Statpower for an Avion

[tipton eric]

I received a call last night from new owners of an Avion (Black list
works again). They are trying to install a Statpower 40. The old
charger, converter has wires to connect the battery and two blue wires
which look like they feed the 12 volt house circuits. Does anyone know
more about the original setup and whether they can just connect the fuse
blocks directly to the house battery bank when the Statpower is
installed?

I believe they are on-line so please respond to the net. I will also
collect all replies and forward directly.

Thanks

Eric Tipton
etipton

 

[blank]

Keep in mind, being an Avion, it may not have the same equipment as the
Gemini finished coaches; even if a PO hasn't changed it out.

Patrick

>
> In a message dated 3/7/00 9:11:15 AM Mountain Standard Time,

>
> (Black list
> works again). They are trying to install a Statpower 40. The old
> charger, converter has wires to connect the battery and two
> blue wires
> which look like they feed the 12 volt house circuits. Does
> anyone know
> more about the original setup and whether they can just
> connect the fuse
> blocks directly to the house battery bank when the Statpower is
> installed? >>
>
> Eric - you don't mention any 120 volt leads. Could the blue
> leads be 120
> volt AC leads? The original converter had four leads. Two
> 120 volt leads
> (don't remember the color) and two large 12 volt leads. One
> to the ground
> behind the converter on the wall frame and the other going to
> the 12 v. fuse
> panel. The 12 volt house circuits all have a fused circuit
> fed by the wire
> from the converter.
>
> Emery Stora
> 77 Kingsley
> Santa Fe, NM
>

 

[tipton eric]

Emery
Sorry I wasn't clear. The converter is a Progressive Dynamics 700
series. I beilieve it is original equipment in the Avion.

The 120- volt has three leads - Black for hot; White for Neutral and
Green for ground

In addition the 12 volt side has a large battery + (red) and large
battery - (white) cable

Then there are two blue wires marked circuit 1 and circuit 2 that appear
to feed 12 volt fuse block.

Eric Tipton
etipton

- -----Original Message-----
From: Patrick.Flowers
[mailto:Patrick.Flowers]
Sent: Tuesday, March 07, 2000 11:46 AM
To: gmcmotorhome
Subject: RE: GMC: Statpower for an Avion

Keep in mind, being an Avion, it may not have the same equipment as the
Gemini finished coaches; even if a PO hasn't changed it out.

Patrick

>
> In a message dated 3/7/00 9:11:15 AM Mountain Standard Time,

>
> (Black list
> works again). They are trying to install a Statpower 40. The old
> charger, converter has wires to connect the battery and two
> blue wires
> which look like they feed the 12 volt house circuits. Does
> anyone know
> more about the original setup and whether they can just
> connect the fuse
> blocks directly to the house battery bank when the Statpower is
> installed? >>
>
> Eric - you don't mention any 120 volt leads. Could the blue
> leads be 120
> volt AC leads? The original converter had four leads. Two
> 120 volt leads
> (don't remember the color) and two large 12 volt leads. One
> to the ground
> behind the converter on the wall frame and the other going to
> the 12 v. fuse
> panel. The 12 volt house circuits all have a fused circuit
> fed by the wire
> from the converter.
>
> Emery Stora
> 77 Kingsley
> Santa Fe, NM
>

 

[bob cook]

Eric:
I have recently happened onto a original manual for the 1975 Avion and a
Schematic on the Progressive Dynamics PD700 Series converters. The
converter seems to be very unique and a big improvement over the
converters in the GMC and Coachman interiors. The thing that sets them
apart is the built-in power transfer relay. When the coach is plugged
in to shore power the relay switches the batteries off of the house
circuits and onto a separate charging circuit. When the coach is
unplugged the relay switches the batteries back onto the house circuits.
I am presently working on a modification to the PD Converter that would
remove the PD charger from the circuit and install a Todd "smart"
charger. This would keep the automatic switching.
To confirm your reasoning on the wiring the blue wires go to the house
12V circuits, the red goes to the batteries and the white is the ground.
I am going on a rally tomorrow and I wont have a chance to work on it
until next week. I will let you know how it works out and give you the
details
Bob Cook
78 Birchaven
Redondo Beach CA

 

[chinaberry hill]

>
> Eric:
> I have recently happened onto a original manual for the 1975 Avion and a
> Schematic on the Progressive Dynamics PD700 Series converters. The
> converter seems to be very unique and a big improvement over the
> converters in the GMC and Coachman interiors. The thing that sets them
> apart is the built-in power transfer relay. When the coach is plugged
> in to shore power the relay switches the batteries off of the house
> circuits and onto a separate charging circuit. When the coach is
> unplugged the relay switches the batteries back onto the house circuits.
> I am presently working on a modification to the PD Converter that would
> remove the PD charger from the circuit and install a Todd "smart"
> charger. This would keep the automatic switching.

wow - thanx for the insight - we have the same original manual &
diagram, but we're pretty simple-minded when it comes to reading circuit
diagrams. if you come up w/a way to install a todd "smart" charge &
keep the auto switching capability, am hoping it will also apply to the
statpower 40 we now have in possession. will wait to hear more.

one question i have - if the converter part of the pd unit is superior
to the gmc/coachman units, are we perhaps being hasty in replacing the
charger part at all? we wondered about this when reading about the
unit's "intelligent" charging capability in the pd manual. the unit
appears to work fine (altho we're certainly not circuit savvy enough to
compare/contrast its performance to that of either the gmc models or the
new statpower models) -- we were just advised that everyone tosses their
charger unit when upgrading these things (due to toasting batteries thru
overcharging & too slow of a charging cycle, etc.), and had seen much to
confirm this on the gmc net archives, so just assumed we needed to do
the same.

does anyone have any easy tests we could run on the thing to see if its
performance warrants keeping it in operation?

thanx again for any help on this.

yarrow
1975 26' Avion ("the flying trout")
http://www.chinaberryhill.com

 

[gene]

Hi

I just went up and looked at your great web site..... I did not see the GMC
only parking area that over looks the harbor ???

gene

>>
>> Eric:
>> I have recently happened onto a original manual for the 1975 Avion and a
>> Schematic on the Progressive Dynamics PD700 Series converters. The
>> converter seems to be very unique and a big improvement over the
>> converters in the GMC and Coachman interiors. The thing that sets them
>> apart is the built-in power transfer relay. When the coach is plugged
>> in to shore power the relay switches the batteries off of the house
>> circuits and onto a separate charging circuit. When the coach is
>> unplugged the relay switches the batteries back onto the house circuits.
>> I am presently working on a modification to the PD Converter that would
>> remove the PD charger from the circuit and install a Todd "smart"
>> charger. This would keep the automatic switching.
>
>wow - thanx for the insight - we have the same original manual &
>diagram, but we're pretty simple-minded when it comes to reading circuit
>diagrams. if you come up w/a way to install a todd "smart" charge &
>keep the auto switching capability, am hoping it will also apply to the
>statpower 40 we now have in possession. will wait to hear more.
>
>one question i have - if the converter part of the pd unit is superior
>to the gmc/coachman units, are we perhaps being hasty in replacing the
>charger part at all? we wondered about this when reading about the
>unit's "intelligent" charging capability in the pd manual. the unit
>appears to work fine (altho we're certainly not circuit savvy enough to
>compare/contrast its performance to that of either the gmc models or the
>new statpower models) -- we were just advised that everyone tosses their
>charger unit when upgrading these things (due to toasting batteries thru
>overcharging & too slow of a charging cycle, etc.), and had seen much to
>confirm this on the gmc net archives, so just assumed we needed to do
>the same.
>
>does anyone have any easy tests we could run on the thing to see if its
>performance warrants keeping it in operation?
>
>thanx again for any help on this.
>
>yarrow
>1975 26' Avion ("the flying trout")
>http://www.chinaberryhill.com
>
Genef -- 77PB/ore/ca
GMC MOTORHOME INFORMATION
mr.erf
http://www.california.com/~eagle/

 

[chinaberry hill]

>
> Hi
>
> I just went up and looked at your great web site..... I did not see the GMC only parking area that over looks the harbor ???

i know (sigh). when we made a list of requirements for opening an inn 4
yrs ago, we didn't realize we were going to take this interesting detour
ala gmc. so... right now, "kirby" (aka the flying trout) sits in a
rented outdoor parking spot in the alley -- no view, no hookups, no
amenities - we're hoping to find him indoor parking in the warehouse
district downtown. at some point, we may purchase the place behind us &
turn its backyard into customer/rv parking/repair station.

in the meantime, should you be in the area - we'd be happy to serve you
up some fine coffee & breakfast (our byline is "hearty breakfasts &
serious coffee"). we'd also be happy to extend our "jump-in-the-tub"
club special to any gmc'ers - $50 off a jacuzzi suite when booking less
than 48 hrs in advance.

ya know, for better or worse, it was finding this chat session &
archives/links that convinced us that purchasing one of these
land-beasts was perhaps not totally foolhardy. we found the avion &
fell in love with it, while simultaneously experiencing a sudden flash
of sheer terror at the thought of owning/maintainting one. the sales
guy tried to steer us away from it, said you couldn't get parts and it
was old technology, didn't even have a generator (which it does - they
just didn't look), yadda-yadda-yadda. we tried getting excited about
the newer tiogas, but they have all of the personality/ambiance/charm of
an amana freezer on wheels. so... i take a peek on the internet and
whaddya know, this space-age retro bubble machine has a loyal following,
lots of parts/upgrade resources and scheduled nomadic tribal experiences
called rallies (who knew?) -- so back we go to the lot to take this
"dinosaur" off their hands, then back onto the internet to sign up for
the magic bus ride (sounds kind of like the grateful dead of the leisure
community).

we're looking forward to the gmc experience and really appreciate all of
the help/support we've received already from this group (yes, we had to
have the exhaust manifold gaskets done, yes, we had to have the wheel
bearings done, and the carburetor adjusted and the brake pads replaced,
yes, we know there is a certain kind of reverence regarding how one
approaches a bogie pin and i hope my air bag never hot dogs it -- but we
do feel confident that we'll know where to find the answers (and humor,
even) when we're in need.

we're off on our first trip tomorrow -- either north to vancouver
island, or south to oregon coast, depending on which promises the most
sun (ok, well, the least amount of rain, anyway).

yarrow (and cecil)
1975 26' Avion (the flying trout)
http://www.chinaberryhill.com