion cooling units for the Norcold 1200 series and Everchill that has a variety of 12VDC true RV refrigerators that do not require an inverter.

Currently, 12VDC refrigerators cost more per cubic foot of capacity than residential 120VAC refrigerators due to the manufacturing volume of 12VDC refrigerators being lower.  A direct comparison of 12VDC vs 120VAC refrigerator cost in the off-grid use case is not accurate as 120VAC refrigerators require more battery capacity / more solar capacity / more inverter capacity / more solar charge controller capacity / etc that adds up quickly due to the overall higher energy consumption of a 120VAC refrigerator in the off-grid boondocking use case.

Yes Ray, when you look for alternatives to the Everchill, there is no competiton at that size and pricepoint for a DC refrigerator made for RVs.  Keep an eye on the Way Interglobal link I posted above as they are sell out within a few hours everytime they receive new stock.