PROJEECT POWER
Ok...well, I seem to be a bit out of order.
I've skipped round 1 and 2 and jumped to round to round 3 and 4. So, this is what's going down.
The first part of "PROJECT POWER" is power storage. I did a bit of checking around and had a lot to learn when it came to batteries. Honestly, for me, it broke down to "deep cycle" and "starter" batteries. I had just upgraded my trucks standard onboard batteries to a newer Ford model with greater cranking amps and learned that THOSE types of batteries can off-gas.
I had been driving around and discovered a FISHY smell coming from somewhere. Living in a rural farm community, I honestly thought (for about a day) that every farm and orchard had just put out fresh manure. Eventually, I found the odor under my hood and discovered my left battery was steaming. The precise cause is not "officially" known but due to electrical problems I soon discovered after, my STRONG belief is that Off Road Warehouse wired everything to that battery and overloaded it. It's a fact that they wired my lights and other components incorrectly (using the wrong gauge wire, fuses, wiring looms etc).
I am NOT a wiring guy and put my faith in the reputation of others. Some of you know I work in Law Enforcement and drive a heavily wired vehicle that demands the use of its upgraded electrical components dozens and dozens of times a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. It even has a full-time computer running in it along with a big radio. I found out that the guy that wired my patrol car was actually an American Adventurist "Mitch Moerch".
Long story short, I went to Goose Gear to get the wiring fixed as the last I had heard was he was working up there, despite living in the bottom of San Diego (the drive is nuts). I went to GG and found out that he wasn't there anymore. I got in touch with him and found out he was still able to do the work and might be starting up on his own as a mobile wiring specialist. Worked for me.
ADVENTUREWIRED to the rescue.
Honestly, the first major hurdle for this project was understanding how I was going to produce, route, and harness energy. I know that my truck is only capable of producing so much. On a typical outing (adventure), we employ at least the SnoMaster Expedition Series 95D (size of an 85+ but is double door and function). If night comes, then we employ the Baja Designs off road lights. LED and all they still need a fair amount of juice. We recently got the wiring fixed for those and got to use the side view S8 series lights I installed to see cute little deer in Vail Colorado.
fridge link:
https://www.snomasterusa.com/product/expedition-series-bdc-95-stainless-steel-acdc-fridgefreezer/
To solve the limited power problem, I decided onboard deep-cycle batteries were needed. After talking with AdventureWired, the decision was made to go with the Odyssey 31M-PC2150 battery. These are about $400 a piece and I opted to go with two. My father (white truck aka Polar Bear) wanted to do at least four batteries to start with, as he is self-named "Captain Overkill". He really is captain overkill and this is great when he engineers furniture or home fixtures and things you want to last, but sometimes he passes the intersection of "utility" and drops off into unnecessary or even detrimental. In this case, an excess of batteries this size would have a shorter lifespan because they would not ever maintain a full charge (it would take 14 hours of driving just to charge them). So...two it was.
The plan is to mount them in the bed of my truck on the front right passenger side. With another secret project I have going on, this will make for the perfect place to keep these.
The decision was made that the alternator would be the primary power sourse for the batteries and they would charge as we go. To link the batteries (and for other power sources) we chose the CTEK D250S.
Now, whats really cool is how we plan on monitoring the Odyssey batteries power! CTEK also makes a monitoring system that wirelessly allows you to see the power level and even charging history of the battery and even a bank of batteries.
I came to the painfully back and forth realization that Chelsea would not approve of the overall project unless she could use any her desired necessities along with our work gear. This meant laptops, camera batteries, drones, flash/camp lights, Kuerig coffee maker, blender (for my mom actually) etc. This meant we would need an inverter. We decided on the Xantrex 2000 model.
Finally, the alternate power source was planned out. I knew I wanted solar panels after I went to a few campsites that did not allow generators. I had also been a few places where a generator created an unwanted noise and smell. My plan was to mount the panel to the blank space on top of my Powerstroke's cab. After looking at what needed to be done with the 50" light bar and hearing about excess wind noise that might be a byproduct of its placement there, I decided not to go that route. For now, we are going to be using a suitcase solar set up to provide additional power. The plan is to deploy the Renogy Eclipse 200 watt solar suitcase.
It's a lot of work but should be really useful once it's all installed. I am actually looking forward to not having to unplug the fridge every other week when I'm not using it just to make sure my truck doesn't die.
Onwards and upwards as they say.
