Monitor Panel questions

[marininn]

Thanks, but everything worked before the blowout. I think the wires got pulled out of the wall. The big wires for power to other things just got cut at the hole, but Im thinking the little wires for the monitor maybe broke off inside the wall.
Thus, the need to know what wires I need to find, or replace. A new monitor wont do any good, as the one I have works perfectly I assume if the wires were installed again. New or old it still needs to be wired up. Wiring on the tank is fully intact.

Sounds like I may have to just rip the monitor off the wall and repair any damage later so I can see what wires come off the monitor and go from there….

Bruce, yep. What's in the gray water tank is water, dirt and less soap than you use to wash the car, but dont encourage people…

 

[Bruce from Kansas]

Marininn, I live back on a farm [6 years now, grew up here from the 5th grade until college & the Navy] where the laundry water has always been directed directly out of the house, even to water the trees.

 

[marininn]

Marininn, I live back on a farm [6 years now, grew up here from the 5th grade until college & the Navy] where the laundry water has always been directed directly out of the house, even to water the trees.

Soap is usually fine for plants, so is the water, but grey water, though possibly harmless, falls under legal restrictions.

Also, you should not dump grey water near a stream, especially pristine ones. What makes water in streams undrinkable is contaminants that the "things" can grown on, eat or live on. Bird poo and other animal contaminates is unavoidable, but even the leather treatment on hiking boots, oils, foods etc can contaminate water.
It's not the food, it is the things that grow on it, like giardia [sp] and other stomach bugs that make us sick.

Dump far from streams, or down where the river is so contaminated from development that it doesn't matter.

I tell people don't dump.

I dump in my yard where the grass loves it and it can biodegrade naturally and safely.

I think the fewer people dumping the better.

 

[Bruce from Kansas]

That's all common sense! But where I normally set up, it's just high percolation grass, with the majority as dish water or possibly rinse water, several hundred yards from a river that floods regularly. And, is often 10' to 15' under water or more. Not a very clean situation in the 1st place. Yet, when not flooding, is fished regularly, and has yet to cause any health problems for anyone whom actually lives in the area for at least the 46 years that I've been camping there. Not a pristine river in an agricultural area both below and upstream.

 

[marininn]

That's fine, I don't have issue with that, but I like to NOT encourage others to dump their water outside. Do as I say, not as I do should be the motto here… or, don't ask, don't tell…
If there becomes a swell of campers dumping gray water, then a certain percentage will dump their black, and either in large quantities will not be good for regular RVers image, or the ensuing regulations/laws that could follow.
Just common sense.

 

[hilltool]

I have property in far WEST TEXAS at a relatively high elevation (for Texas.) The people living around me routinely send their grey water out into their "yards" (high desert) for mini irrigation purposes. My understanding is that there is no "code" restricting it-though I could be wrong on that.

Rick

 

[JackandJanet]

Rick, I think the "codes" are all local and depend on how seriously the locals see a shortage of water looming. In Tucson, where I used to live, grey water irrigation was a difficult thing to get approved when we built our last house in 1998. Recently, grey water systems are not only easy to approve, they are encouraged.

- Jack

 

[Treeclimber]

A lot of military bases use grey water for irrigation in HOT areas. Not ashamed, but we do it right because we normally do state parks or federal parks. Don't wanna lose that privilege.
Tree

 

[marininn]

Think law not codes. Rv on highway or street or public space far different than yer fronch yard. Policeman not amused he wite u a nice note to see the nice man in black robe. They take money not reasons.
Try composting yer apple core at the park and learn about litter.

 

[marininn]

[/IMG]
This is the monitor from the back, pic from web. Looks like it is screwed in from the inside of fridge compartment. I will just rip it off the wall and make repairs if needed.
I am still hoping otherwise

 

[djgeorge11]

Micro Monitor outputs and Solar panel monitor dead

I recently bought a 1998 24' FunLite. The battery was low so I put on my battery charger which as it turned out was set to "125A Engine Start" mode. After that, one of the circuit breakers in battery compartment was bad. After I replaced both of the circuit breakers, the 12V converter was causing the new CB to reset constantly so I replaced converter. Battery has also been replaced and fully charged.

I am seeing that the solar charge monitor (RVS-1C) is dark and none of the tank/battery monitors on the KIB Micro Monitor respond. I know I saw some of the lights lit on the solar monitor before the over-current charging, not sure about the functionality of the Micro Monitor panel. The water pump switch does still work.

Are there fuses for either of these panels? I checked all the fuses in the bathroom panel and all look ok. Is there somewhere else to check?

 

[marininn]

Congrats on getting a cool camper.

I know the solar monitor I have is very sensitive. You may have burned it out with that electrical situation.
Mine says to hook up the battery first, then the solar panel to be safe from burning the controller out. The battery acts like a safety measure to keep the voltage right at 12v, but when just the solar panel is hooked up you could get wild fluctuations that hurt the monitor, is my understanding at least. You can hook up solar only and not damage it, many have, but Im guessing yours could be damaged.

Double check that you have positive to positive, negative to negative on the wiring. It will not work backwards, and will be ruined if so.
Some have circuits built in to protect them from error, but not any of the cheap ones for under $50 or so.

You tank monitor and everything else in the coach should be routed through the monitor. That way the monitor will shut off current when voltage gets low enough to damage battery, if monitor is bad then this is why it is dark.

Do not run the lift pump through the monitor, and it would be hard to do this anyway. The pump needs more amps than a monitor can give.

Chargers can go bad, not the first thing I would have checked though. You need a battery tester/ multi-meter so you can chase down problems, they are easy to use once you know the basics. $17 at super store or auto store.

Batteries will be something you never stop looking at, checking, worrying about and thinking about - it is a big part of boondocking too.

 

[djgeorge11]

Thanks for the info on the monitors. I have a multimeter and know how to use it (electronics engineer) but since access the panels, especially the tank level panel are limited, I was hoping there was a fuse somewhere that I just didn't know about.

We bought the HiLo to go on our deer lease in in the pine forests of east Texas with no power or water so I was originally expecting to be boondocking most of the time.

I haven't take it up yet since it easier to get these issues resolved while it is at the house.

This last Saturday was opening day of deer season (11/4) and it was nearly 90° and humid. Since we plan to use the lease as a get away year round, the need to run the A/C is going to force me into investing in a generator sooner rather than later..

I found a new micro monitor on Amazon for about $30 so that is on the way, along with a kit with 2x 100W solar panels and a new controller so I think all the bad monitors can just go away and I can learn from my mistakes and have a better understanding of the inner workings of the trailer.

It looks you need to pull the fridge to get access to the mounting screws for the micro monitor or is there a better way?

 

[marininn]

There should not be any fuses for the monitor unless there is on just supplying power to it from the camper fuse box. No fuses between the monitor and the tanks anyway, that is super low voltage probably.
Likely your monitor is fine, do the battery and all power before you pull it out.
I am having issues with mine from a blow tire, yes, the screws are from behind. Taking the fridge out is a pain. My camper seems to have that yellow expanding foam in the fridge box, so it will destroy things to remove fridge possibly, or to get to the monitor section anyway.
Rather, pull the monitor out from the outside, which will tear up some of the surrounding paneling, and just repair, cover or mask the damage later.
You can run new wires maybe with electrical "fish" tape, but the existing wires should be fine I imagine.
Let us know how it goes - I am going to run new wires to my monitor and pull / rip it out from the wall soon.

For a generator I have ben happy with the home Depot Ryobi inverter/generator. I think $499 or maybe $550 now. Works great, and cheap. It is 2200 watts and just barely enough to run an AC. Quiet too. Check other forum post about what gen runs what ACs. Most ACs are about 2,000-2,300 watts start-up. The 2,200 bogs down at start up sometimes, but does the job, and the AC runs on about 1,200 watts after it is started.

 

[djgeorge11]

The new monitor is due tomorrow as are the solar panel kit. with the time change and it getting dark so early, I'll need to try to spend some time on the solar panels mounting in the mornings before I head in to work or setup up some work lights. I'm hoping to get it ready to go up to my lease this weekend. I picked up a 2nd deep cycle battery tonight and plan to add it in parallel to my new battery to increase my capacity, especially when running the furnace this winter, assume it ever cools down in east TX.

For a generator, I am eyeing a Champion inverter 3100 watt generator that is setup to run on gas or propane. I saw that the benefit of running on propane is that is stable over time and since this will sit for periods over the year, it seems like it could be a good option in the times when I'm not using it much. They are spec'ed at 57db so super quiet and electric start, I think even remote start. Cost is about $1100 at Home Depot, Lowes, Amazon, & Cabela's. With winter approaching, I am going to try to wait until I get a notification of a financing deal from Home Depot or Lowes. I just used one that was 10% off and 1 year 0% interest at Home Depot for some flooring we needed. Worst case if I need to get one sooner, I can get 0% financing or no sales tax depending on where I get it.

 

[hilltool]

I've got a Champion 2000i which I have had a couple o years. Not too bad. They really are not "super quiet" - and the quiet mode corresponds to the "eco mode" - which is great for charging but I dont know how it holds up with a load. That said- they are not super loud, either.

The 3100 watt should allow you to start the run the AC, I would think, without much issue. Not real light, though. Good luck

Rick

 

[djgeorge11]

The new micro monitor will be here tomorrow. After seeing on YouTube that you can pry the face of the monitor to get access from the front, I tried it and was able to pop out the old circuit board. I confirmed the board is getting 12V. When the new monitor arrives I'll first try simply plugging the new circuit board into the existing connector. If that doesn't get this going, I'll replace the wiring that connects to the panel as well.

 

[marininn]

To remove the tank monitor you pull back the front lable, the sticker, or faceplate that has the writing printed on it. The screws are under that. I think it sticks on like a sticker. I pulled the monitor out with a putty knife and found this out, which you can do also, not much damage occurred.

Now, my question:
I have power to it, but it just reads full for both battery and all 3 empty tanks. Is it broken?
The wires to the fresh tank should all be intact.
Wires to the waste are pulled out, white and gray got damaged.
White is a ground, and hooks up to the lowest port.
Blue is fresh tank.
Grey is ___________"
what is the other tank color?

the battery is not full, 3/4 at best. Fresh tank empty and waste tanks are the ones missing wires.
Is monitor damaged?