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Brad Loehr

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Posts posted by Brad Loehr

  1. As always, thanks for the info Tom.

    I get it for sure, the Magnum I have is really old but all in all the coach was not used very much at all and is in amazing shape.  I will see what Magnum comes back with a reply for costs associated with a new board or inverter replacement.  

    As for the LFP battery monitoring system; the 50 Amp DC to DC with solar MPTT will control my solar charging for both house and chassis batteries and it will also eliminate the battery boost solenoid and the cabling that will over run the alternator so I can let the DC to DC charger do the work.  The Renogy DC to DC converter and smart battery shunt connects to the Core One Display and will be able to monitor everything onboard on the display and over the phone.  The batteries have quality BMS installed in each one.

    The only thing I want the inverter/charger to do is give me inverted power when I need it and to properly charge my LFP batteries.  

    My AGS does work in test mode but as for the other controls (voltage, temp, etc) it does not work automatically.  The coach is fairly new to me and I havent got into troubleshooting it yet but to me it is a nice thing to have in the future.  Whether I stick with Magnum or go with Victron or another inverter is to be decided.  

    In all of the readers opinion:

    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 had to buy a new Victron what is the best for that system?

    Is there any others that I should look at?

    Do I just cheap out and say screw it and buy another four 6 volt Trojan T-105s?

    2 hours ago, Rocketman3 said:

    I can’t help with Magnum- I went with a Victron Multiplus for the inverter/charger. Yep it is expensive- but there are many benefits for RV’s. (If you want to know them - ask).

    If you could I would like to know why you went with Victron and what that system looks like. Thanks for your input

  2. For an AC refrigerant top off:

    With your engine running and AC unit on Max and fan speed high your compressor clutch should be turning and you should be able to add refrigerant on the low side.

    For AC system issues:

    I agree 100% David L.  Put in some dye and get a UV flashlight off amazon.  You need to find where your leak is from.  

    If the leak is really bad and you have 0 refrigerant in the system pull a vaccum and complete the repairs properly.

    If you want to test the system and find the leak add more refrigerant to get the low pressure switch to kick in so the compressor starts pumping the dye and added refigerant.

    Worse case you may have to jump low pressure switch to get the compressor to pump and get refrigerant/dye in.

  3. I have started doing the research into upgrading my house batteries to four 100 Ah LifePO4 batteries to replace the flooded 6 V batteries I have currently.

    I have decided to go with four Renogy 100 Ah batteries, a 300 Amp smart battery shunt, a 50 amp DC to DC charger with MPTT (to elimate alternator fatigue), and the Renogy One Core monitor. 

    The problem I ran into is my Magnum ME-2012 inverter charger is too old (2005).  It has the custom battery charge settings in the ME-RC50 but when speaking with tech support from Magnum he says my software is too old at version 3.6 and for the inverter to understand the settings the version needs to be 5.9 or higher.  

    Info from Magnum:

    "Thanks for reaching out to Magnum Technical Support today. You were looking for the settings to charge Lithium batteries. I have attached to this email a Magnum ME-RC50 remote setting sheet with the settings you should program into your remote for your Lithium batteries. Before you program them in I would like you to verify the firmware of the ME2012. The ME-RC50 is lithium compatible. Press the TECH button under the display and 01 Temperatures will be displayed on the display. now turn the spin button 1-click to the right to 02 Versions and press the spin button to select. Inverter version will be displayed. This version needs to be version 5.9 or higher. If version is 5.4 or lower the inverter will not understand the settings I just sent you. The batteries will charge weird. If you have installed your Lithium check and make sure that you did not attach the ME-BTS (Battery Temp Sensor) this is no longer needed it is plugged into the Yellow port on the inverter. The Lithium batteries have their own BMS which takes care of this and when ME-BTS is installed will cause weird charging of the batteries. "

    Magnum has told me I need to replace the inverter or the control board to update to LFP.  I have a few questions for anyone that has done the Lithium conversion with the Magnum inverters and ran into this same issues:

    Do I need to purchase a new control board or can the old one be reprogrammed?  

    Do I need to replace my ME-RC50 control monitor to a newer version? 

    Do I need to replace my AGS control to a newer version?

    What have other people used in place of the Magnum inverter/chargers for charging the LFP batteries?

    I have seen that some people have used the CC-CV charge mode settings for LFP batteries.  Anyone else use them?

    CC-CV (CC is Bulk & CV is Absorb) Charge Settings for 4 100 Ah LFP batteries Max charge current 100A, CV volts 14.4 V, CV charge done time 2 hours, CV charge done Amps 0 A, Max CC-CV charge time 6 hours, Set re-charge volts 13.2 V, Cut out volts 12 V

     

    In case you have version 5.9 or higher I have included the document from Magnum on what to set your charge parameters to for LFP batteries.

    ME-RC50 LFP Battery Settings.docx

  4. 10 hours ago, Tom Cherry said:

    Many members have successfully kept and rewired, properly, the 5 button system.  Many members have made disparaging remarks in that we moderators don’t like the RecPro’s and they are up to day and very intelligent.  That is NOT THE CASE.  The RecPros work great as stand alone units,  if RecPro would incorporate a dry (no voltage) set of contacts that would also operate a furnace so that you had dual mode ….CHILL, OFF, HEAT….that would be a perfect solution.

    I would think Recpro does not incorporate a control for an auxillary furnace into their system for a reason and never will.  The IR remote control to control the onboard thermostat and controls is a better system because everything is contained.  No need to run thermostat wiring through walls or ceilings and have to work with a wall thermostat that would fail.  Also can integrate into smart features to control the IR with your phone for only $40ish.

    They are engineered in Australia so if the need for heat in your RV or caravan is a must then the heat pump will work fine to temperatures of around 0 degrees Celsius.  I imagine in Australia propane heated furnaces are overkill.

  5. On 3/1/2023 at 1:25 PM, klcdenver said:

    I have finished the installation of the Houghton. In the black box attached is only 12 volt wiring and temp sensor and the RJ 11 communication lines. I bought the box off Amazon. I had to modify the return air and forced conditioned air separator, picture attached. I had to make the attach bolts out of some all thread rod (#8x1.25). I made them  9” long and just welded a nut on one end to have a hex head. 
     

    Now for the good part. My old penguin 13,500 BTU with a wacko silencer was 58 decibels. It would heat to 106 degrees and cool to 39 degrees in the duck work. The Houghton is 53 decibels. It heats to 112 degrees and cools to 33 degrees in the duct work. I took the temps in the same place for both. It is much quieter on the outside versus the penguin's also.

    Thanks for all the info.  I will be going with the Recpro replacements for both my old AC units and keep the 5 button CCC for the 2 furnaces.

  6. On 4/17/2024 at 7:29 PM, klcdenver said:

    I replaced my front unit with the Recpro Houghton. I have ran it for 1 summer and 1 winter. It is much quieter than a penguin and the heat pump works down into the 28 degree range. Very easy to install also.

    Was the Recpros an easy conversion from the Penguins?  Any fitment issues during installation? 

    How did the thermostat wire up?  Did you upgrade the thermostat or keep the old thermostat and the control modules from the Duo Therm AC units?

     

  7. 2 hours ago, Tom Cherry said:

    There is not any other system that will work with the existing Duo Therm MPX control system.  

    A few folks have installed Houghtons.  But you have to keep the old thermostat and the control units from the Duo Therm to make the Furnace functional…but the Houghton AC units will not work with the Duo Therm thermostat.

    Thanks for the info Tom,  I have been reading and researching like crazy.  So from what you are saying is that I am stuck with Dometic because of control system having a different data link control system than other brands.  I am not really interested in snaking and running the 7 wire thermostat cables to each unit.  I also want to keep both furnaces under one control with the AC units.

    So that being said, has anyone had any experience with the different Dometic models?  Which ones have been more reliable?  From reading some of the forums, the Brisk has refrigerant loss issues.  What about the Blizzard NXT or new Penguins?

     

  8. Lots of great information on this topic.  Thanks for everyone that contributed.

    I have a 2005 HR Endeavor 40DST with a Duotherm 13.5k in the rear (original) and a Penguin 1 13.5k in the front (replaced by original owner 8 years ago.

    I have a few questions.  Instead of going with Dometic is there better brands that are more reliable? 

    Has anyone tried Coleman, Advent Air, or others?  Are the Penguin 2 ACs the best and most reliable from Dometic?  

  9. I went and checked out the bags today and this is what I found on my 2005 Holiday Rambler Endeavor 40DST on the RR8R chassis.

    Front air bags were double convoluted Firestone 20F-2 on the bellows which is W01-358-6393 in the catalogue.

    The rear air bags were reversable sleeve Firestone 1T115L on the bellows.  Unfortunately this bellow stamp can come in a lot of variants on page 18:

    I am thinking by the catalogue that I have either W01-358-8897 or W01-358-9376

    I dont feel like screwing around with pulling the upper part of the bag off with that one hard access nut on inside.  I  guess worse case I can reduce the port to 1/4 NPT.  

               

    I reached out to Rev who now sells all Monaco parts and this what they said: (what a joke on price)

    '05 Endeavor 40 DST

    Double Lobe Air Bag w/ Longer Bumper, Front, part number 10119167, $621.30 each, in stock

    Large Rolling Lobe Air Bag w/ Longer Bumper, Rear, part number 10109709, $831.44 each, in stock

    You can order parts online at revrvparts.com or call 1-800-509-3417 and speak to any representative to place your order.

     

    Firestone Air Spring Catalogue.pdf

  10. Thanks for everyone's help.  I went to the motorhome and crawled up in to take a picture of the alternator.  d*** its tight with the intake right there...

    The build sheet only said it was a 160 amp with no details.

    The tag said Leece Neville Model 8RG2112    B    Volts 12   200501  Sales No :  105-360

    If anyone has the spefic part number and data for the Delco 28si that would be much appreciated.  Is there any other changes that need to be done to fit it in where the Leece Neville was?  Cable or connector changes?  Pulley?  

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