Random Musings And Bleeding Edge Technology

[Wanderman]

Hey All,
I've been RV'ing and tinkering/modding/updating my RV for 3 years now and have accumulated an awful lot of info. Not to mention skinned knuckles, dumb mistakes and revelations.

I've finally begun to chronicle this stuff and have created a blog to share the info. Here's the address:

WanderMan

Feel free to comment and/or ask for more info. In the coming weeks I'll be posting about a Stinkbug Invasion, 3mm thick Solar panels to glue to the roof, the bummer of winter, and a whole bunch of other stuff.

I'll still be here every day, reading, lurking and posting.

Hope it's helpful and interesting to you,

Rich "The Wanderman"

[dkwalsh]

Thanks Rich. Can you share more details on your solar paneling?

Pat

[Wanderman]

Sure DK,

I'll be posting a whole series on the solar charging system, but the panels are 3mm thick, aluminum and polycarbonate. I had them custom manufactured at a factory in China.

3 panels; 170W, 140W, 140W at ~36v.

Rich

[dkwalsh]

Thanks Rich. I'll be following your blog.


Pat

[Wanderman]

DK,
Cool! I'll be posting that in a few parts. Panels first, then MPPT charging/batteries/wiring/fusing then the inverter assembly and lastly the day to day usage. There's another article about painless power conservation using warm white SMD LEDs.

Electrically speaking I am essentially 100% self sufficient. I can go 3 cloudy days, perhaps more. Though, that hasn't happened yet.

Keep me posted on your progress as your project evolves.

Thanks,

Rich

[tomwalt]

Interesting - I'll be following as well. You might want to add a quick note to this post when you updaye your blog so we know to go take a look.
Was that the Culpeper airshow in Northern Virginia you referenced? I saw an RV like yours there.

[Wanderman]

Tom,
YES! That was me. With essentially no Aero Cruisers on the East coast, it's likely that its me when you see one

Were you flying?

Rich

[Mageksl]

Quote:

Originally Posted by tomwalt Interesting - I'll be following as well. You might want to add a quick note to this post when you updaye your blog so we know to go take a look.

I've subscribed to Wanderman's blog in Google Reader. Google Reader will send updates to any subscribed blog or website. Sort of a Readers Digest for the digital age. It doesn't work real well with forums unless you are only interested in one forum or thread.

[Wanderman]

Mag,
I knew there was a way to do that!

Excellent idea. I have a few blogs I follow that are infrequently posted to. It would be nice to be notified instead of checking all the time.

Thanks,

Rich

[tomwalt]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wanderman Tom, YES! That was me. With essentially no Aero Cruisers on the East coast, it's likely that its me when you see one Were you flying? Rich

I thought so - I like the classic RVs and almost got a GMC a couple years ago, but the Allegro was just to tempting and it didn’t need restoration.
I drove into the air show and was quite impressed. I am currently an inactive Pilot - Sold the plane and now the RV is my – well – ‘Recreation Vehicle’ :>)
Keep us posted when you update your Blog.

[Wanderman]

Hey All,
Just posted the first of a multi-part article about the entire solar charging system.

Thanks!

Rich

[Ramblin]

Great blog, Rich. I'd be very interested to know details about the panels; cost, who manufactured them for you, etc.

[Wanderman]

Ramblin,

Thanks! I'll be posting many more details in the coming weeks. The whole project was simply too large to get all the details in the first post. In the next article section will be all the info about the panels themselves and some about the controller and associated hardware.
Thanks,

Rich

[ottffss]

wanderman - I am sure you have it on your tinker list - Lithium-ion batteries would be the bleeding of the bleeding for the RV battery pack... Perfect addition for you...

The current lithium-ion in an RV guru is Technomadia at:
Lithium Ion Battery for RV Use / LiFePO4 | Technomadia