I now have a gaping hole in my 18-year-old, 31' Airstream Land Yacht where a 280-pound, 5500-watt Onan used to be.
To shorten a longer story, mice got into the genset, chewed the windings to eat the insulation, and repairing/replacing the genset with another Onan isn't an option, primarily because Onans don't protect themselves from rodents -- a silly situation for a rig that's supposed to boondock -- and it's crazy expensive. My situation is not unique: my local Onan rep takes in a couple dozen mouse-ruined gensets a year, and because the issue is a "pest" and not a "defect," they aren't covered by warranty.
So I'm thinking of abandoning a strictly mechanical setup and looking at a hybrid solution -- solar, alternator, lithium, shore power, portable generator, dilithium crystals -- because 5500 continuous watts is a lot to replace. And I'm having trouble finding anyone else who has done this. It's hard to believe that people just keep throwing $6K at Onans, and if they want to keep it running, deal with the required monthly maintenance even in the dead of winter. The Onan WAS convenient -- just push a button, turn on the AC, and ignore the angry banging on your door of your forest neighbors because of all the noise.
So here's the deal: Ideally, I think I need access to ~50KWH per day to "work" in my rig in a hot, boondock environment. That's primarily for one or two ACs (25K BTU combined) for much of the day, a microwave, computer/monitor, communications electronics -- I can use propane for just about everything else. I can get by with 25 KWH on a mild day, and as little as 6KWH on a cool day.
Assets:
* A 145-amp alternator apparently designed to charge two 100-amp AGMs
* Up to 30 amps of shore power when connected (enough to run one AC and still charge batteries)
* A small portable generator of some sort for temp use
* LFP battery banks
* solar ( I can probably host 4-6 panels on my roof which can support about 25lbs/sqft)
I currently have room for two big AGMs (already in place) for the coach, another AGM for the chassis, and ~30x20x20 bay that is already wired to the crossover switches and can hold 300 pounds.
Bear in mind that we're in a transition period: batteries and inverters are pretty much impervious to rodents, they're quiet, they don't need to have their carburetors cleaned once a month -- all of these are problems with gas gensets and an alternative is very attractive to RVers. We already have the BIG rigs like the Newmars carrying 16 huge lead batteries (because they can) with no generator, and they power a residential fridge, an induction cooktop, and two or three A/Cs. But what about the rest of us with only 2000 pounds of carrying capacity? We need a solution. These ubiquitous Onan generators are going to go the way of VHS and CDs -- useful only for specialty purposes -- as soon as we have a solution. New rigs are already being designed without them. We need some rules and solutions for the rest of us.
I am ravenously open to your ideas.
Bit
To shorten a longer story, mice got into the genset, chewed the windings to eat the insulation, and repairing/replacing the genset with another Onan isn't an option, primarily because Onans don't protect themselves from rodents -- a silly situation for a rig that's supposed to boondock -- and it's crazy expensive. My situation is not unique: my local Onan rep takes in a couple dozen mouse-ruined gensets a year, and because the issue is a "pest" and not a "defect," they aren't covered by warranty.
So I'm thinking of abandoning a strictly mechanical setup and looking at a hybrid solution -- solar, alternator, lithium, shore power, portable generator, dilithium crystals -- because 5500 continuous watts is a lot to replace. And I'm having trouble finding anyone else who has done this. It's hard to believe that people just keep throwing $6K at Onans, and if they want to keep it running, deal with the required monthly maintenance even in the dead of winter. The Onan WAS convenient -- just push a button, turn on the AC, and ignore the angry banging on your door of your forest neighbors because of all the noise.
So here's the deal: Ideally, I think I need access to ~50KWH per day to "work" in my rig in a hot, boondock environment. That's primarily for one or two ACs (25K BTU combined) for much of the day, a microwave, computer/monitor, communications electronics -- I can use propane for just about everything else. I can get by with 25 KWH on a mild day, and as little as 6KWH on a cool day.
Assets:
* A 145-amp alternator apparently designed to charge two 100-amp AGMs
* Up to 30 amps of shore power when connected (enough to run one AC and still charge batteries)
* A small portable generator of some sort for temp use
* LFP battery banks
* solar ( I can probably host 4-6 panels on my roof which can support about 25lbs/sqft)
I currently have room for two big AGMs (already in place) for the coach, another AGM for the chassis, and ~30x20x20 bay that is already wired to the crossover switches and can hold 300 pounds.
Bear in mind that we're in a transition period: batteries and inverters are pretty much impervious to rodents, they're quiet, they don't need to have their carburetors cleaned once a month -- all of these are problems with gas gensets and an alternative is very attractive to RVers. We already have the BIG rigs like the Newmars carrying 16 huge lead batteries (because they can) with no generator, and they power a residential fridge, an induction cooktop, and two or three A/Cs. But what about the rest of us with only 2000 pounds of carrying capacity? We need a solution. These ubiquitous Onan generators are going to go the way of VHS and CDs -- useful only for specialty purposes -- as soon as we have a solution. New rigs are already being designed without them. We need some rules and solutions for the rest of us.
I am ravenously open to your ideas.
Bit
