Ok first off I am a high tech idiot!!!
Yesterday I woke up around 6AM to do a nature call and was intending to sleep in for the day!!!
Around 6:15 there was a large kablam that was definitely something in my bus!!! So I had to get up and get dressed, grab a light and find out what it was before it was light out...
My first thought was is it going to catch fire, so I also grabbed the fire extinguisher.
My next thought was to pray it wasn't my Tesla Battery pack, but a quick push on the Victron solar system display showed that battery parameters were normal.
After fixing my Tesla Battery pack with new slave BMS boards which I think were broken by the welding for collision repair on my bus. I decided to relocate the house 12V battery out of that space to make sure battery fumes didn't corrode all the electronics that I also have in that area.
A lot of stuff in my bus runs directly off of the 24V output of the Tesla Battery pack and I had installed a transfer switch to run them off of the vehicle start battery for backup incase my main source went offline.
So with the DC-DC chargers offline (part of correcting previous wiring mistakes on my part) that maintain the house 12V battery system for LED lights and water pumps plus the vehicle start batteries. I employed two charging sources to maintain these batteries, until I got everything repaired.
For the start batteries I used a DC bench power supply with adjustable voltage.
Anyway I repaired the Tesla Battery pack but hadn't gotten around to changing the wiring for DC-DC chargers. Hey I am on shore power they are both being maintained and so forgot about them.
So anyway the DC bench charger got jostled at some point and the voltage was turned up past my desired set point. Which I should have immediately disconnected when it was no longer needed as the loads had been switched to the Tesla Battery pack and solar charging. Which was I think the root cause of my start batteries blowing up!!!
So why the incomplete delayed repair? Supply chain issues in that everything off of Amazon seems to take 9-10 days to receive now here in Brownsville TX where I am hanging out and then I had moved onto other things, etc.
They make a lot of racket when they go off and make a mess (Vinger time) BTDT using a marine charger for my starting batteries, and it went off track for some reason.Now I use a ECHO charger from the inverter to keep my starting batteries in shape
Might reconsider having a separate 12v house bank? Use a 24 to 12 transformer instead?
Wow Freds. Glad you are ok and you reacted well. AND, you can check off one of the items you need to be in the Bus Nut Hall of Fame. The committee is still working on the criteria, but so far they have:
You must own more than one bus
You have to have a worthy story about a septic mishap
You have to have pulled away from a site with a bay door open. Extra points if also still hooked up..
You have to have gone at least 200 miles out of your way because you trusted your Garmin
You have to have grabbed a fire extinguisher because your bus is smoking
You have to have left the tow in gear long enough that a tire caught fire.
You have to have forgotten to set the parking brake and then had to chase after your bus on foot
You have to have taken your bus to Nappanee at least once
You have to have put your bus on a ferry
You have to have been to Alaska or Key West (two points). Five if you have been to both
You can take three criteria of your choosing OFF the list if your bus is older than you
Again, glad you are ok buddy....
Quote from: windtrader on February 16, 2023, 11:15:17 PM
Might reconsider having a separate 12v house bank? Use a 24 to 12 transformer instead?
I just need to finish rewiring everything after the layout changes that I made. Generally both the 12V and the buses 24V start batteries are maintained by Victron DC to DC converters configured for a lead acid battery charger profile.
The diesel generator also starts off of the 12V battery. Nobody makes a DC to DC converter that can handle that peak load.
PS. I have heard from a couple of neighbors asking who would be using a shot gun at that time of the morning???
Quote from: Tedsoldbus on February 17, 2023, 05:09:22 AM
Wow Freds. Glad you are ok and you reacted well. AND, you can check off one of the items you need to be in the Bus Nut Hall of Fame. The committee is still working on the criteria, but so far they have:
Again, glad you are ok buddy....
Let's see how about:
1. High centered with the rear wheels spinning because of the driveway you turned into as a part of turning around quickly to get a parking spot before it disappeared?
2. Accidently get stuck in the gravel and you are rescued by a jeep club that was passing by where they hooked up three wench lines to pull you out? I bet that made their news letter.
3. Sideswiping a fire hydrant?
Oh and to cap off my day, it also took out my ability to heat water. So I used a shower at the RV park I am staying in and went @$# over teakettle when I stepped out of the shower onto the concrete!!! Dam gravity is more and more of enemy as we get older!!! Still hobbling around while I heal...
Still sort of wondering what the third thing will be....
Just sit still for a while Fred.
And the panel of judges say we can't add fire hydrant as a criteria. Nobody would make the list....