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4 gauge is fine for what your running. I have 15x 26ah batteries hooked up in parallel and they are all connected with 14 gauge wire. On my system the most amps I run is 12 amps from my roadpro cooker, the fridge uses about 4 amps. No need to go to 2 gauge unless your planning to run a...

as long as you have a solar charge controller that you can adjust the bulk voltage to 13.8 volts it will work. Even if the controller doesnt have a user setting to be set to 13.8 volts, if its factory set to lead acid 14.4 volts when it reaches that voltage it will automatically switch to float...

No reason why you can't keep the 100 watt (or larger) panel 24/7 charging your lead acid start battery. you can set it at 14 volts or 13.8 volts. Once the battery is full charged it won't be accepting any more amps. On my astrovan, I had to disconnect my dash radio, even when off it was draining...

Connecting directly DC to DC from cigarette plug to power station wont work too well. I always charge from solar but one time after 2 weeks of rain my 220ah lifepo4 was running low, I tried charging my lifepo4 battery from the cigarette plug all I was getting was about 3 amps of charge power...

In this post someone tested both an AC and a large swampcooler in his van. The AC used too much power and he got good results with the swampcooler but it use too much water. He was using an indoor swampcooler which are not the best, for best results you have to have them only intake outside...

they sell some voltage stabilizers on ebay in different voltages, you would need one that can at least handle 6 amps. I have a small one I use to run my swampcooler where I need 12 volts (any voltage higher well burn out water pumps). When I had problems with my fridge it was also in hot...

you might need to get a voltage stabilizer to make sure the battery voltage doesnt drop too much when the compressor kicks on. My 26 liter joytutu fridge doesnt run too well (compressor keeps cycling back and forth) if the battery voltage isnt stable. I built my own voltage stabilizer (a boost...

I prefer to use one of the 90 volt 30 amp combometer, it has bright LED lights I can read from 5 feet away. I been using them for the past 10 years. You just wire it between the controller and battery. It tells you the volt of the battery and how much amps are going in the battery, which are the...

I have some blue tarp and tested with my hotglue gun and generic glue sticks and blue tarp to blue tarp will stick with hotglue, blue tarp to plastic surface will also stick. You have to put effort to get them to come apart. When I have to join blue tarp with other blue tarp I usually use...

For cold weather lot of foam insulation will keep you warm. Also make sure no cold air can enter the van. In the back of my van I have foam everywhere, especially over all the windows. On the outside of my van I put duct tape on all the areas where air can enter the van. This keeps the inside of...

I build my own lifepo4, as long as you can open up the case and get to the wires, replacing the BMS isnt too much of a problem. The cells will last for 10 years easily if they arent cycled everyday. The 220ah lifepo4 I built is going on 5 years being used 24/7 it still has the original BMS...

I use a small 120mm cooling fan (about 1 amp) to exhaust air out of my van through one of my roof vents, this fan is located next to my solar charge controller which gets very hot during the day. I also use another 120mm fan to exhaust the hot air from my 12 volt fridge exhaust vents. I exhaust...

they work better in low humidity areas but they also work in other areas. This shows the post of using a large swampcooler in high humidity areas. Sometimes we encounter "el nino" in southern california where the temperature and humidity is very high, and the small swampcooler I have I run 24/7...

For the van you have to downsize your power needs and use 12 devices as much as possible. An AC even the 24 volt zerobreeze (runs on 24 volts / 10 amps 240 watts) a jackery 400 (400 watt hours) won't even run it since its 12 volts. Heaters are even more power hungry 1500 watts. The portable 120...

From what I can tell your batteries aren't being fully charged. Lifep04 requires at least 14.4 volts, I always charge mine to 14.6 volts. Your victron shows the max voltage reached was 14.16 volts (which is insufficient). The mfg recommends charging at 13.6 to 13.8 volts which most chargers...

Sell it, they are easy to fix and get back running. My 1986 astrovan is still running like a champ. Astrovans that are still in running condition, I see in craiglist for 2 to 3 grand sometimes even higher.

if your talking about a power station, you just plug it in the wall. You would have to find a place that has an outlet where you can spend several hours to charge it. I use to go to the library and spend 3 or 4 hours charging my laptop. There are many portable power stations available, try and...

which meter do you have? I been using the TK15 for years on my 220ah lifepo4 and has been very reliable. But any coulombcounter has to be properly calibrated the first time or the reading will be off. 10 volts while low for a battleborn won't damage it longterm, the voltage range for an...

I been using the 4x8 foot rtech 1/2 inch foam from home depot. I cut into small sections and hotglue it directly to the bare metal ceiling no air gaps. On the roof I have several layers of foam, hotglued one on top of the other, 3 to 4 inches thick. Once its thick enough you no longer feel heat...

On the roof of my van I removed the headliner and just added rtech foam to the bare metal. I started with 1/2 inch, then went to 1 inch, 2 inch and finally at 3 inches of foam insulation I no longer felt any heat coming from the roof. (hotglued in 1/2 inch layers one on top of the other) This...