Hot water heater

Anyone tried anything crazy like a large solar array, and a 600w DC (9000
BTU) air conditioner? 800 Watts is doable, I've heard of up to 2100 Watts
on RVs (not a GMC though).

Ron
Who hopes to meet some of you today or tomorrow at Treasure Island

>
>

> > > 80 percent of the days in Portland, Or. are overcast
> > >
> > > gene
> > >
> > >
> > > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > --
> > > Gene Fisher -- 74-23,77PB/ore/ca
> > > Give a man a fish; you have fed him for today --- give him a URL and
> > > -------
> > > http://bdub.net/gmcmotorhome.info/
> > > Alternator Protection Cable
> > > http://bdub.net/gmcmotorhome.info/APC.html
> > > _______________________________________________
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> >
> > Move then if you don't like it. I enjoy my time in Oregon and the solar
> does just fine.
> > Dan
>
>
> I did not word that like I should have. Was in a car wreck yesterday and
> was a bit grouchy earlier in the day from back pain. Looks like the Vibe
> may no loner be towed.
> Anyway, what I should have said: When the GMC is set up properly, it does
> not matter, too much, about the overcast days in Oregon. We have spent two
> Julys in a dry camping park in Tillamook with no problems. On demand water
> heater is a big plus for those of us who feel we must shower everyday, most
> of us I hope. Proper lighting is a must for the nights and a low drain tv
> if you are like us, we watch two. Also we charge our laptops during the day
> light. Even with overcast skies 300 watts on the roof will give us a pretty
> decent charge. Many days in Tillamook the fog hangs on til after lunch, 2
> pm sometimes. We can still live comfortably with no generator. An on demand
> water heater will use so little propane that you will not miss it. We have
> a small propane tank in our 74. It will run us a minimum of 6 weeks running
> the refer on it.
> All said, folks can live really good without electric hookups if you dont
> need the roof air. If you do, it is time to move to some cooler place. Dry
> camping is not for most of us older folks but I see a new, younger, crop of
> couples coming into our ranks. Many plan to dry camp and enjoy the GMC
> without paying the high RV Park fees. It can be done as long as the GMC is
> set up for just that.
> Life is good. I survived what could have been a deadly car crash. My baby
> granddaughter is improving with the chemo.
> Dan
> --
> Dan & Teri Gregg
>
>
> http://danandteri.blogspot.com/
>
>
>
>
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Dan,

glad to hear things are not getting worse for your grand daugher, and that you survived the crash. The vibe can be replaced, you cannot... so that is what is important.


As for the oregonians. When I lived there, outsiders all thought it rained all the time. I learned that they just keep that rumor going to keep the californians from wanting to move there.

I used to waterski every weekend in the summer out in Oregon. had very few rainy summer weekends.

I would think for solar, the tree cover would be more of an issue then the overcast. So many nice places off the path to camp, where you are shaded by nice trees.


--
75 palm beach
St. Cloud, MN
http://lqqkatjon.blogspot.com/
 
IMHO it is not worth the cost and effort for our size coach. We
cannot carry enough batteries to make it work economically.
JR Wright
78 Buskirk Stretch
Michigan

> Anyone tried anything crazy like a large solar array, and a 600w DC
> (9000
> BTU) air conditioner? 800 Watts is doable, I've heard of up to 2100
> Watts
> on RVs (not a GMC though).
>
> Ron
> Who hopes to meet some of you today or tomorrow at Treasure Island

>
>>
>>
 
Well, to provide 50 amps (600w at 12v), you would want 200ah of
batteries (max sustained draw should be no more than 25% of your total
amp hours for lead acid), that would be something like 250 pounds,
which is somewhat doable. Now, if you don't like buying new batteries,
you would be lucky to get more than two hours run time from them (50%
max discharge), so I'm figuring you run AC only on solar, with the
batteries to handle starting loads, clouds, and letting you run your
AC when your solar array is not putting out full power. So you
probably don't even need that much batteries. Out in the west (where
it is dry if it is hot, usually), this could be a reasonable scheme.

Another idea is NiZn batteries, which would be half the weight of lead
acid (or less, depending on how you spec it). Cost is much better than
Li, worse than lead acid, and I suspect you are stuck building your
own batteries out of cells.

Now a standard RV roof AC is 12-14000btu, any many people have
two.....vs the 9000 the DC unit I mentioned. I wonder about feeding it
air that has been cooled by running it through a heat exchanger that
is cooled via a swamp cooler (so you are feeding cool dry air to the
AC). Here in San Jose, a 15 degree drop should be doable, and in
places out here where you would really need it, 30 might be doable.
Plus, you have a way to get rid of some of your grey water.

Generator and plugging in make total sense for some people, and I'm
certainly not saying this make sense for most people. But if you want
to minimize how often you need to plug into civilization, and hate the
sound of generators, it looks like it is doable to me.

Thanks for putting up with my ramblings,
Ron

> IMHO it is not worth the cost and effort for our size coach. We
> cannot carry enough batteries to make it work economically.
> JR Wright
> 78 Buskirk Stretch
> Michigan
>

>
>> Anyone tried anything crazy like a large solar array, and a 600w DC
>> (9000
>> BTU) air conditioner? 800 Watts is doable, I've heard of up to 2100
>> Watts
>> on RVs (not a GMC though).
>>
>> Ron
>> Who hopes to meet some of you today or tomorrow at Treasure Island

>>
>>>
>>>

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--
Plato seems wrong to me today.
 
and those of us who live in Florence,OR., get even less :>)

but it is not hot ---- ever :>)

gene
======================
 
That part of the US reminds me of Hawaii. At certain times of the year you
just carry an umbrella because you know it'll rain at some point and you
know it won't last long when it does. Good chance is, however, it'll
return later in the day. At least, that's how I remember it.

My first trip to Hawaii was in January. I wondered why everyone went to
the beach in the morning and then was gone by noon. Well, we went to the
beach one afternoon. Man, was it cloudy. We figured out why those in the
know go in the morning.

Byron Songer
Louisville, KY
News and Web Editor, GMC Eastern States
http://www.gmceast.com

ATTENTION: This reply is in reference to what is provided belowŠ

>Those of us who live in Kerby, OR, enjoy 8 months of clear blue skies,
>hot days and cool nights. Then there are the four months a year when it
>rains a total of 40". Never a steady rain, just rain then clearing then
>rain again. Those are the four months when we go south.......
>
>Jerry
>Jerry Work
>Fine furniture designed and hand crafted in the 1907 former Masonic
>Temple building in historic Kerby, OR
>glwork
>http://jerrywork.com
>541-592-5360
>====================
>Message: 9
>Date: Fri, 5 Oct 2012 06:49:56 -0700
>From: gene Fisher
>Subject: Re: [GMCnet] Hot water heater
>To: gmclist
>Message-ID:
>
>Content-Type: text/plain; charset=windows-1252
>
>and those of us who live in Florence,OR., get even less :>)
>
>but it is not hot ---- ever :>)
>
>gene
>======================
>
>_______________________________________________
>GMCnet mailing list
>Unsubscribe or Change List Options:
>http://temp.gmcnet.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/gmclist
 
Whoa Dan you've got too many friends to be in a car wreck. With everyone pulling for you I'd have thought any traffic would part like the Red Sea.

I hope everyone is okay. A car is a car.

Larry Davick
 
Thanks Larry. The traffic did "part" but one lady in a big Denali did not realize just who they guy was behind the wheel of that black Vibe gt. :d I am very sore this morning. Lower back.
I hate hijacking a thread: Almost anything is doable with our coaches if one has the resources and time. For me, the on demand water heater is great. We have 4 6 volt batteries, up front, that last us. If I was a full time boondocker I would install 2 more 6 volt batteries for the week long rainy days that occur. Trying to figure a way to run the roof air conditioner is not within my brain capabilities nor a desire of mine.
Don't forget, one must empty the black tank a couple of times a month.
Dan
--
Dan & Teri Gregg


http://danandteri.blogspot.com/
 
Gordon,

Welcome to GMCWorld. I hope you won't ever find anyone here calling any
question ignorant. We try to be polite and explain the situation as our
experience (which is cumulatively enormous) has found it to be. Sometime
the answers may be a bit shorter than one might like, however (as
demonstrated below).

You've gotten lots of words of wisdom among the replies to your post. But
I saw nothing as I scanned those comments that made it clear that a LOT of
GMC's came from the "upfitters" with Atwood water heaters. Specifically, I
believe that ALL Coachmen-upfitted coaches had gas water heaters, probably
all Atwoods. My X-Birchaven, like most came with a 6 gallon Atwood propane
heater with the engine-heat option. That heater fits easily below the
beltline longitudinal structural member and does not require a perfectly
flat panel for its door to fit reasonably well. So, it is feasible to
install such a heater in 'most any GMC -- but NOT at the location above the
beltline and above the wheel wells where its found on GMC-fitted coaches.

The on-demand heaters, which I haven't had reason to try, may be an easier
retrofit if you choose a non-Coachmen rig.

I don't think it was of interest to you, rather was hijacked into your
thread, but the proposition was made that the GMC could be air conditioned
with 12 VDC. That option has been so fruitlessly beaten to death here that
I won't grant it any more space than to say "Ain't a-tall feasible."

Ken H.
Americus, GA
'76 X-Birchaven w/Cad500/Howell EFI+ & EBL
www.gmcwipersetc.com

On Wed, Oct 3, 2012 at 11:34 PM, Gordon Gibson
wrote:

>
>
> First of all - please excuse what will probably be the first of many
> ignorant posts/questions from a complete GMC "newb"
> ...
> First of all - an electric water heater? Obviously this is a non starter
> for those of us who shun the KOAs. I have read a few very interesting posts
> about propane-powered "on demand" water heaters, and this looks like the
> way to go for many reasons - but I am a bit worried about low water
> pressure failing to trigger the heater.

...
>
 
> Those of us who live in Kerby, OR, enjoy 8 months of clear blue skies, hot
> days and cool nights.

we call them the BANANA BELT, of Orgn.
I tell folks (who want to move to Oregon, ) to live there for a year., in
southern Oregon.
It is close to CA, and more like the weather there.

a life time of experience in ORGN

gene

--
Gene Fisher -- 74-23,77PB/ore/ca
“Give a man a fish; you have fed him for today --- give him a URL and
-------
http://bdub.net/gmcmotorhome.info/
Alternator Protection Cable
http://bdub.net/gmcmotorhome.info/APC.html
 
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