Recent content by Mark_K5LXP

Currently, about 90% of end-of-life or defective solar panels also end up in landfills, largely because it costs far less to dump them than to recycle them. I guess that's someone else's problem. I too have challenged the door to door solar panel huckster's numbers and the one that always gets...

OK, you've added a couple of variables like the blackstone and generator. Though generally cooking, fire pit and even water heating are minimal users as while the Btu's are high the durations are quite short. The genset has the potential to put a whammy on it though. There is a convenience...

If 12V equipment isn't working even on shore power there is something open (like a fuse or breaker) or something is miswired (or a combination of the two). Time to step back and review the work that was done, since that's the most likely source of the problem. You do have AC reaching the AC...

I like the idea of having something "industrial" vs "retail". A liquid level gauge goes a long way towards eliminating the guesswork. Sidebar - I keep an inexpensive hanging spring scale in my quick access compartment I use to weigh grill tanks. ~37lbs full, 17lbs empty. Easy peasy but it...

.32 amps times 24 hours times 4 days is about 31Ah. That's a bit light for a battery that should be around 90Ah. But it could be it's not starting out at 100% either, or you happened to measure .32A and at other times the load increases. But for sure .32A is a lot higher than typical "off"...

I'm looking for a simple way to make a pot of coffee without using a lot of watts like a hair dryer. There's watts, and there's watt hours. Yes, a hair dryer or a high draw appliance can draw a lot of watts relative to the capacity of the batteries but their duration of operation is short -...

I boil water in the microwave and slowly boil on the induction cooktop with coffee grounds Well, you're certainly not winning any awards for efficiency if energy conservation is your concern. Microwaves are somewhere around 50-60% efficient, induction cooktops are somewhat better at around...

An easy test is to apply a load of 1/20th of what the batteries are rated for and seeing how many hours it will run until the voltage reaches 10.5V. So if your GC2's are 220Ah you'd apply an 11A load and start the clock. A new/good battery will go 20 plus hours. 15 hours would be 75%, 10...

An 80Ah (assuming marine) battery is under $100 all day long. They are not remarkable batteries either for power delivery or longevity but for 'light duty' they can work OK. When you mix old with new you can expect less than optimum life out of the set but again, in some applications it's a...

Front spindles, radiator, hydroboost unit, numerous hoses, throttle position sensor, upper control arms. Sundry bushings, seals, boots and bushings you don't know about until you need one. Things like the water pump and OEM exhaust manifolds are unique to the truck/RV chassis so generic car...

I own both. My daily driver ford will turn 30 this year. I love how my 8.1 runs and if it weren't for repair parts drying up I'd have no issues keeping it going. But reality is a b!tch when you spend hours online or calling around trying to source what would be a common part for any other...

Your tires will age out before you'd ever need to worry about rotation. Rotation is possible with dual rears but you have to do it often or the tire diameters get too far apart and you end up with other problems. You will be replacing tires with lots of tread left without rotation so save the...

Most people can related to "normal" vacations of schlepping their kids and luggage via car or plane, hotels, attractions, eating out and such. So I relate that the costs per day are nominally the same, just that you spend it on different things and can go different places. The key differences...

Something I tell anyone that asks me about solar is to answer the question, "what problem are you trying to solve?" For some it's to run stuff without listening to a generator, or having to maintain one as much. Others it's the idea of being autonomous, not having to plug in or run a genset...

That's a question mark right there. Even my vintage parallax can pump a solid 35+ into a flat battery. Could be explained by a long cable but until that's resolved you have little more than a single stage maintainer and not a multistage charger. Mark B. Albuquerque, NM