Well the Texas heat has set in. You know it is bad when we want a hurricane to come our way. Two weeks ago I was beaded to Dallas for an advanced palm print interpretation school. I knew it was going to happen and it did, the gen kept shutting off due to overheating.
I will post pics tomorrow showin how it was set up. I will also post the remote mounted radiator. I knew this was going to be a doozy of a project, but really had no idea. I have about 40 hours into the project.
So I pulled everything out of the gen bay to include the black tank, the fresh tank and the gen with the slide mount. I pulled the radiator and out the gen back in 90 degrees so the gen can actually slide out now. I built a box for the radiator amd bought a 12 volt fan.
I rebuilt the box because the rad cap was lower than the water neck on the engine and I would not be able to fill it all the way. The water neck was getting vapor locked. The new box worked good but I still had to take off the rad hose from the wate neck and force the air out with a water hose.
I have a Kubota diesel gen. I know it is not designed to have 10 foot hoses to a radiator. They are lower than th water neck on the way to the remote rad. Any suggestions on how to fix that vapor lock when filling the rad? It is not a problem but if I am on the road and have Trouble I would like to be able to just pour water in to fill it back up.
Oh BTW heads up to Kubota gen owners!!! Be derned careful when you tighten the nut behind the positve battery cable on the starter. 1/4 turn too far and your starter and altermator will fry in all about 1 second. $400 mistake on my part.
I have a kabota do you have the 4 cly that are very prevalent in professionally converted buses.
I'll assume so.
Many of these most of them I believe have the radiators in remote locations.
Liberty puts them in the rearmost bay and the radiator is in the second bay back 2 bays forward from it. The Millennium I was just playing with a few days ago had the radiator on the roof.
On my bus the bay is subdivided with an additional wall separating the gen and the radiator and blower in separate soundproof boxes.
Standard procedure on every dern one after fluid loss or change is start run for a period of time shut down refill. Also there is a plug on the thermostat housing. Given that I can tell you from experience it takes a great deal of doing to get mine back on line when I need to do it.
The top of the rad is lower than the top of the 2ND tank and its corresponding tank attached to the gen itself. I think may go thru this.
1 thing is to make sure the lower of the 2 radiator caps is a higher pressure cap or in the event of a failure you will loose coolant there first ant that's no good.
I seem to recall 1 occasion where I did not do this correctly The gen ran went into overheat shutdown the rad was about 1/2 full of lukewarm water that would not flow even after I restarted and filled it back.
Needless to say anytime I drain one I capture every drop and make darn sure it all goes back.
After a loss of coolant due to failure you better be patient and make sure you burp it all out.
I took the hose off at the top water neck and let water flow into the hose u til water shot out of the water neck. I checked it at the radiator after it warmed and I am good to go.
I am thinking of putting a T and a valve at thr water neck. It would be easy to burp it then.
Wrong fan Wayne a 12 volt is not going to do the job a 110 v squirrel cage with 2 or 3 speeds shroud has to cover the radiator been there done with the 12v fans a waste of time and money
good luck
http://www.speedwaymotors.com/Inline-Fill-Adapter-with-1-4-Inch-NPT-Fitting,9245.html (http://www.speedwaymotors.com/Inline-Fill-Adapter-with-1-4-Inch-NPT-Fitting,9245.html)
Several companys offers these. This is just the first one that I found. Summit racing, Jegs, and I am sure there is others that offers these if various styles.
Hope it helps.
Eric
I left you a message on your other thread about the electrical and the 12 volt fan options. The same company in the link offer some really nice shrouds and fans that will pull your bus sideways lol.
Quote from: demodriver on July 31, 2011, 07:49:01 AM
http://www.speedwaymotors.com/Inline-Fill-Adapter-with-1-4-Inch-NPT-Fitting,9245.html (http://www.speedwaymotors.com/Inline-Fill-Adapter-with-1-4-Inch-NPT-Fitting,9245.html)
Several companys offers these. (snip)
Yeah, this bleeder was what I was thinking about. You have to be careful to burp all the air out but once it's done, you're good to go. A good thing to do is to put a loop of clear plastic tubing up and then into a can of coolant. If you get a negative pressure in the system for a second or two, it pulls coolant into the bleeder - that means you don't have to start all over again. With the clear tubing, you can see the bubbles as the air bleeds out.
Wayne the 12 volt fans don't have a enough power to over come the negative static pressure a bus creates the 12v automotive fans the cfm is rated in a open space install a 12 v fan on your home AC and see what you get from the ducts nothing my friend
good luck
Luvrbus I know you have been there and done that. I remember you telling me to buy the squirrel cage. Where do you buy yours? I can fix this but it is going to have to be this week as I will be headed to the Dallas area the next 5 weekends training dogs. I wondered about the negative void thingy. I thought I was getting around that because when I stick my foot under the bus I can feel some major wind. I know your right though. I will look for a squirrel cage.
Here is what I had and here is the new.
(https://busconversionmagazine.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi137.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fq234%2Fwal1809%2Fgenasitsets.jpg&hash=cc8fb72176fcd51aec169d0edbbf38bcc13c1efa)
(https://busconversionmagazine.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi137.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fq234%2Fwal1809%2FIMG_1552.jpg&hash=0ba6d0ed7517448ac5c7bf73436843d584668302)
(https://busconversionmagazine.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi137.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fq234%2Fwal1809%2FIMG_1553.jpg&hash=5d637b3c66f802f4cdc37db31a0ee6f47f8edacb)
Oh BTW that white tank is my new poly tank for the veg oil. The aluminum custom one never came through so Tractor Supply had this one for $200.
well monkey butt!!!!! Clifford was right on. I knew it I knew it I knew it before we headed to the walmart for a test run. Didn't make 10 miles and she got hot. Got hot faster than the guage could keep up with. Time for a blower fan. Thank you Clifford. Like I always said "I wish you were my next door neighbor". ;D
I looked at Grainger and the CFM tratings on the blowers is really low compared to the 800 cfm yall were talking about earlier. Clifford what CFM should I get?
Wayne,
Lotsa folk know lotsa stuff but only Dick Wright knows everything about generators. I guess what he hasn't seen...... Now Clifford is the guy that has the most "stuff" to solve your material needs and knows lotsa stuff.LOL.
The first time I heard that a genny was being cooled by a 110VAC squirrel it just din't make sense to me...I am confused by lotsa good ideas. The answer was that "if the genny is running I have the 110 to do the work." Kinda makes sense when you look at it that way....duh :P
I was picking up some materials from a bus converter/upgrader/remodeler one afternoon here in town. Ended up visiting and watching him install a sound proof box and remote radiator. He really did fine work and it was my pleasure to "watch". While he was working I asked what he thought about the design where the engine rad was used for the genny also. he answered "I talked long and hard trying to change his mind but it was no go. This will work just fine but it will cost him double for me to do the job." That was an 8V92 Pre and the genny was in the rear compartment. I can't swear to this but I think he used three 18 or 20 inch Hayden aux rad fans when using the engine rad to cover the cooling while the engine was not running.. He said that the genny water pump was fine cause it was pulling in cold water from the rad and if more flo was needed the option was a 110VAC inline water pump. If this approach is flawed somehow i hope someone shares that info. Now if your cooling system was marginal I guess that would queer the plans.
Good luck with your install. 40 hours would be a new record for me in a project of that scope. Hope you can make the Tex rally with the family. Unfortunately, Tejas doesn't exist for me in Aug. Not as a destination, anyway.
Be well,
John
On our gen we have a 110 volt squirrel cage and blower housing it is about the size you would see in a residential fan forced gas furnace for a home about 2000 sq ft or so.
Its power is fed thru a separate breaker and the way it is set up It lets me know if I have power or notcause if the blower is int running I have no juice. This has proven to be beneficial since I have been having to flash it from time to time and the no radiator cooling fan is a dead giveaway.
Luverbus there are quite a few Marathons with 2 2 speed thermostatically controlled d/c cooling fans All thru the 90s that's what marathon used. The legendary also sports d/c radiator cooling fans.
That said I enjoy the a/c blower and probably prefer it too. Bound to move more air.
Our blower has the motor connected directly to the shaft. I have also seen a pulley on the shaft to the squirrel cage to another pulley on the motor with a belt in the mix. All the liberty's are like that.
I sent a Marathon out into the black rock desert for burning man last year and that one ran for 8 days straight and the d/c fans were up to the task. 2 fans on 2 speed switches completly ducted out sucking air out of the front suspension tower and blowing it down and back. They had the ability to keep the coolant temps low enough to cycle in and out in the hottest weather.
Yea Joe I know Marathon used DC fans for while I have 4 laying out behind the shop
good luck
Cleaver mounting the gen battery on top of the alternator control box. Personally-I would mount the battery on the floor next to the generator so that all the vibration from the gen-especially on start up and stopping are not transmitted to the battery. You'll get longer life out of the battery without all that extra vibration. Good Luck, TomC
WAL,
With all the encouragement yo seem to be getting for usng "TWO" dc fans you might consider adding a second fan to your system running it in the "push" mode.
Your install looks neat. Shame you might have to disgard all that craftsmanship, and I mean that sincerely, and rip it put. Maybe get cozy with Joe Camper to get more details on his success. Of course if Clifford has a pile of take-outs there is sure info in that.
When you visit Clifford maybe you could throw three or four of those DC rad fans in your bay. They work well for adding air flow over your OTR condenser when your engine is at idle on a hot day. I used one for "whole house ventilation" in the Winnie. SUPERB! Would cool off the interior in moments....not minutes.
Clifford,
I could use a few of those fans myself. Let me know about a price and shipping. Maybe WAL could help you box them up for me if that is an issue. No need to use any but the cheapest/slowest freight. Thank you, Clifford....in advance.
John
Now we went from Waynes 1 fan setup to 2 they didn't work out all that great for Marathon cost them a few 17kw and 20kw generators so they stopped using the setup didn't work good for Hemphill Bros with theirs either in the H-45.
Dick Wright just replaced a generator for a friend in his Marathon 1994 vintage the 12v DC fans are gone but we all do it different so we use what works for us
good luck
Clifford,
It looks to me that we are all on the same page. Your point is that they, DC rad fans, have a history of failure and others have gone on record of seeing lots of them in service. Without your follow-on comments, I think future readers might see one comment as a contradiction of the other. I don't think that is necessarily true.
I am still interested in getting some of those fans in your "pile out back". How can we get together on this Clifford? Shipping and such..... compensation.
Thanks,
John
On the other hand, I think that the 24v DC fans that came out of my original OTR heat setup would do the job.
Lin, really interesting thought.
I just went out and looked at one of the units I took out of my Eagle and it is shaft driven squirrel cage blower (12V). As I recall, they moved a lot of air and that type of blower should not have a big issue with static pressure.
I am guessing that it is about 2/3 the size of my 120 V squirrel cage blower, but it might have enough capacity. I will see what I can find for the ratings.
I really hate that my 120V blower takes up about 25% of one leg of the generator. I manage, but have to work at making sure the loads are balanced. The 12V unit would draw a bunch of amps from the batteries, but the inverter puts a high current in when it sees 120V.
Would have to work out a relay system, but that should not be a problem.
Jim
I am not sure why my generator cooling works but it does and very well,I have the exact same 4 cyl Kabota 12kw gen as I see here.
From Chino to Williams,Albuqurque to Flagstaff,Tioga Pass,Ammarillo and who can remember where else and not asingle overheat (KNOCKING ON WOOD).
My set-up is in the 2nd (middle) roadside bay,gen end too the front,
a plastic pusher fan, pantograph bay door < (upper) with the majority stainless X-metal intake air, radiator mounted to gen framework and then the "cooling effort output,pushed air" sealed into a air tight plenum opened/cutout to the ground via a 9"X 14" "heat exhaust" ...with a curved sheet metal "air deflector/director" at the top of the plenum.
All of this is in one bay and equals about 1/3 of the bay,which is walled and sealed from the curb side, and has foam eggcrate noise abatement.
I would say it has the ability to "hold" alot of heat but it does not.
What works for me may not for you but I have no plans to mess with what works.
Good Luck
PS I am all electric 220v AC
Jim,
As I understand what you are saying, even though whether the blower is 12v 24v or 120v, it will need similar amperage, taking it from a different pocket (the batteries) could have a benefit. I an not sure why it would be a significant difference though. Please explain. Thanks
Lin, I saw a MCI 5 at one of the Caverns rallies that used that blower motor and fans for engine cooling he said it worked but the bus was for sale LOL
good luck
Lin, I have a 10KW generator. When wired for 240, that gives about 40 amps on each of the two legs. I have the blower on one leg, and it takes about 11 amps. Thus, 25% of one leg is spent powering the blower. On a 10 KW you really have to be careful of making sure the loads on each leg are close. I have ammeters for each leg and can shed load as needed. I can also turn down the inverter charging, but that does not have a huge impact.
It would be nice to have 40 amps available on each leg.
Jim
Quote from: Lin on August 01, 2011, 11:26:44 AMJim, As I understand what you are saying, even though whether the blower is 12v 24v or 120v, it will need similar amperage, taking it from a different pocket (the batteries) could have a benefit. I an not sure why it would be a significant difference though. Please explain. Thanks
Lin, I hope that people who know electrics better than I do will comment, but what may be similar is the
wattage of the fans. In a good bit of theory, the electrical power could be 11 Amps at 120v or 110 Amps at 12v. (*)
The real life part that's missing here is that we're looking for air flow. As has been noted, "squirrel cage" (or centrifugal) blowers will pull from a semi-vacuum or blow air into a backup or high-pressure area. Plain blade fans will move air but if there's a restriction either on the suction or output side, they'll drop down on their air movement and also increase the current draw. IF (and that's a
big IF), a 1320 watt fan running on 12v moves as much air and moves it as efficiently under different conditions as a 1320 watt running on 120v, then basically the power usage is about equal.
(Of course, if you're making 120v and you want to run it on 12v [or 24v], then you have to factor in battery charging losses. Also, the wiring, switches, breakers, and fuses on 12v will be quite large -- and maybe too large to be practical. These are practical considerations that you'll have to figure in to your own conditions in your bus.)
But to go back to the power draw, one unknown factor is whether the 12v and 120v fans do indeed provide the same air flow (under all conditions). If it takes 1500 watts to provide the same cooling on 12v and 1000 watts on 120v, that's a strong push toward the 120v system.
It's important to look at the amperage use (and your practical conditions) but the efficiency of that power use in doing the work is important, too.
(* I'm using RVSafetyMan's (Jim's) power use as an example. YWMV.)
I stand corrected--wattage it is. Thanks
Craigslist and $25 bucks. Found an a/c guy in Pasadena. He had it running on the shop floor when I got there. It pushes enough air to loft your eyelids while your standing there.
I teresting tidbit. He told me to use an amp meter to check the amp usage. At the same time use a piece of sheet metal over a portion of the intake. The amp usage will rise and fall depending on the amount of restriction.
He restricted the fan intake by 50 percent and it was blowing twice as strong as when it was wide open. He said restricting it properly to the amp rating on the motor will give maximum motor life.
I got hung up at work but managed to cut a new mounting board, install the fan and mount it to the box. Tomorrow I will vet it wired in and take some photos. Thank you fellas for all the help. Wayne
We have limited headroom in our bay compartments but needed a larger gen set. The enclosed picture is how I set up the air flow around the gen set. I mounted the Mustang radiator in the hole that was originally used by the cooling system on the bus. I created a tunnel to create the flow into the gen set side of the bay. I got a squirrel cage fan 120v from an a/c tear out and wired the fan so that it is on the high (fastest setting) The fan came from a 3 ton a/c /heating unit. It sucks air in from the circular part of the fan and blows i out to the road from the square section of the fan. Works great and is quiet.
Well this is what I got finished before the mosquitoes took over.
(https://busconversionmagazine.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi137.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fq234%2Fwal1809%2F57e3e86c.jpg&hash=6e5c448c09adfd7f5dde393281ca3b32f9490f5e)
Thank you Clifford!!! I got home today and wired in the squirrel cage. Fired it up and let the gen get warm. Took her out for a quick 20 mile trial run. Sitting still the gen stays at 170 degrees. At 70 miles per hour for 20 miles it never got over 175 degrees, I think. The guage does not have that many marked numbers. To shirten the story it barely climbed at all. So thank you all and especially Clifford. Big project, glad it is done!!
Good for you Wayne now just be sure you have a switch to control it for winter time use
good luck
If you were going to run an AC fan motor, it would be best to wire it for 240 volts off the generator so your pulling off both legs equally.
Wal, if you need to restrict airflow to load the motor, you either have too large a motor, or too small of a fan/blower housing. If its a belt drive you can often change pulley sizes to speed up or slow down the fan to get the motor close to full load,but the most efficient is always going to be a direct drive "if" its loaded properly.
Clifford has mentioned a few times seeing an MCI with the rad blowers replaced with one of the AirCon blower motors. I recall a while back a few comments that the rad fans were drawing some 50 HP off the engine, based primarily on the size of the belt. I believe it might only have a belt that size more for durability than that it actually took 50 HP to run the blowers. The rad blowers dont look to be any larger than the AC fans. Ive seen some large HP squirrel cage fans, for example a 20 HP squirrel cage fan is BIG. lol. A 50 HP one would likely fill the entire engine bay of most any Bus.
Quote from: artvonne on August 03, 2011, 08:49:04 AM
If you were going to run an AC fan motor, it would be best to wire it for 240 volts off the generator so your pulling off both legs equally.
Wal, if you need to restrict airflow to load the motor, you either have too large a motor, or too small of a fan/blower housing. If its a belt drive you can often change pulley sizes to speed up or slow down the fan to get the motor close to full load,but the most efficient is always going to be a direct drive "if" its loaded properly.
Clifford has mentioned a few times seeing an MCI with the rad blowers replaced with one of the AirCon blower motors. I recall a while back a few comments that the rad fans were drawing some 50 HP off the engine, based primarily on the size of the belt. I believe it might only have a belt that size more for durability than that it actually took 50 HP to run the blowers. The rad blowers don't look to be any larger than the AC fans. Ive seen some large HP squirrel cage fans, for example a 20 HP squirrel cage fan is BIG. lol. A 50 HP one would likely fill the entire engine bay of most any Bus.
You could balance your load between the phases by using a step down transformer from 220 to 120 and use that to drive the fan. There is a loss to pay but if balance is the most important factor then....
Will that fan motor accept a speed control? The slower the air moves the more efficient the fan will be and in theory, at least, the genny should run moire efficiently.
It is true that every answer begets at least 2 additional questions.
John
Quote from: luvrbus on August 03, 2011, 06:28:57 AM
Good for you Wayne now just be sure you have a switch to control it for winter time use
good luck
Hello CLifford, It didn't come with a switch and I am certainly no electrical guru. There is a blue red and black wire. The guy told me to use the black in some and red or blue in the winter, that it changes the speed of the motor.
Quote from: artvonne on August 03, 2011, 08:49:04 AM
If you were going to run an AC fan motor, it would be best to wire it for 240 volts off the generator so your pulling off both legs equally.
Wal, if you need to restrict airflow to load the motor, you either have too large a motor, or too small of a fan/blower housing. If its a belt drive you can often change pulley sizes to speed up or slow down the fan to get the motor close to full load,but the most efficient is always going to be a direct drive "if" its loaded properly.
Clifford has mentioned a few times seeing an MCI with the rad blowers replaced with one of the AirCon blower motors. I recall a while back a few comments that the rad fans were drawing some 50 HP off the engine, based primarily on the size of the belt. I believe it might only have a belt that size more for durability than that it actually took 50 HP to run the blowers. The rad blowers dont look to be any larger than the AC fans. Ive seen some large HP squirrel cage fans, for example a 20 HP squirrel cage fan is BIG. lol. A 50 HP one would likely fill the entire engine bay of most any Bus.
Are you coming to the Texas rally? If you are maybe we can take a minute to look at it. When it comes to electricity you could have written that in chinese and I would probably recieved the same amount information in my head. Once I get it, I got it, but I still got to to get it.
Quote from: wal1809 on August 03, 2011, 10:48:41 AM
Quote from: luvrbus on August 03, 2011, 06:28:57 AM
Good for you Wayne now just be sure you have a switch to control it for winter time use
good luck
Hello CLifford, It didn't come with a switch and I am certainly no electrical guru. There is a blue red and black wire. The guy told me to use the black in some and red or blue in the winter, that it changes the speed of the motor.
Wal,
I called about your motor hook-up. I learned: There is no industry standard color code. There is a probable color code if you know the mfr of the furnace that the motor came out of. It can be a 110 or a 220. Black is likely to be connected to the neutral phase and that is white in house wiring.....i know, black to white...go figure. The "hot wire in household is usually black" and that wire will get connected to either the red or blue. Red will be either low speed or high and the blue will be the other. You can connect the black to the red OR the blue but you cannot connect the red and blue together. If you disconnect the blower impeller and loosen the mounting bolts the motor will slide out. Under the clamp that holds the motor there will be a wiring diagram or list of connections.
Nick should have this same info and be able to help when you get the data under the motor clamp. If you have a mfr name on the blower....Lennox...Comfort Air, etc. then let me know and I can make more calls.
Did you get a email/pm from me?
John
A old swamp cooler switch works good I'll check around here and see what I can find for you
Quote from: wal1809 on August 03, 2011, 10:51:59 AM
Are you coming to the Texas rally? If you are maybe we can take a minute to look at it. When it comes to electricity you could have written that in chinese and I would probably recieved the same amount information in my head. Once I get it, I got it, but I still got to to get it.
I didnt mean to insinuate that I had AC blower fans, my bus is currently a stripped shell, but completely stock including the road air/heat, radiator blower, etc., awaiting the master plan. We had two kids weddings this year, and now my Dads health is giving us trouble, and its been HOT. Im still a Yankee, and 110 degrees every day makes me want to stay in the house, lol. I have a lot of ideas about what I want to do, but money and time are a bit scarce.
What we are saying about balanced loads refers to the generator. Most generators in RV's are putting out 120 volts on a single leg, or black (hot) wire. Some generators have whats called a 12 wire head, and can be re configurated to put out several different voltages as well as 3 phase. They can be configigured to put out 240 volts on two legs, so you can have an electrical panel like you have in your house. That allows you to connect 120 loads and 240 loads in the same panel. However, the loads on the generator should be closely balanced between the two legs. As you start drawing more power off one leg, the generator starts running hot. And heat is its enemy. All 240 volt loads would by their nature be balanced and not present any problem. The problem would arise from operating too many 120 volt loads on one leg. Most electric motors can be configured to operate on either 120 or 240 volts, but are more efficient on 240 volts.
The biggest issue im considering is that most campgrounds only have 120 volt 30 amp outlets, and 240 volt motors or appliances will be useless in that situation.
Quote from: artvonne on August 03, 2011, 08:51:20 PM
Quote from: wal1809 on August 03, 2011, 10:51:59 AM
Are you coming to the Texas rally? If you are maybe we can take a minute to look at it. When it comes to electricity you could have written that in chinese and I would probably recieved the same amount information in my head. Once I get it, I got it, but I still got to to get it.
I didnt mean to insinuate that I had AC blower fans, my bus is currently a stripped shell, but completely stock including the road air/heat, radiator blower, etc., awaiting the master plan. We had two kids weddings this year, and now my Dads health is giving us trouble, and its been HOT. Im still a Yankee, and 110 degrees every day makes me want to stay in the house, lol. I have a lot of ideas about what I want to do, but money and time are a bit scarce.
What we are saying about balanced loads refers to the generator. Most generators in RV's are putting out 120 volts on a single leg, or black (hot) wire. Some generators have whats called a 12 wire head, and can be re configurated to put out several different voltages as well as 3 phase. They can be configigured to put out 240 volts on two legs, so you can have an electrical panel like you have in your house. That allows you to connect 120 loads and 240 loads in the same panel. However, the loads on the generator should be closely balanced between the two legs. As you start drawing more power off one leg, the generator starts running hot. And heat is its enemy. All 240 volt loads would by their nature be balanced and not present any problem. The problem would arise from operating too many 120 volt loads on one leg. Most electric motors can be configured to operate on either 120 or 240 volts, but are more efficient on 240 volts.
The biggest issue im considering is that most campgrounds only have 120 volt 30 amp outlets, and 240 volt motors or appliances will be useless in that situation.
Now, lest we forget: The generator cooling fan would only be needed when the genny is running and if the genny is running we will have the 220VAC. I couldn't resist....where is self control when we need it. Thanks Art. ;D
John
Quote from: JohnEd on August 03, 2011, 09:11:38 PM
Now, lest we forget: The generator cooling fan would only be needed when the genny is running and if the genny is running we will have the 220VAC. I couldn't resist....where is self control when we need it. Thanks Art. ;D
John
The Gen fan was not the only thing I was thinking of powering with 240, but yeah, you could have 240 if the Gen is running.
I was thinking about putting a switch on the side of the black radiator box to turn the fan off and on. But the outlet is right there where the land line power cord is located. I can just unplug the fan and then go plug the bus into the land power.
I would be afraid I'd forget to plug it in once when needed.
I don't think a fan is switch is needed. If the gen is run then the fan is needed so hard wire the fan or leave it plugged in. Simple.
If you forget to turn on the fan or if it fails then the gen safety over-temp will cover you.
John
The power cord for shore power is right next to the outlet used for running the fan. The only time I would have to unplug the fan is when I was plugged into shore power. Otherwise it would stay plugged in. It would be a matter of rolling up the big wire from the post and setting it down, then reaching over and plugging in the radiator fan. I don't want it running the whole time I am parked plugged into shore power.
John does have a point, you won't forget long as the gen would shut off in all of about 4 minutes. I couldn't get air pressure in that time frame.
On the other hand, you could hardwire the fan to the gen and include a cutoff switch. That way, if you were visiting Antarctica, or someplace like that, you could turn the fan off.
If you want to run a couple of AC units and that 30 amp pole is really giving you 21 you will need the genny at noon in the summer sun. I think you should wire it to allow pole power for everything else and the genny for AC. I wouldn't bother with the cut-out switch...run the genny and run the fan.
I wouldn't know how to do that. There are two electrical boxes, one is the breaker box and the other has a bunch of wires and what appears to be three big switches in the top of the box. When I kill the gen and plug in it just switches over to shore power and I don't have to do anything. I opened that box with the switches yesterday and promptly closed it. No more projects until after mid September and my dog training shuts down.
If the fan is powered directly off the Gen, before the electrical panel/transfer switch, I wouldnt think the fan would run once the Gen shut down.
There again I would not know how to hook it up prior too breaker box. I will have to wait until one of you electrical guys see what I have and point it out. In this picture the blue plastic conduit carries directly from the gen to the switch box. Oh and BTW the orange cord is no longer sitting on the exhaust pipe. Everything is wire tied away from it. I would like to get some heat wrap and wrapping it just in case.
(https://busconversionmagazine.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi137.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fq234%2Fwal1809%2FIMG_1552.jpg&hash=0ba6d0ed7517448ac5c7bf73436843d584668302)
I would guess that the cable from the generator goes to a switch in that box that connects it to the panel. If so, you can tap into the generator at either side of the switch--after, if you want the fan to go off when you interrupt the current to the panel (even though the generator is running, or before, if you want the fan to run whenever the generator is on.
WAL,
Waiting is the smart move. Really wish I could be there to help. At least we have determined that your blower motor is 120 VAC and a two speed. That's a little progress, anyway. You can still run by connecting an extension cord as we discussed. Connect to black and red oR black and blue and then select the highest speed.
John