Solving Ambulance Camper electrical issues plus induction cooking vs propane.

[iggi]

Thanks @Photobug , good to look at the other side.
I'm at the stage that it's about an equal split in costs in going with a propane range indoors vs electric cooking indoors.
I use my rig as a mobile office/studio in addition to camping in it, so I've got fairly heavy electrical needs without even considering the cooking.

If I was building from scratch then I'd have a much lighter weight electrical system but since it started life as an ambulance it would be shame to not use the heavy duty electrics it came with.

 

[Photobug]

Thanks @Photobug ,If I was building from scratch then I'd have a much lighter weight electrical system but since it started life as an ambulance it would be shame to not use the heavy duty electrics it came with.

It seems like a lot of the electronics that comes with the ambulance are based on a running engine and inverters to run AC powered items. This setup won't be efficient for camping or boondocking. I look at the storage above the batteries and imagine what I could do with all that space if whatever all those circuits are weren't in there.

If you were to keep the nice ambo electrics running you might need a generator to keep up with the electrical demands.

 

[luthj]

Trojan grp27 are likely commodity grade, not like their industrial stuff. I believe the marinehowto website (mainesail), has cycle comparisons that cover that size. They will still work, just don't expect the same life/value as the gc2 class.

 

[iggi]

@dreadlocks

Similar thoughts in regards to the indoor induction top. I cook outside when it's warm but on super rainy days or in the winter it's a lot nicer to cook inside and I'd rather not have the humidity, heat and fire risk of the gas range.
Saw your comment about the slower cooker, have you thought about an instapot?
Here's power draw test on one.
I'll likely get one as I can start dinner when finishing up climbing or skiing day, get it started and be ready to eat by the time I get to the campsite.

yeah I'll be getting a little induction burner for my trailer soon, once I have the genset mounted outside permanently.. one bad thing about my trailer design is the awning does not cover the kitchen, when I rebuild the slide out kitchen this winter about the only thing I can do is add an umbrella holder heh.. but in high winds or just crap weather nobody wants to be out there miserable.. so cooking inside on the fold up table on an induction sounds like a good backup.

I use a lil rice cooker crockpot for making hot meals while we are spending a day away from base camp.. wife made hawaiian pulled pork in it for easter, mmmmmmm.. Microwave is pretty sweet for long legs of road trips, I can pull over and nuke a burrito and make a coffee at a rest stop w/no services.. and get back on the road and still make decent time to the next destination.. wont take long of skipping fast food joints and starbucks before microwave pays for itself.. even if it dont see alot of field use due to its energy needs.

 

[dreadlocks]

yeah thats about what my lil mini crockpot runs, during the day the solar has no problem powering it directly.. with my inverter tho I go for the old school non-digital appliances, but its due to a special Eco setting the inverter has that lets it sip on power when idle.. every 6s or so it kicks on for a second and sees if there is a minimum draw amount and if not it goes back to sleep.. this strategy dont work well with digital appliances, since you need power to turn em on, but I can turn the analogue ones on and after 6s or so the inverter will come alive to full power.. I can turn off eco mode and it'll run digital appliances fine, but it like more than doubles its idle power consumption.

 

[iggi]

Interesting on the inverter.

Mine has a remote switch that located on my indoor panel. Never get's turned on except for when I need it.
All the constant power draws are 12volt.
Can't take any credit for the design though as that's how it came from the factory.

yeah thats about what my lil mini crockpot runs, during the day the solar has no problem powering it directly.. with my inverter tho I go for the old school non-digital appliances, but its due to a special Eco setting the inverter has that lets it sip on power when idle.. every 6s or so it kicks on for a second and sees if there is a minimum draw amount and if not it goes back to sleep.. this strategy dont work well with digital appliances, since you need power to turn em on, but I can turn the analogue ones on and after 6s or so the inverter will come alive to full power.. I can turn off eco mode and it'll run digital appliances fine, but it like more than doubles its idle power consumption.

 

[iggi]

Other than the faulty power connect switch it's run great all summer on two batteries and 200 watts of solar.
Usually takes about two hours in the morning to bring everything back to a full charge.

It seems like a lot of the electronics that comes with the ambulance are based on a running engine and inverters to run AC powered items. This setup won't be efficient for camping or boondocking. I look at the storage above the batteries and imagine what I could do with all that space if whatever all those circuits are weren't in there.

If you were to keep the nice ambo electrics running you might need a generator to keep up with the electrical demands.

 

[dreadlocks]

yeah mines on a remote switch too to save power, the problem is my users (Wife and Sons) will turn it on cuz its not working.. but wont turn it back off when they are done.

You could easily double that solar if you want, sweet spot is about 200W per 100AH of lead.. I'm running 650W on 100Ah of LFP and I've reached Nirvana.. When sun's shining, I can burn power like trust fund kids burn money, can run radios and appliances as much as we can and still end up with an energy surplus.. I can now do off the grid indefinitely, even in rather poor lighting conditions.. because even 10-20% output in overcast conditions is more than enough for my base loads.

 

[iggi]

Yep, I'm adding a portable solar panel for later in the day, when I'm parked in the shade or just need more capacity.
Being up North with the low angle of sun in the fall months the roof mounted panels don't get a lot of direct sun in the mornings/evenings.

yeah mines on a remote switch too to save power, the problem is my users (Wife and Sons) will turn it on cuz its not working.. but wont turn it back off when they are done.

You could easily double that solar if you want, sweet spot is about 200W per 100AH of lead.. I'm running 650W on 100Ah of LFP and I've reached Nirvana.. When sun's shining, I can burn power like trust fund kids burn money, can run radios and appliances as much as we can and still end up with an energy surplus.. I can now do off the grid indefinitely, even in rather poor lighting conditions.. because even 10-20% output in overcast conditions is more than enough for my base loads.

 

[Photobug]

For those cooking with electric, do you also heat your trailer or vehicle with electric?

 

[iggi]

I'm adding a webasto type diesel heater.
Full time electric heat isn't even a great idea for a house up here in Canada.
Last time I checked, small nuclear fusion plants were still prohibitively expensive.

For those cooking with electric, do you also heat your trailer or vehicle with electric?

 

[dreadlocks]

I've got a 1500W electric space heater in mine (hardwire wall mount ceramic ptc), only really gets used on shore power.. but I've got a 2200W Genset I could fire up and use it as an emergency backup if I ran out of LP or something.

Webasto style diesel heaters are the way to go, however might look into a Diesel Water heater tho, plumb it into engine coolant system then in your living quarters you plumb up a heat exchanger to the coolant system w/a blower, much like your dash vents.. this lets you pre-warm up your engine in the extreme cold with the diesel heater (ie, defrost w/out driving), and use engine heat to heat up the living area when driving or after parking.. If your into winter camping, I think it'd be worth the complexity.

 

[iggi]

I thought about going to a webasto hydro heater but just don't have the time for a proper install. It would be a nice long term plan though.
Currently the way the ambulance HVAC system is setup I can connect the air heater into the same duct system without a lot of effort or cost.

I've got a 1500W electric space heater in mine (hardwire wall mount ceramic ptc), only really gets used on shore power.. but I've got a 2200W Genset I could fire up and use it as an emergency backup if I ran out of LP or something.

Webasto style diesel heaters are the way to go, however might look into a Diesel Water heater tho, plumb it into engine coolant system then in your living quarters you plumb up a heat exchanger to the coolant system w/a blower, much like your dash vents.. this lets you pre-warm up your engine in the extreme cold with the diesel heater (ie, defrost w/out driving), and use engine heat to heat up the living area when driving or after parking.. If your into winter camping, I think it'd be worth the complexity.

 

[Bikersmurf]

Couple points:

I mounted a 100w panel a couple weeks back on the roof. In these parts (& time of year), the best I’ve seen so far is about 2.3 amps. Which is about 1/4-1/3 of rated output. For off peak use I’d recommend 2-3 times what you first think you’ll need.

For shore power I mounted a kick-space heater above the stock ambulance cabinets. It has the option to wire it for different output levels. All I use it for now is to take the chill off on especially cold mornings. 700 w or something... can be up to 1500 w on 120 v.

 

[shade]

Couple points:

I mounted a 100w panel a couple weeks back on the roof. In these parts (& time of year), the best I’ve seen so far is about 2.3 amps. Which is about 1/4-1/3 of rated output. For off peak use I’d recommend 2-3 times what you first think you’ll need.

For shore power I mounted a kick-space heater above the stock ambulance cabinets. It has the option to wire it for different output levels. All I use it for now is to take the chill off on especially cold mornings. 700 w or something... can be up to 1500 w on 120 v.

Maybe you and @iggi have already seen some of the recent threads, but side mounting panels and tilting them once parked works well for others at your latitude.