Trailer - Disable PIP for long term storage


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It's been a while but I thought I'd give a shout out on the trailer :)

Battery:
The DIY 14s100p batteries (27kwh) in the trailer with Batrium as the BMS have been performing very well. It's been several years, 25K miles, and some really rough roads and no problems to report with them physically. We use the mini-split to keep the trailer temps 'mild' all year round so no temp stress on the cells.

By going up to the 27kwh battery bank we can go 3-4 days boondocking, all-electric (including 24/7 Starlink), with no conservation if we use propane or kerosene heat.

MPP Solar 3048LV:
The MPP Solar 3048LV continues to work well, but doesn't seem to MPPT very well. The max I get out of the horizontal, 1340w panels on the roof is 600w in optimal spring sun at mid-day. The MPP Solar has a minimum 60v PV spec but boosting the string voltage to 75v VoC didn't make any difference and it pulls right down to 60v anyway. Thinking of trying a different charge controller.

Heat:
With the larger battery, the mini-split can do a full 1 nighter even in the harshest conditions 2 days with power management. But for longer trips we carry 2 x 30lb propane bottles + heat buddy which works well but creates significant condensation. On a recent trip to Hart Mountain (near Plush, Oregon) we tried a kerosene heater for the 1st time. It's nice, dry heat. Used about 1gal per day - same as propane - in 35F lows.
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Thinking about building a kersone heater into the trailer as the current 'portable' one (in pic) is not protected from rain/snow and the metal trailer skin blocks the 'clicker' signal to remotely adjust the strength of the heat. I have to go outside to click.:(
 
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Just finished a 9day trip to Palm Springs, CA (800 miles from Southern Oregon). The onboard, DIY, 27kwh 18650 battery bank only runs us 4-5 days w/propane heat (instead of mini-split) so we broke out the generator -> Chargeverter. Currently using a 4000w MaxPeedingRods duel fuel w/electric start (and has a lithium battery to run the starter motor - so it stays charged over long periods) - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CQ21P1BT
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Some lessons....
1) Generator overload. I had tuned the Chargerverter to ~38a -> battery bank before leaving but when I plugged in the generator, the 38a * 52v = 2700w hit the generator all at once and killed it from running. The Chargerverter was not good at slowly ramping up. It seems to be erractic - ramps up slowly sometimes but not others. Also, the generator didn't handle the surge very well.
Had to adjust the Chargerverter down to 30a to get things going and then manually adjust the Chargerver up - not as 'nice' as I was hoping.

2) Tried filling the generator with gasoline while running - but overflowed a bit which *killed the generator*. Apparently I flooded it? Crazy. Took 15/20mins letting things air / trying to restart to get it running again.

3) Just the reality.... At 2000w charging, ran the generator ~9hrs (3hrs 1st day, 6hrs 2nd day) to get ~18kwh into the battery using ~3.5gal of gas. It's perfectly doable and the noise (58dB) wasn't a problem with no neighbors and trailer shields the noise, but it' a reminder that pumping 18kwh into a battery bank is not a 30minute task at only 2000-2500w.

4) Good news - Starting with a full charge + 18kwh (~3.5g of gas) + a bit of solar + propane heat (~6g of propane) - was able to do the trip without electrical conservation. Full on electric living (k-kup, starlink 24/7, refrigerator, hot water/showers, tv/computer, hot plate, microwave, lights, etc) and toasty warm with all the comforts of home :)
 
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