AmboLander

[Bikersmurf]

Likely size is a factor. Mine is about 88"x148", 138" Wheelbase, 5'6" inside, 7.3, 35 gal tank.

A good part of the reason I have no plans to convert to 4x4 is all the extra weight... That and we go years between snowfall. I feel confident it'll do everything I want with rwd and limited slip. Also the 4x4 trails are getting further and further away.

 

[FDM2012]

Today, I took a long and HOT drive from here in Tampa down to Key Largo (325 miles each way) for some solar Rolls Surrete S-530 6 volt 428AH batteries. They are 10 years old, but have an expected lifetime of 15-20 years, when properly maintained. This was an older fella that seemed fairly meticulous about his stuff, and since I got them at about 1/10 the price of new one's, I figured why not. And, he threw 2 in for free, that made it even better. Then he just started to make a pile of stuff to throw in. I guess he liked me or something (a 74 year old codger of a guy....) So, for 3 hundy, I rolled out with 6 batteries (4 will go in my rig with a couple of 150 watt panels), a load of cables, a disconnect, and a 40amp PWM charge controller. I prefer MPPT, but it will get me up and running. He had some panels, but not what I wanted.

Since I was doing the drive, I did some looking around, and low and behold, in Davie, I found this Dometic (WAECO) 12v fridge/freezer at a Russian owned pawn shop. It looks brand spanking new, with insulated cover, book, and warranty card. I shined my light inside the compressor area, and not a spec of dust. I don't think they knew what they had, and sold it to me for $160. With the cover, and new, it would normally be around $450. Once home, I plugged it in to my DIY solar generator, and it is purring very quietly and cycling as it should. SCORE!!






Now for the bad, 2 hours into my trip, the clutch on my A/C compressor went out on one of my little Aerostar's that I use for my local delivery business. I rolled the dice and kept going. Besides dealing with the heat of a typically stifling hot day in South Florida, I SWORE that clutch was gonna lock up and smoke the belt, or worse. With the A/C obviously turned off, on the highway it seemed ok, but in stop n' go traffic, it had the mixed sound of a shrieking cat and metal on metal brakes. It was awesome. Anyhoos, I made it back fine (with white knuckles and soaking wet), and will get it fixed up in short order.

I am getting closer to a shake down get away in October. Hopefully..... I really want to go to the Overland Expo in Asheville, NC, but doubt I will make it.

 

[Bikersmurf]

Why is that those clutches always fail at the most inconvenient time... I lost mine 3/4 of the way across the country with my Durango while towing 8500 lbs of trailer. Put on a shorter belt and drove the next 2 days home sans A/C... no way I could drive 800 km on the A/C... it was already completely gone before I knew what'd happened.

 

[FDM2012]

Shrubs? What shrubs?

[video]https://youtu.be/r0bJWMTer_I[/video]

 

[patoz]

You got a deal on those batteries!

Did he say what they were installed in previously? Knowing the history can sometimes give you an indication of how they were maintained, i.e. commercial vs. privately owned. Large motorhome vs. junkyard forklift, etc.

 

[FDM2012]

Yeah, they were on his grid there in The Keys. He is 74 and was having a hard time getting down on
his knees to do the water/equalizing and whatnot. He bought them knew, but just upgraded to AGM's.
I feel fairly confident that he took pretty good care of them.
The outer 4 got sun soaked a bit, but I am trickle charging them with some old Harbor Freight (45 watts)
panels for the time being, and they seem fine when I load test them.

They are friggin heavy, so I will need to reinforce what ever box I put them in (123lbs ea), but I REALLY want to put 4 of them
in service in my rig. And, I will pretty much have a vent fan running all the time. With around 1000 AMH, I'm not too
worried about a constant 0.5 amp draw. I really wanted AGM's, but man, I couldn't pass this up. And that little
fridge/freezer was down that way also.
Planning on using the 2 x 150 watt panels that I already have here at home,
and then also a folding set of 2 x 60 watts, that will supplement and allow me to put them out in the sun when I have
the rig in or near some shade. They will be stored in the cubby right behind the passenger seat. I have measured,
and it will be a nice fit.
I am very anxious to get started on the electrical soon, but just a few more other projects to
wrap up first, and for SW Florida to cool down a bit. Another month, and I will be on it, like a prom date.

 

[tgreening]

Man you Florida sissies always complaining about the weather. Today in my neck of the woods it got up to ninety ONE degrees, and rained for about 30 minutes. Now there's some nasty weather. Yep yep.

 

[patoz]

If you have, or have access to, a good quality 4 stage charger it would be worth using it to get them back up to full charge and stabilized (de-sulfinated). I may be wrong, but I don't believe using those small solar panels will even come close to doing what a 4 stage charger can do.

Something like this will do a good job, and is what I'm using right now (75A version) to keep my 2 Trojan T-106 6V batteries fully charged while I work on the rig.



http://www.iotaengineering.com/pplib/IOTA_DLS_Product_Guide.pdf

https://www.amazon.com/IOTA-Enginee...22580381&sr=8-4&keywords=iota+battery+charger


Once I get the majority of my electrical installed, the IOTA will be replaced with a Magnum Energy 2000W 12VDC Pure Sine Inverter and 100A Charger, which I have already purchased. At that point I'll be running a 4 battery bank.

http://www.magnum-dimensions.com/product-inverter/2000w-12vdc-pure-sine-inverter-charger-0

https://www.amazon.com/Magnum-MS201...7_2?ie=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=H0RJQW49Q1VGYNK6CCPF


I'm in Pensacola so I know what you mean about the heat. I can't work outside in 90°+ temps and 80% - 100% humidity, so all work on mine has stopped until it cools off, which will be about the latter part of October. Then I'll have to kick it into afterburner to get anything done before it starts heating back up again.

 

[patoz]

Man you Florida sissies always complaining about the weather. Today in my neck of the woods it got up to ninety ONE degrees, and rained for about 30 minutes. Now there's some nasty weather. Yep yep.

Come on back down here again Tom, and visit for another week. We have Invest 9 sitting over Cuba which was just upgraded to Tropical Depression 9, and will be crossing over the tip of Florida and into the warm Gulf of Mexico tomorrow. Time to start getting the Hurricane party stuff together! Now, where did I put my funny little hat?

 

[tgreening]

Are you one of those hurricane old codgers that grumbles to the news people " I don't care if it's a category 15 Mega-Tornadocane. I've lived here all mah life n I ain't letting bit o bad weather chase me outta mah split-level refrigerator box. No sirree Bob". Never to be seen again.

 

[FDM2012]

********!!! I grew up in Dallas and I don't mind the heat at all. What bothers me is when it is too humid to break a sweat.
THAT, is more oppressive than Hillary Clinton, and I prefer not to deal with too much of that. Her either.....

Anyways, we are on the downhill slope of summer, so I am happy about that. AND, In February, I will be wearing short
and flip flops. :ylsmoke:

@Patoz, I don't rmember what model it is, but my rig has a AC to DC Converter/Charger in it, I just need to do the install
sooner than later, even without the panels/controller/whatnot in, I can use shore power to keep them topped off.
But, I might still see if I can find one on the cheap for in the meantime.

 

[patoz]

Are you one of those hurricane old codgers that grumbles to the news people " I don't care if it's a category 15 Mega-Tornadocane. I've lived here all mah life n I ain't letting bit o bad weather chase me outta mah split-level refrigerator box. No sirree Bob". Never to be seen again.

You betcha!

 

[patoz]

@Patoz, I don't remember what model it is, but my rig has a AC to DC Converter/Charger in it, I just need to do the install
sooner than later, even without the panels/controller/whatnot in, I can use shore power to keep them topped off.
But, I might still see if I can find one on the cheap for in the meantime.

It's probably a Vanner LifeStar series, but I don't believe those are full 4 stage chargers. They are designed to charge starting type batteries, and not true deep cycle batteries like the ones you just bought. This is why it's best to keep starting batteries and house batteries separate, and ideally charge them separately for maximum performance and lifespan. However, this charger will still be better than just the small solar panels by themselves.

This is the latest model: http://www.vanner.com/brochures/Ambulance_Power_Module_Flyer.pdf

 

[FDM2012]

I just went out and checked, its a IOTA DLS-30.

There is also an old one on my 77' Trojan 25' Express that I will be srapping out. No tag, but I will pull it in the next day or 2.
It's a 4 battery set up, so it will be interesting to see what amperage it is.
I am going to use MANY parts off of that old boat. It can be seen ion the background in some of my pics.

 

[patoz]

Cool! Sounds like you're on your way!