My Moto Hobo life

[Kevin frazier]

Lithium motorcycle batteries are not the best for long current draw and depending on cell design may not be intended for such extended draw at all. They also like a pre-load on cold mornings sub 0C/36F to get the battery warmed up before a hard cold crank. Deep cycle lead cost and weigh 3-5 times more but are built for regular deep discharge but I am sure hi tech (read expensive) Lithium batteries can do the same now as used in EVs and scooters etc.

I think a deep cycle battery like that used in flooring equipment may suit better. 12 24 48 volts in parallel not sure how that would work with a solar charger but just throwing that out there as you look at that issue Jim.

 

[Bigwalleye]

My crap is either sold, donated, in the landfill or stored away and my house went on the market yesterday so I will soon be realizing my dream of going off the grid and living the Moto Hobo lifestyle.
After extensive research on various RV options to carry my motorcycle (5th Wheel Toy Hauler, Class A/B/C, trailer towed with my Jeep etc.) I have opted to “flip the script” and tow my new mobile home with my bike.
Including my basement, screened in room and garage I am downsizing from 5,000 SQFT to a 70 SQFT pop up camper with awning.
If I like being a vagabond after a year I will consider upgrading to a bigger rig.
The home is at 24 Bridgewood Drive in Fairport NY and was listed at a reasonable “priced-to-sell” valuation with Howard Hanna .

Please buy it so I can begin my next adventure.

https://nys.mlsmatrix.com/DE.asp?ID=DE-62674522457

If you are ever eastern washington - Burbank WA. I got a place for you to stay a night. travel safe.

 

[Bigjaype]

Lithium motorcycle batteries are not the best for long current draw and depending on cell design may not be intended for such extended draw at all. They also like a pre-load on cold mornings sub 0C/36F to get the battery warmed up before a hard cold crank. Deep cycle lead cost and weigh 3-5 times more but are built for regular deep discharge but I am sure hi tech (read expensive) Lithium batteries can do the same now as used in EVs and scooters etc.

The biggest problem with lithium batteries is that they need a specific charging profile. You can’t just slap one in as a replacement for a lead acid. As a second battery connected to a lithium charger, they work well and can be drained down a lot further than a lead acid battery.

 

[Bigjaype]

Rt12 to Escalante Utah.
World class riding.

What capacity is your battery?

The LI Battery in question is in my trailer.
I’m thinking my 1000W inverter may be bad or something is miswired.
This morning my Rover Solar Controller showed the battery at 12.8V 98% capacity.
After plugging in my coffee pot it dropped steadily to 11.5V 56% capacity and then the inverter started beeping.
If I turn off the inverter the reading goes to 12.6V 96%.
LI batteries are supposed to be used down to zero vs 50% for lead acid batteries.
If the inverter is limited to 11.5V what good is it? Maybe I need to go directly to 12V .

What capacity is your battery?
a 1000w inverter will draw around 100 amps at full load.
Not knowing what the wattage of your coffee maker is, but lets assume 500 watt, then you'll be drawing 50 amps on the DC side. That's not taking into account the efficiency of the inverter, for a good one it's typically 85%.
So, if you have a 100 A/H battery, you should be able to run your coffee maker on a fully charged battery for 2 hours, but in the real world, you will be lucky to get an hour, due to inefficiencies in the battery as well as the inverter.

Often the DC load is greatly underestimated when it comes to installing inverters.

 

[Ralsmith]

What capacity is your battery?

What capacity is your battery?
a 1000w inverter will draw around 100 amps at full load.
Not knowing what the wattage of your coffee maker is, but lets assume 500 watt, then you'll be drawing 50 amps on the DC side. That's not taking into account the efficiency of the inverter, for a good one it's typically 85%.
So, if you have a 100 A/H battery, you should be able to run your coffee maker on a fully charged battery for 2 hours, but in the real world, you will be lucky to get an hour, due to inefficiencies in the battery as well as the inverter.

Often the DC load is greatly underestimated when it comes to installing inverters.

Also most modern inverters have what they call a battery save feature and will not allow you to draw the battery too low, this also maybe why you are cutting off at 11.7 volts, see if you can set that threshold to a different number.

 

[tribal]

Also most modern inverters have what they call a battery save feature and will not allow you to draw the battery too low, this also maybe why you are cutting off at 11.7 volts, see if you can set that threshold to a different number.

Yes, that seems to be what’s happening as the Inverter starts beeping at that point.
If I catch it quick it won’t shut off and the battery will not go into shelf mode.

I don’t see any settings on the Inverter but I lowered the discharge setting on the controller to 9V and will retest.

 

[Ralsmith]

GDI. Battery read 12.1V 83% capacity.
I lowered the low voltage over-discharge setting on the controller to 7V lowest possible.
Almost immediately after turning on the coffee maker it went to 11.4V 61% capacity and the inverter began beeping.
WTF?
I turned off the device and the voltage went to 11.9 with capacity 78%.
The panel is generating 60W so the battery will be fully charged soon but I’m boiling water for now on my propane stove until I resolve this issue...

What is the wattage of the coffee pot, the maximum discharge rate of the battery you are using is 100A. This means that the largest load you could theoretically place on the battery would be 1200W before the battery shuts itself off from overload conditions. In practice, with inefficiencies in your inverter and the load the inverter adds itself you are probably limited to 85% or 1000W maximum load. Only way to increase load capacity would be to have another battery in parallel with this one to share the load.

 

[Ralsmith]

Under a heavy load voltage drop can be an issue, how long are the cables from the battery to the inverter and what gauge wire. You need to keep those short as possible and as large as possible to reduce voltage drop between battery and inverter input.

 

[Tripps]

GDI. Battery read 12.1V 83% capacity.
I lowered the low voltage over-discharge setting on the controller to 7V lowest possible.
Almost immediately after turning on the coffee maker it went to 11.4V 61% capacity and the inverter began beeping.
Checked 12cup unit and it says 800W.
WTF?
I turned off the device and the voltage went to 11.9 with capacity 78%.
The panel is generating 60W so the battery will be fully charged soon but I’m boiling water for now on my propane stove until I resolve this issue...

Also, it worked fine the first time I used it...

IDK, just seat of the pants, 800 watts seems like it would be a big load for a 12v car type battery. I'm thinking your over your limit.

 

[Bigjaype]

800W.
I’m running my 55W Iceless cooler now and it seems OK.
That device drained my battery twice when left on overnight.

I just don’t understand why the capacity fluctuates so severely with the coffee maker??
To me the battery level is the battery level but the controller must be calculating it based on current load. Remove the load and it goes to actual it appears.

I have a battery monitor as well with lots of settings. I need to read up on what they are and maybe the defaults are for AGV type batteries and need to be adjusted for Lithium...

Your solar panel at 60 watts will deliver around 4.25 amps of charging power. If your battery is at 50%, it will take over 11 hours of good sunlight to return the battery to 100%.
My gut feel is that your battery is just not fully charged, hence the voltage drop when you use the coffee maker which will draw around 80 amps on the DC side of the inverter, pulling the battery voltage down.

In battery systems with solar charging the best calculation is as follows:

Work out what your total load is, lets assume 80 amps for 30 minutes (40 amps used)
Work out how many daylight hours you'll have for charging - lets assume 5
So, you'll need a solar panel that can deliver 40 amps in 5 hours - Charging rate = 8 amps so the absolute minimum will be 100W
This does not take any consideration for losses and inefficiencies.