Spirit of the Road RVillage Rally Day 4

Another Master Class this morning with Mike Socol: RV Electricity - Part 3 - Generators, Inverters, Batteries, and Solar Protectors. Definitely worth getting up and arriving plenty early to get a good seat because the huge room will definitely be full.

More important information about batteries. You need to consider things such as cost and long term use. Both flooded cell and AGM batteries only be discharged to 50% to get the longest life; however, 50% is a little misleading to the novice who might think that 50% of 13.5 would be just less than 7 when it is actually around 12.

There are different types of converters.  A 3-stage converter is much better for a longer life for your batteries as it has a float charge. It is also important the your converter and any charger you use match your battery type.

Transfer switches need annual maintenance to make sure none of the screws are loose unless you have weggo connections instead of screws.

You should also check your wiring at least once per season.

If you have a portable generator, you should get a "bonding" plug to put into the genny to avoid problems with your EMS.

Edison outlets are 20 amp or household plugs. Mike also mentioned again that most oolder 15/20 amp plugs have the ground pin on the bottom but it is really better on the top.

We really enjoyed all three of Mike's Master Classes. He is very knowledgeable, funny, and able to present things in a way everyone can understand. If you ever have a chance to take one of his classes, don't miss it. He is always testing new things and often called upon by manufacturers to check out their new products.

There was another Master Class at 10:30 AM.  It was The Philosophy of Nomadic Living with Bob Wells. Bob is very well know for his webpage Cheap RV Living. Before I read the synopsis on the program, I thought it would be more of a "how to" presentation but it was on his life philosophy which was also interesting.

- In 1995, Bob was at a low point in his life. He was just divorced and had no money after providing support for his family. He moved in to a box van. It was really rough at first but he came to like it.
- He believes that all humans were born to be nomadic
   -- Relationship to the things & money (consumerism)
   -- Relationship with human beings
   -- Relationship with nature
   -- Relationship to the sacred (you can define "sacred" as what you believe in)
- Love people and use things
- Carl Jung (Psychologist) and his definition of ancient man
- Believes in a both an "intelligent grand designer" and "evolution"
- Objective standard for human life is nomadic living
- It takes a village to survive and it needs to be movable
- Bob started "Homes on Wheels Alliance" to provide "homes" for those who didn't have one....a hand up.

In the afternoon, part of our little group went to see a Corps of Engineer presentation but I decided to see the second seminar presented by the PotHeadz - Let's Get Cooking.

This part was all about actually cooking. They had three Instant Pots set up to cook. The first pot was used to demonstrate making hard boiled eggs. 5 minutes is the key. You need 1 cup of water, as many eggs as you want to cook in a steamer basket, 5 minutes to come to pressure, 5 minutes cooking time, and 5 minutes for a natural release then do a quick release for the remaining pressure. Then submerge eggs in ice water for 5 minute only. The shells just slipped off as they told us they would. They had audience members removing the shells.

- The second pot was for chili.
   -- put on saute until hot
   -- add oil
   -- saute ground beef
   -- add tomatoes and seasoning
   -- once the pressure is up, cook for 5 minutes
   -- release pressure and you are done.

This picture show a sling that Debbie made by folding a length of aluminum foil several times. It works well to lift the pot out.

The final item they cooked was monkey bread. Roll small balls of dough in cinnamon and sugar, put in the pot and cook. It was delicious.

Some added hints
 - When you up the cooking time, the pot will show "on" until it comes to pressure, then it will show the time count down.
 - Count down time is the cooking time
 - Count up timer is for the natural pressure release

Lots of audience interaction, participation, and discussion during this presentation

Next up was General Maintenance for your RV presented by the Escapees. We had to go over to the Grand Meeting room and it was packed well before the presentation.

Screens for openings like the water heater, fridge, and furnace were recommended as a precaution against muddaubers and other insects.

RVillage Spirit of the Road Rally Day 3

Friday morning we all headed off to another Master Class by Mike Socol - RV Electricity - Part 2- Campground Power & Surge Protectors.

This is a very good chart explaining something that many RVers do not know or understand. There is a huge difference between the volts provided by a 30 amp hookup and a 50 amp hookup - so many think you are just getting about double the voltage when in fact there are two legs to a 50 amp that each provide 6000 volts for a total of 12,000. Unless you have a huge RV with a lot of amp eating appliances that you use at the same time, 30 amp should work fine. Just remember not to overload the circuit or it will pop the circuit. Example: using microwave, air conditioner, and electric hot water heater at the same time. Keep in mind that electric heaters, hair dryers, and electric coffee pots use quite a bit of power so you need to learn appliance management.

This shows the two legs of a 50 amp plug.

 While it is considered a 30 amp plug, it is only 120 volt. It is NOT the same as a home 30 amp plug which is actually 240 volts used for an electric dryer or stove. It is wired differently. Many electricians do NOT understand this if they are not familiar with RVs. Hooking your RV up to a home style plug will destroy your RV appliances so beware.

 You may notice that both of the plugs shown above have the ground plug on top. Following use by hospitals, it is now considered safer to have the ground plug on the bottom. Mike also provided some info on a Smart Plug. Twist lock connectors can be more prone to overheating if you do not actually twist the ring to hold the plug firmly in place.

Dog bone adapters are fine for use but Mike recommended going for good quality ones like Camco rather than cheap plugs from China which may not be correctly wired.

More discussion about surge protectors versus EMS systems. Mike definitely recommended an EMS over a less expensive much less protective surge protector. Don't confuse Surge Guard brand with surge protectors. They make both surge protectors and EMS systems. A $300 expense to protect your RV electric systems and appliances is definitely a smart investment.

Don't trust an RV park, state park, national park electrical system. Sometimes they are old and wiring is damaged or even new parks have problems because whoever installed the electric is not really familiar with RVs.

Both over voltage and under voltage are very bad for your RV. I stayed at a Louisiana State Park where the voltage was way over what is recommended for RVs. My EMS shut down my power. Others without EMS systems said their A/C was working just fine; however, damage may not show up immediately, it may be months later. Several of us with EMS systems reported the problem to the park. Their response was that it had been reported to them many times and they contacted the power company who told them it was fine to use......maybe for a stix and brix but not an RV. Once the campground filled up for the weekend, the voltage dropped to acceptable levels.  Acceptable volts is between 110 and 128 volts on your meter. These little meters plug into an outlet and are very inexpensive.

- Mike also talked about Southwire Basic Meter Kits ($30 - $40)

   -- Digital Multi-meter

   -- 3 light tester

   -- NCVT (Non-contact Voltage Testor)

The next Master Class was RV Solar and Battery Discussion

Curtis Coleman introduced the presenters Mortons on the Move and the RV Geeks. They are both full-timers who use large Solar and batteries extensively.

Tom Morton is an electrical engineer so putting together their extensive solar coverage was easy for him. This was more of a discussion than a how-to

- Solar powers DC items w/o inverter (lights, water pump, furnace, fans, etc)
- Inverter changes solar DC over to AC (your outlets and other AC appliances)
- Keep in mind that appliances use a lot of power
- You would have to have a huge solar and battery system to ever use your microwave or air conditioner but you can watch TV and charge phones and computer systems with a fairly small system.

- If you want to set up a solar system, these are some of the things you need to consider.

- Both the Mortons and Peter and John of the RV Geeks discussed batteries
   -- Flooded lead acid cell
   -- AGM
   -- Lithium
- The battery types are listed in order of cost
   -- Lithium batteries are lighter, last longer, and provide more power but they are still very expensive
- You need to have a battery monitor

There were a lot of questions from the audience which were fielded by all 4 of the presenters.

 

These photos were from a Get-Together for Gold Members of RVillage hosted by Curtis Coleman. It was basically introducing a few staff people working for RVillage and people who helped get the whole RVillage site up and running. 

Afterwards, we went to visit the Vendor Booths. Chris Guld from Geeks on Tour is discussing things with one of the participants.

These are pictures of the Firebirds which were fired up every night, rain or shine.

Another vendor booth.

The last seminar we attended was All About Your Glass: Foggy Side Windows & RV Windshield Replacement. This was a little misleading and disappointing because almost the whole presentation was about replacing huge windshields on Class As.

All in all, it was another great day of learning.