Apu epu
Discussion in 'Ask An Owner Operator' started by pilot trucker, Jun 20, 2018.
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Any solid copper wire should not be used in a truck. The copper can vibrate and break and this can cause a fire from arching within the insulation. Even though it is rare, it does happen.
Had a friend who has a meltdown in his sleeper because the sleeper builder put in romex in the entire sleeper and it caused a fire behind the microwave. I helped him rip it all out and we put in good flexible cable to make it safe. He had to have one panel on the outside fixed where it melted the paint and warped the aluminum. The owner of sleeper builder (I won't mention who it is but they are still in business) told him too bad it didn't burn, he could have collected the insurance.Opendeckin and Hurst Thank this. -
Not saying it cant or wont happen. But with the exception of the 18 or so inches you see and about 24inches in the generator box itself,.. the rest of the wiring is insulated in conduit,.. foam spray,.. and externally insulated,.. wrapped with water pipe foam padding to reduce that risk. Not fire,.. but the wire breaking from vibrating was a concern.
Been good so far. No offense,.. but I have no intention of rewiring that. It was a PITA to do. And as you can see,.. wiring is not exactly my thing.
Hurst -
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It was a serious PITA to do. Like I said,.. I was concerned about wire chaffing and breakage. Fire didnt come into mind at the time. I was more concerned with losing power for my AC on a hot day than fire. Fishing through the conduit and shooting foam spray into each joint and cleaning up the mess enough to glue on the next piece of conduit was time consuming and tedious. Foam spray even with the long nozzle always turns into a sticky mess for me.
Hurst -
Don't beat me up for ignorant question guys. Electricity is pretty mysterious to me. Why not just plug a.c. or heater in directly using outdoor rated extension cord? I have an inverter already for other stuff. The Honda generator interests me because I just want a.c. n heat without altering leased truck or spending a fortune. I think your a.c. setup is very slick Hurst.
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Its not perfect or ideal.
In the winter I use a small 1500 watt ceramic heater. Summer I use the Window A/C.
The truck is a Columbia with the Condo roof. Impossible to put a roof mount AC. And I have considered an indoor AC like what Tug has so I dont have to lug the Window unit from the upper bunk to the window and back each time. But with the condo roof,.. I dont think the indoor unit would be efficient enough to cool the truck on a really hot day with the sun baking on the roof.And in My KW,.. I just dont have the room with the way the cabinets are set up.
The window unit is an 8500 BTU. The first one I got was a Haire. It was also a 8000 or 8500 BTU,.. but couldnt keep up on the really hot days. I sold it and bought the LG to see if it would do any better and it does. No problems. I have a Frigidaire in my KW that I use. Currently looking at whats involved in getting a roof mount installed.
I have a 12,000 BTU indoor AC like what Tug has in my office at home and on the really warm humid days its not that great. Thats why I held off on getting on in the truck.
Inverters are nice,.. but depending on the load,.. they can drain your battery very quickly. For example,.. I use my 3500 watt inverter during the day when the truck is running. How ever,.. if I use the Micrwave or hot plate,.. I would leave the truck running or kick on the generator rather than just let the batteries take the brunt of the work.
The other good thing about the generator,.. should I ever have low batteries where the truck wont start,.. I have a speed charger that I can plug into the 30 amp port on the generator and help charge and start the truck easier. So many different uses for the generator.
Also,.. there are other generator that cost much less than the Honda. So I dont want you to think I am trying to push just the Honda on to you. The EU3000 is expensive. The cheapest I found was from Northern Tools for $1995. I chose the EU3000is because it has a built in inverter that mimicks exactly what comes out of your house plug. It is safe for all electronics. I have an expensive 4k TV, Satellite dish and receiver as well as my Laptop, printer etc. The fan, fridge and Micrwave would be fine on a regular generator.
Also,.. what sold me on the EU3000 was how quiet it is. You really need to hear one to understand. On ECO mode,.. its so smooth and quiet,.. if it werent for seeing that my AC or TV were on,.. I woudlnt knot the generator was on. Also,.. it will stay running for 15 - 20 hours. So there is no problem going to sleep and worrying about the generator running out of fuel and waking up to a hot sweat.
The other bonus is that I save on average $300 a week by not idling the truck. $9 in gas will last 2 days on the generator. Roughly $33 - $35 a week in gas.
HurstHighway Sailor, Tug Toy and UturnGirl Thank this. -
My question about the extension cord is..could i use one directly from generator without worrying about the wiring problems. Generator on frame. Outdoor extension cord from generator to a.c. in window. That would be simple enough even I could do it. Would it work?
Years ago had a travel trailer and a portable Honda..Honda was awesome. -
I'm no wiring expert. I just went off videos I found on the internet. Wiring up a house outlet is really pretty simple and straight forward. Everything you need can be had from any hardware store,.. and step by step (With pictures) instructions are all over the internet.
Electrical wiring is probably my least favorite thing and something I have the least knowledge about. So if a dummy like me can do it,.. I'm sure you could figure it out. That or find a small shop to wire it up for you.
Hurst
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