Leaving tommorrow and a couple more ?'s

[PITPOP27]

Heading out and have a couple unanswered questions:

1.  What effects water pressure? water seemed fine but when we were doing the cleaning of the tank noticed towards the end a loss of pressure? a.  Do you think I need to have the screen checked in case something is blocking it inside the tank? or b. what could be another possible of loss of pressure - it was hooked up to shore not 12v.

2.  How long to you think one batt will truely last running the furnace?  It's possible to get very cold where we are going?  

3.  can you hook a batt charger to a generator to charge the batt.  Friends have offered to allow us to latch on to theirs if need be.

[gager2002]

Really don't have any answers for you.  But have a safe trip and have fun...

[wavemaker]

I think you will need the generator, if you will have the heater on all night you will be getting woke up sometime around 4am, (BEEPING sound will drive you nutz} you should get another battery so you can have one charged, then you just swap it out

Dean

Really don't have any answers for you.  But have a safe trip and have fun...

[wavery]

1. Water pressure is controlled by a 12v water pump. The pump gets it's 12v from the power supply (converter), when you are plugged into "Shore power" (I love that term......HARRRRR! ). Someone posted that there is a screen (filter) in the pump. I'm not sure of that but it makes sense. In that case, you may need to take the screen out of the pump and clean it. It only makes sense that the screen would be on the intake side of the pump. You might get the name of the pump manufacturer and do a Google search for instructions on removing the screen (or post the manuf and I will help you).

2. Probably 1 day, depending on how much the heater runs. I agree with wavemaker, spend $100 on a new, series 27  deep cycle, battery and battery box. Use it as a spare and rotate them.

3. Yes. Most generators have built in battery chargers but you must have the special cables. The other option is to bring a 110v battery charger with you and plug it in to the generator (that's what I do). On most generators, if you are running the internal battery charger, you can't plug in anything else while you are charging. If you use a separate battery charger, you may be able to plug in other items at the same time (depending on the capacity of the generator).

[PITPOP27]

It only makes sense that the screen would be on the intake side of the pump. You might get the name of the pump manufacturer and do a Google search for instructions on removing the screen (or post the manuf and I will help you).

2. Probably 1 day, depending on how much the heater runs. I agree with wavemaker, spend $100 on a new, series 27  deep cycle, battery and battery box. Use it as a spare and rotate them.

3. Yes. Most generators have built in battery chargers but you must have the special cables. The other option is to bring a 110v battery charger with you and plug it in to the generator (that's what I do). On most generators, if you are running the internal battery charger, you can't plug in anything else while you are charging. If you use a separate battery charger, you may be able to plug in other items at the same time (depending on the capacity of the generator).

We do have two deep cycle batteries, and we are bringing  our trusty Schmaucher charger with us.  I would just love to run the heat as much as we want rather than freezing our tookus at the beach.  I don't think the DH will be willing to look into the pump issue until after this trip.  I was bugged he thinks we should ride things out and then check into it :mad: whatever.
 I do have a question  about the batteries and the way they are hooked up. can anyone give me a description of what they look like together?  
Do you only connect one and then connect the other? or do you keep them both connected and at the same time?

[AustinBoston]

Heading out and have a couple unanswered questions:

1.  What effects water pressure? water seemed fine but when we were doing the cleaning of the tank noticed towards the end a loss of pressure? a.  Do you think I need to have the screen checked in case something is blocking it inside the tank? or b. what could be another possible of loss of pressure - it was hooked up to shore not 12v.

Names get mixed up in my head...did we just help you clean your water tank?  If the tank was full of growing things before cleaning/sanitizing, then the screenn is full of gunk.  If you can figure out how to gain access to the pump, you'll be able to figure out how to clean the screen.

2.  How long to you think one batt will truely last running the furnace?  It's possible to get very cold where we are going?

Depends on a lot of things.  If your battery is a group 27 deep cycle and fully charged, and the furnace runs 50% of the night (8 hours) you should get 2-3 nights.  But lots of use of the lights and water will cut into that.

3.  can you hook a batt charger to a generator to charge the batt.  Friends have offered to allow us to latch on to theirs if need be.

A dedicated battery charger plugged into a generator is the best way to go.  An alternative is to plug your pop-up into the generator, but many converters (especially older ones) are not very effective chargers and would require running the generator much longer for a full charge.

Austin

[wavery]

We do have two deep cycle batteries, and we are bringing  our trusty Schmaucher charger with us.  I would just love to run the heat as much as we want rather than freezing our tookus at the beach.  I don't think the DH will be willing to look into the pump issue until after this trip.  I was bugged he thinks we should ride things out and then check into it :mad: whatever.
 I do have a question  about the batteries and the way they are hooked up. can anyone give me a description of what they look like together?  
Do you only connect one and then connect the other? or do you keep them both connected and at the same time?

You can hook them up together, if you would like (if you have a place to put the 2nd battery). You will need a set of battery cables, long enough to reach from one battery to the other. The cables are hooked up positive (+) to positive and negative (-) to negative.

Having said that, I would suggest (in your circumstances) that you just use one battery at a time while charging the 2nd battery. When the 2nd battery is fully charged, remove the battery cables from the campers battery (Remove neg cable first). Remove the battery and replace it with the fully charged battery. Hook up the positive cable first (be sure not to mix them up) then the neg cable.

The top of the battery is marked with a + for positive and - for negative. It's really pretty easy as long as you are careful not to mix up the battery cables. Your cables may be color coded (red+ and black -) 0r (black+ and white-) the colors are not important. Putting them back on the battery the same way that you take them off is. If they are not color coded, you may want to label the cables before you unhook them (might be a good idea anyway).

Some campers have more than 1 cable (wire) going to each side of the battery. It may be a good idea for you to take some paper, write a couple of +s and -s on the paper. Tape a + to each cable that is on the + plus side of the battery and a - on the other. Don't rely on your memory to put them back the way that you took them off. This is very important.

[wavery]

Just an after-thought: If you have a quick disconnect plug in the wire between your battery and the camper body (outside), disconnect that connector before doing any battery maintenance.

I know that my 2002 Coleman Tahoe has a white disconnect plug in the battery wire, about 1 foot away from the battery. I just squeeze the levers on the plug and pull it apart. You may have the same thing on your Coleman PU. Again, plug it back the same direction that it was originally. Usually, it will only go one way.

[PITPOP27]

ARRRR, thanks wavery.Yup did all that, was just wondering all that batt situation as ours are already wired in and seemed to be attached ...I don't know how, we simply made sharpie markings to place them back the way we took them off.  We have charged to 100% both batts.  So we should be good for 4 nights then with the two batts?  We don't need the lights a whole lot as we have batt lanterns.  I'd rather have heat than light .  It sounds as if we'll be ok with the 2 batts, I'm not thinking of the furnace during the night but more while we are up walking inside you know.  We'll snuggle up.  Between my dog and My hubby, I should be fine!  Heehee.

We just got fleece sleeping bags to go inside the kids sleeping bags for extra warmth at Big 5 for $8 each.  Good eye my hubby has on the ads.  

We wont be in sleeping bags as I personally cannot sleep in them.  I've brought bedding for us which includes, 4 top blankets and flannel sheets.

I don't like to run the heat while I sleep as it really affects my allergies, and wake up feeling YUCK.


Thanks guys, sounds like we'll be good to go!

[PITPOP27]

Names get mixed up in my head...did we just help you clean your water tank?  If the tank was full of growing things before cleaning/sanitizing, then the screenn is full of gunk.  If you can figure out how to gain access to the pump, you'll be able to figure out how to clean the screen.


Austin

Yup that was me.  Maybe hubby can look while we are out but he is just not gonna have the time before we go....Our PT isn't here at our house.

[wavery]

ARRRR, thanks wavery.Yup did all that, was just wondering all that batt situation as ours are already wired in and seemed to be attached ...I don't know how, we simply made sharpie markings to place them back the way we took them off.  We have charged to 100% both batts.  So we should be good for 4 nights then with the two batts?  We don't need the lights a whole lot as we have batt lanterns.  I'd rather have heat than light .  It sounds as if we'll be ok with the 2 batts, I'm not thinking of the furnace during the night but more while we are up walking inside you know.  We'll snuggle up.  Between my dog and My hubby, I should be fine!  Heehee.

We just got fleece sleeping bags to go inside the kids sleeping bags for extra warmth at Big 5 for $8 each.  Good eye my hubby has on the ads.  

We wont be in sleeping bags as I personally cannot sleep in them.  I've brought bedding for us which includes, 4 top blankets and flannel sheets.

I don't like to run the heat while I sleep as it really affects my allergies, and wake up feeling YUCK.


Thanks guys, sounds like we'll be good to go!

You should be just fine with 2 fully charged batteries (if they are in good condition) for 4 days. We usually spend 3-4 days at a time in our PU at dry campsites. I have 2 (new)- 27 series batteries. We run everything including the microwave oven (though our inverter) and rarely need to recharge. We run all the lights and never even think about the batteries. Of course, we do have a good generator, just n case.

[tlhdoc]

The water pump is easy to clean.  The water line screws into both sides of the water pump.  Pay attention to which way the water pump is installed then unscrew the water line on one side and then the other.  Once you have the water pump (just the section of the pump that the water goes through, should be clear plastic) in your hand it separates into two halves.  Just twist is a few inches and it will come apart.  Take the screen out and wash it off under running water, rinse the whole thing if it is really gunky.  Put the screen back in place and then put the clear plastic part of the pump back together.  Then screw the water lines into one side and then the other side.  No tools are needed.  The fittings should be made to be used by hand.