kaypsmith

With so many posts that are so good, I have to add, the most valuable one for me, is my DW, she's the only one that knows where she last moved that item that I need to....

I can't see enough of the engine to determine if it has a brake or not, need side or top to determine, but an engine brake is an easy addition on this engine. Most of us use a wire trace along the top of the windows, then hide that with a valance, or inside the cabinetry. Be sure to check that hitch carefully, it has to be attached to the motor rail with the same bolts that hold the rear bumper on, make sure that there is some reinforcement to the suspension, if not, that needs to be added to pull more than class 3 requirements. This coach is monocoque, so you really need to inspect the two inch tubes between the inner and outer walls to make sure that oxidation has not taken over, this is where the most breakdown occurs in this style coach. Make sure that no tow truck ever attaches directly to the frame, only lift with truck capable of lifting the wheels directly. Most that drive the MC-7 tell me that they have replaced the front suspension with mc-9, for ease of handling and power steering is much better on the newer model, that will be a question for the current owner. Four speed manuals are fun to drive, but as you know does require the use of the clutch, starting on grades should be no problem because the air parking brake is very useful to prevent roll.

Yes 12 volt refrigerators have been around for quite a while, and I think that the solar "nuts" probably have hijacked the product and renamed it. Since most solar gathering devices are either 12 volt, or 24 volt, they have chosen to make use of the already existing technology. As I was showing in the OP, inverters are just a means to transform the lower voltage to 120 volts. It can be done with a simple capacitive winding, 12 to 120 or more, which is no real feat and causes almost no loss of energy The real feat is to use an electronic alteration of the direct current to make it become an alternating current which uses expended energy, which I refer to as overhead. The largest innovation in the process with the advent of solar research, and the NASA program, is to make it more affordable in larger units, which in turn will make the use of alternative electricity more attractive. Insulation is a large factor in making the use of less energy to enable better use of the so called alternative energy. And as I pointed out in the OP, tax incentives are in play if one decides to use one, "tax-payer subsidized product", and I'm reasonably sure that some business has taken advantage of some subsidy. But it is what it is, thanks for responding, and hope that the post has been useful to others.

The mc 7 was a great bus, it is a 96 inch wide coach, engine is probably the old 8v71, commonly called (318), as that was the rated horsepower. The picture of the engine shows non turbo, the manual transmission should work fine if you are accustomed to shifting these older guys, the lower gear is non synchronized, which means that you will need to know how to double clutch in the event that a really steep grade ever happens. This engine will pair up with an Allison HT740 auto fine, but that would be about $10,000.00 investment. What is the roof wire issue? I did not see anything that stands out there in the pictures, nor read anything is the description. If Fred Hoby, in north Florida was the converter, he did excellent work. Wish that I were closer there, as I would love to look it over for you. I am familiar with these old beast's, and if I can help answer questions, feel free to PM me. Sorry, after looking back through the pictures, the wiring was "TOO OBVIOUS". Fred did not convert this bus! But one needs to check and determine if the wiring is romex "solid wire" or stranded. Rewiring would not be too hard to do if someone is prone to do this type of work.

In doing research, I had no hits for dc refrigeration, but many on solar. It think it is a "buzz word". I'm sure it is a sales pitch, as many have now become used to the word "solar", for lowering ones electrical bill. I knew that it existed, but many have been sold for years in much smaller units than what are now available. I currently looking at a 14 cf freezer for my home to replace an older 12 cf ac model. Though the chest freezers use less current than upright models, I want the ability to stay frozen in the absence of power, I live in a very rural area and have frequent power outages.

Yes, no way to completely electronically change dc to ac in its purest form, but as the cost and efficiency of transistors have improved, the PSW has improved to look more like a true generator sine wave.

With so many RV’rs considering changing from the absorption type refrigerators to residential type, and with so much emphasis on what type inverter to use, has prompted me to take a look at an alternative method of refrigeration. Inverters of course are costly, and not very energy efficient because they are very high into using electronics for changing the DC “direct current” to AC “alternating current”, which produces heat which must be dissipated, usually by means of a fan, “more energy expended”, then to be used by a 120 volt appliance that is built for on-grid use. While many of the home units are energy efficient in their own nature, they are not energy efficient at the 12 volt level, because of the overhead that is used in changing 12 volts DC to 120 volts AC. My thoughts are to use 12 volts DC for the entire operation because DC speeds can be controlled by simply lowering the voltage to run slower and increasing the voltage to run faster. So the research began, I have found as many of you already know, that there is a solar market in play already. I have located refrigeration units that are available in this market which are well suited for the RV industry. Here is an example, not an advertisement for this company, but merely for reference. There are several other companies in place, and research to find what would meet your goals is in order. http://www.ebay.com/itm/VoltRay-Solar-DC-Powered-Refrigerator-11-1-cu-ft-/111943373518?hash=item1a105852ce:g:vfkAAOSwI-BWIWJ7 A unit such as this can easily be used for an RV, and can even be self sustainable with proper solar peripherals in place, making it very handy for boon-docking. If I were to replace my unit now, I would very likely go with this newer technology. Also another advantage for changing to this method, the investment can be used as a tax deduction, making it an even better investment.

Rich, I think that ObedB is referring to some of the older images in your earlier post, in order to free up space, so that you can post newer ones. How about it Todd?

CHANGE, CHANGE, CHANGE, don't we all love that jingle

As seen in the pictures that Rich linked to, the MSW "modified sine wave", changes the direct current to alternating current in a square looking pattern, noting the abrupt edge of the square wave, then levels out at the positive voltage for the correct interval that is necessary for 60 cycles per second, about 5 milliseconds, then abruptly goes down to the negative side of 120 volts for the same time period, then back up. Transistors are used to make this transition from positive to negative etc. When a generator produces electricity, the steady turning of the stator across the fields of the generator produces a curved pattern at the top of the pattern "positive", and again at the bottom "negative", and on and on for sixty times a second. PSW "pure sine wave" inverters use a much more complex series of transistors to imitate the same pattern as the generator. This makes them more costly to produce and also more complex while running. Most appliances of course will like the PSW more than the MSW. The PSW is more heat sensitive than MSW meaning that PSW actually requires more ventilation. With all this in mind, if I am using a MSW, and everything that is being powered to it is ok, then I would look for a fridge that runs ok on MSW. If in need of replacing the inverter anyway, I would certainly at todays prices, go to a PSW. But anything that is going to be used on an inverter, before purchase, look at the spec tag for the lowest amperage stated there, for heat, and battery longevity. Kay

SLSettles, I certainly was not trying to attack you personally. I was only trying to sort through the lack knowledge on our end as to why things did not work. Such as the current called for by the spec., sticker inside the door. If that sticker does say 3.5 amps at 120 volts, or 402 watts, that number does reflect maximum draw, which includes startup. Yes, in this event the 1000 watt inverter should be sufficient. Now to look for some other variables, of course the inverter could be defective, also there could be a defective battery in your bank, with 4 six volt batteries, one possibly bad cell in the equation could also cause a problem that would cause "me" some concern, not for your perspective, but if it were mine that is one place that I would check out. Please don't be offended at us, tell us of your concerns, that is the only way we can help anybody. Good luck with your project, and it will be a learning experience that you can come back and share with us, so we will be able to help others. Also on the subject of (PSW vs MSW) inverters, the msw is more forgiving for some inadequacies handed to them, not to be confused with me meaning they are better for all applications, they certainly are not, but still have their place.

Yes Rich, the voltage of the batteries is the deciding factor, along with the ability to produce enough amperage to maintain that voltage. But to the OP, what would be the best investment would be to go to a smart psw inverter rated at least 1500 watts for this type application. One that has both 12 volt and 120 volt input and the ability to sense when 120 volts are present and pass that voltage through to the fridge and automatically start the recharging process back to the batteries. His current battery bank when fully charged should carry a 5 amp draw, if continuous would be about (60 amps, allowing for overhead just to run the inverter function) about 6.5hours. Of course nothing is absolute, since as you described a startup of 12.5 amps must be factored into the equation along with idle times when only the fans are running inside the fridge. Those energy stickers are designed to let one know how large a purse one will need to pay the power bill when it comes due, but will not describe actual running amounts necessary to make it go. If you set the computer on your car to read mpg, when you step on the accelerator the mpg will drop to an unreasonable amount, then while descending down a grade it will likely look the other way sometimes showing 60 or better mpg, electricity works the same way. When the battery bank reaches its low (10.5) volts, it is at its low and does not have the ability in amperage to restart the inverter.

I'm sorry that you do not understand the difference in kw average and actual watt usage for this purpose, yes the yellow tag does give the watt average but there is also a specification tag inside the door of most refrigerators that give the maximum amperage draw of the unit, this tag is the only one that matters in the land of physics, which is the only one that ANY inverter understands, it does not average out over time, which is what that yellow energy tag does. "AMPS DO MATTER", this is what current is actually expended at any given time to make it happen. The little cartoon that appeared the other day showing voltage pushing current through (OHMS) resistance is actually very accurate. Herman, that is what he has done, he has purchased a "psw inverter" for the fridge only, and allowing the already installed msw inverter to run what was already there.

Maybe I'm missing something also, first of all, I have yet to find any residential fridge that will run on 170 watts, that's less than 1.5 amps at 120 volts. The lowest found just last week when looking at the newest models at Home Depot, and Lowes seems to be LG, that one states 3.5 amps, Samsung lowest was still at 4.0 amps, while the lowest GE that was in stock was 7.9, and some other brands were at 11.0 to 12.0, depending on size. 4 amps at 120 volts comes out at 480 watts, while 8.0 comes out at 960. With all this said, why would anyone want to keep their fridge constant on an inverter if it is not a smart inverter that auto reverts to shore power or generator? The Xantrex Prowatt SW1000 only has one inlet, 12 volts, no 120 voltage, so it can not auto switch to 120 when that voltage is present. To use in this scenario, one would need to install an " ats", auto transfer switch to switch between shore/generator, and inverter voltage when the first is not present. Also the fridge plug will have be plugged into the ats output. I have always recommended that the inverter be a minimum of twice the wattage of all appliances that will be used after the inverter, that means the so called run wattage, not the surge wattage, surge wattage on most inverters are no more than a used auto salesman pitch, if you read the fine print, 500 to 1500 ms, that's 1/2 to 1 1/2 seconds, no fridge startup is that fast. But, I would like to know the model GE fridge in the application so that if it is truly 170 watts I can install one at my home, as I really need to reduce my electric bill. Oh yes, those compact fridges , 1.5 cf to 4.0 cf models, will not even state their true max amps, I have measured several of those and found them pull as much or more than many of the full size refrigerators. But good luck with your installation, I hope this tidbit proves to be helpful in making it become a smoother transition. Kay (PS) After rereading the op, I did miss out on that has a variable speed compressor and variable speed fans, this means that it is an inverter technology fridge, I have covered this on another post nearly 5 months ago. While this is a wonderful new innovation for reducing power consumption, I'm not so sure about inverting an already inverted signal. To run with reduced input wattage, the fridge built in inverter, now has to take 60 hertz "cycles" and then re invert that to sometimes 600 cycles, depending on demand. The slowest speed of the compressor and fans use 60 hertz and then the inverter takes over to change to the number of cycles to run at higher speeds. I would strongly recommend that you contact a GE technical engineer to find if they have even tested your model with any inverter to know the results of their findings.

I cant complain about the "POOR" workmanship, nor the bad treatment from the jerks from the dealership where my coach came from. If it is anybody's fault, I would have to look in the mirror and start my rant, but so far that hasn't been necessary, things all worked the way they were supposed to from the start. Built my own.

Many thanks to the staff for listening, this is much better.

I hope that Microsoft did not write the new look, if you are going to do away with the new topics being listed and kept in the forefront, unless it is just hidden, and you can tell where to go to put it back in place.

Joe has good advice on this issue, I second change over now on that gas engine, and I wonder if he had a good steak this weekend.

Too many years ago for me to remember just when it was, I found a product like what you mentioned, at the Waldo Flea market in Waldo Florida. I was driving a 1987 Southwind fiberglass shell mh at the time, I bought a bottle of the product and used it on the mh at the time. The bottle lasted long enough to get two jobs out of it. The initial shine was pretty good looking and lasted about nine months each time. I not been able to find anymore of the product because the vendor used a private label, and never returned to the market when I tried to find him. Would buy it again if I could find a source. Although not quite as easy as the vendor made it look, but the results was better than any other that I have tried since.

The answer is that to use the setup you are suggesting will never work. While a 2000 watt inverter would easily run one rooftop ac, 2000 watts divided by 120 volts equals 16.666+ amps output. But the draw against a 12 volt system will be roughly 14 times the 16.66 = 233.24 amps just to run the ac continuous . Still too many amps against a normal 12 volt system. Only way would be to use a 24 volt system complete with it's own 24 volt alternator and of course the inverter will need to be 24 volts, then the amp draw will still be about 115 amps against the 24 volt system. So as said above, run your generator to keep cool, or have a pocket full of money.

Last Monday, I visited NAPA for a five inch exhaust clamp, they looked and found none is the store. I asked price and would have to wait 2 days, "$19.97" plus tax. The counter salesman suggested that I try Western Star, less than a mile away. Part in stock, cost "$14.05", out the door.

I have hardwood laminate, and also have granite in the coach, and have had carpet in the past. Will never put carpet back ANYWHERE. We use throw rugs in places where we might walk with bare feet, when soiled, if they are not cleanable, we toss them and buy new ones. Also, heat under the laminate and other hard surface flooring is achievable with todays technology, and is very affordable. One other note on the throw rugs, there is rug under liners that can be cut to fit the rugs that will almost completely stop any movement, the other 1/2 here demands that that is always in place. Good luck with your decision.

Sorry you didn't write this a month ago Joe. It bit me a week and a half ago, my KIA Soul started knocking, towed it to the dealer, they called yesterday, and said that it would not be covered under warranty, was well within the mileage and time, but the filter that was being used by the oil change place that I use does not meet KIA specs. "OUCH!!!!!!"

Herman, I saw a 42 ft 98 Newell for 119,500, If I were looking for another coach, I'd on be my way to Texas tomorrow.