Yesterday, I had a mobile rv technician come out to storage to get some work done. My mechanical abilities are limited, and despite having a friend show me how to service the bearings on the Scamp, I didn't trust myself to do it for the first time on the dual axle Lance. He looked everything over, and everything looked good-to-go by the time he finished. Unlike some rv repair places, he was glad to take questions as he worked and showed me what he was doing and why he was doing it. I've been having problems getting the fridge cooled down, and he figured out right away that there was some previous-owner DIY insulation blocking the hot air from going up and out the vent. He also took a look at the roof and pronounced everything good.
Before he arrived, I had been working on the propane system, which the previous owner claimed to have never used. I soon found out the reason why it wasn't being used: there were several propane leaks under the stovetop that were setting off the alarm. That would definitely provide a disincentive to also use the propane for the fridge or water heater. Anyway, I disassembled the various bubbling connections in the line and tightened everything back up again.
The other problem I was having with the fridge is that the flame was going out overnight. Well, it turns out that the two conventional lead acid batteries were at the end of their lives and not holding their charge. Unlike the Scamp fridge, which required no battery to operate on propane, the Lance fridge has a control panel and a battery-operated propane ignition. I've got two 100 AH Lithium batteries arriving tomorrow. That will be the next project. I have one 190 watt solar panel on the roof and will probably get a portable panel before we leave for our summer adventures.
6 comments:
Probably stating the obvious here, but make sure your various battery chargers, shore-power, solar, dc-dc, are all switched to the Li mode as wet-cell mode is not good for Li batteries.
Yeah, unfortunately, the current converter on the Lance is rather primitive. There is a Li setting, and there's a jumper that can be added to get closer to what is ideal For Li. I'll make those changes. The solar controller will get changed to Li. On the Lanceowner's forum, several people just turn off the converter with the breaker and bring the batteries up to full charge using the solar controller. For now, I'm going to try to keep it simple without adding too much for the first summer.
If you have a battery monitor, even a primitive bar-type, you could keep the converter off until the batteries are down to 50% or so during cloudy stretches then turn it on and shut it back down again at about 80%
Good ideas.
Oh, boy! Summer adventures!
J&J,
Jessica stated here last week when she and family went "camping" in Taos. She was particularly impressed w the Space Cabins saying they are nicely appointed. $100/night. You have The Lance, but just fyi for anyone else.
https://resnexus.com/resnexus/reservations/book/AEF6FEA6-C275-4716-B00B-F71F5A160036?
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