Видео

Good stuff, hope you like it! Did you use my coupon and get your 75 days free tracking?

Thanks mate!

Cheers mate glad you found it helpful! Did you end up buying one?

Why power steering? That's already very slippery. Why not use engine oil to rinse it out and then pour it into the engine?

Good to hear mate, RUclips can be great for this stuff hey! I did another video of a mate's car with about the same kays as yours, that might confirm your situation. ruclips.net/video/BXUnbrvVAwI/видео.html

Hi mate, yeah the manifold was already clean although I probably should have made this clearer. Check out the first two minutes of the first video in the catch can series ruclips.net/video/dSmd-hu3nu4/видео.html, that was at 228,000km. I installed the catch can straight after that video - watch the first couple of minutes of this one ruclips.net/video/M6zJUXVhHSI/видео.html

Yeah that's very weird, I would be happy with that too and it's about what that other one gave me, but I've never seen close to that from my 300 watt blanket. I guess my advice to you would be the same as what I said in the video, don't ever sell your blanket!

I guess it will, but it's a pretty expensive solution

No worries, thanks for watching and glad it helped!

I don't think these are CCA cables? What made you think that? I would certainly agree in principle with what you're saying if they were. For anyone else reading this, CCA stands for copper clad aluminium, which is copper on the outside but cheaper aluminium the rest of the way through.

Thanks mate, glad it was helpful! Did you decide to get one?

Yeah, missed out on your code tho. Should’ve watched your vid before purchasing Still stoked tho Happy dayz

Shame! Not to worry you've still got a good product! Enjoy! 👍

Cheers cob Keep up the good work

I agree a higher voltage system is definitely one way around this problem, especially for a brand new installation where you're doing it all from scratch. However if you're retrofitting it to an existing 12 volt system, you have to factor in the cost of changing 12v appliances to 24 or 48v, plus 12 volt converters when needed to run lower power 12 volt systems like water pumps or the radio. It would probably cost more to change all that than the cost of upgrading a few cables and keeping it all as 12 volts.

Haha well that installer would be me! :D The old orange cables were what linked the two original AGM batteries, but when I first installed the inverter I supplied that thinner red cable I had from an old 1200W inverter. As I had AGM batteries I was only drawing small loads from the inverter for some time, but having just changed to lithium I was able to load the inverter right up for the first time, which is when this problem first presented itself.

Not a bad thought; while the inverter usually only draws 250A at 3000W, it can draw up to 4500-6000W for 2 second bursts, which is 375-500A, which I guess is why they use a 450A fuse. Busbars are a good idea, it never occurred to me. Probably cheaper than chunky cable too.

Ah so run the old cables in parallel with the new ones? Good idea, provided the stack of terminals doesn't introduce more resistance than the cable. I'm probably ok with these thick cables but it's a good point I hadn't even thought of! Thanks!

All good points, thanks Michael!

Thanks so much, glad you enjoyed it! You're right there are gains to be made, and I probably didn't point this out as well as I might have. 160A at 10.9V (2:44) means the inverter was receiving about 1750W of power with the old cables, but at 7:03 it's 170A and 11.6V which is nearly 2000W. So my old cables were essentially being a 250W bar radiator!

Glad it helped! Yep the charging cable from the drawbar, as well as the charging cable in the vehicle itself from the battery, should all be considered. Good luck!

Excellent question! The Hard Korr panel actually failed just after I published the video and I was refunded under warranty. Even though the Companion was my personal favourite, it too went back under warranty due to the issues I noted so I've ended up using the 300W iTechWorld unit for my personal use which I've been happy enough with, even though its output still is only about 62% of the rating. Hard Korr has since updated their panel to be smaller and lighter and I've got one here ready to review. So stay tuned and I'll be giving my verdict on that in the coming months!

You're right there Peter, no point your cables becoming the fuse! It's interesting iTechWorld supplied the 3000W inverter with a 450A fuse but only 300A-rated cables (based on what's stamped on the lugs). That said, being a 3000W inverter it's really only designed to draw 250A under full continuous load, 350A for 10 seconds and 450-500A for 2 seconds. So in normal use they would be fine and I guess a temporary overload of short cables like that isn't going to be a problem, and if there's a genuine fault then the fuse should blow fairly quickly.

Interesting thanks Joel! The 450A fuse shipped with the 3000W inverter and they were installed together, so it's primarily there to protect the inverter. However implicit in that statement is that the rest of the system can handle more than 450A, so as you say the fuse should be first thing to go and not the cable. However it's interesting that the inverter has a max continuous input current rating of 375A, but peak up to 450- 500A, and the cable iTechWorld supplied with the inverter had 300A stamped onto the lug. So a bit of a mishmash of specifications there! I think they're designing the fuse to blow if the inverter shorts, and assuming the install will make sure the rest of the system can handle more than 450.

@@TheMusingGreg I would change the 300A for the same 95mm cable as well. That 450A fuse will hang in there and take more than its rating before it blows. Cable insulation also has a temp rating and some good ones can go up to 200degC or a standard could be as low as 60degC.

@@sparkletornado5890 Yeah I've thought of that; but under normal circumstances the inverter will only be drawing 250A when it's generating 3000W, so it's only in overdrive conditions, which would be rare and brief, that you might pass 300A, and only in fault situations it should head north of 400A. That said the voltage drop at 250A still may be significant so I'll consider it.

@@TheMusingGreg Using the correct cable size for inverter loads helps to minimize voltage ripple, which can be detrimental to system performance. To measure ripple, set your multimeter to AC voltage mode and take a reading at the DC terminals. A ripple of 1.5-2V is considered high. Excessive ripple forces the inverter to work harder, leading to increased strain on the system and causing micro-cycling of the battery, which accelerates cell aging.

@@sparkletornado5890 Yep that's a good point mate, especially with variable loads on the inverter. If it has to battle the output load climbing as well as the input voltage dropping, and then those two factors varying quickly, it makes everything work harder. My van is out at the moment but I would expect with those thick cables there wouldn't be much ripple in my system.

Great suggestion! I've briefly thought of those before but the cost has put me off. But I'll look further into it in case I can find a more affordable one

Thanks for the comfort! Yep I'm a tech by trade too and the simplicity of the swap meant it just didn't occur to me. But as you say at those levels of current, all sorts of innocuous conductors suddenly turn into bar radiators!!

@@TheMusingGreg I’ve literally just upgraded my very small caravan to the same system as you, except one more battery. 360 amps worth and the 3kw inverter. I used a 20mm x 6mm busbar between batteries in parallel and they actually changed colour!! Yikes! Great channel Greg you should post more often.

Wow that's scary! Glad you're liking the channel, yeah I'd like to post more often and I've actually got the content for a number of videos all recorded, but it just takes so long (as in, numerous full days back to back) to pull all the different clips together into a decent video! So everything else including work has to go on hold while that's happening. I think in some respects I may have set myself unrealistic expectations with those really long solar blanket reviews which took weeks of solid work to produce, but don't want to follow them up with half-baked content! I've definitely got the iTechWorld battery review coming, and Hard Korr has sent me an updated version of the blanket I reviewed last year to look at, so hopefully they'll be done before too much longer!

@@TheMusingGreg Hey Greg I can’t for the life of me find that chart on that website you mentioned. Got a link? Thanks

Sorry I meant to add in the link in the description! Just done that but here it is again: www.solar4rvs.com.au/buying/buyer-guides/ultimate-dc-cable-sizing-system-calculator-for-rvs/

I agree, for the price it should be 2-3 years

My pleasure! Part 2 is coming I promise! 😬

Interesting, never heard of that. I found water worked fine, hadn't heard of dedicated clay bar lubes so thanks for the tip!

Thanks for the tips! I've still got the Pajero, she's at 329000kms now and still going strong with routine maintenance

Yes these sorts of products aren't much use on heavily soiled manifolds. Solvent getting into the engine shouldn't be a problem if used as directed, i.e. running engine at 2000-2500rpm when it's being used, I've used them a few times and not had a problem.

I was referring to when manually cleaning [inlet manifold removed ] using solvents can potentially enter cylinders . These fluids need to be removed b4 starting engine . The risks of doing a major clean .

Oh yes definitely. Usually that would be done off vehicle but you're right than any port cleaning you'd need to make sure the cylinders aren't full of solvent when you first start it! 😲💥

Engines start with huge amounts of black smoke and thats when I thought all degreaser was removed . Another reason why I use Kerosine because it wont cause damage on start up .

Thanks for the tip!

Pink stuff great for that dirt build up and removes mild scratches . @@TheMusingGreg

Yes certainly. They just tend to be more common in diesels as people try to use them to stop manifold build-up caused partly by EGR soot which you don't have much of in a gas engine. I believe some people use them in gas engines to improve combustion as the air is cleaner and has lower detonation rates especially on turbo'd engines. Just what I've heard though.

No problems mate, did you decide to get one or did it make you decide not to? 😄

Oh shame! Glad you enjoyed the review, and hope you're getting good use out of the tracker!

Yes you will lose some power as the Allspark will be sinking some power from your existing panel. In solar panels are really designed to deliver electrical power, not to absorb it. It would be better to have two identical solar regulators, put one on the output of each panel, and then connect the output of each regulator in parallel and then run to your battery. This will still mean that one regulator may be absorbing a bit of power from the other, but it's likely to give a better result.

In what regard? Metal probably only makes sense in extreme harsh conditions or if being peppered with rocks. My old red one is still fine after 25 years. And the plastic doesn't generate static.

Great glad it was helpful! 👍

I completely agree, seems very bad form from the information we know so far.

@@TheMusingGreg I wish you and the other guy good health and prosperity.

Yep the price difference was enormous! Fortunately Redarc discontinued this blanket and replaced it with one that's half the price and much easier to recommend to certain buyers. I reviewed it here: ruclips.net/video/pPy_5Lm-Mo0/видео.html

It does work, but only slowly! Certainly not one or two cans and it's clean again like you'd expect from the advertising

@@TheMusingGreg The only way to do it correctly is to remove manifold to get to the valves remove egr blah blah all these over priced cleaners are junk i have never seen the best cleaner on any RUclips video.. I've been a mechanic for 50 years my 2 sons are mechanics auto electrician's & they are booked up for forever.

Yep I'd agree that's by far the most effective way to clean a manifold. While these products do work in a minimal way, I do feel there is probably an element of just preying on the fact that people don't want to go through the hassle of taking the manifold off and just hope that a miracle in a can does the job instead!

Hi Tony thanks for your insightful comments and I'm glad to hear you found the review so useful! Given the device is always connected to the internet and communicating with their servers, I would be very surprised if they don't have the capacity to do an over the air firmware upgrade, however I can't be certain on that. As to the subscription, I've had the device for about 9 months so far so I haven't needed to renew a subscription yet, however I did have the SMS notifications enabled for a few months while I was preparing this review and cancelled it once I was done and had no problems doing that; so in my limited experience I feel you'll be ok. Hope you get something sorted over the phone, and don't forget to make sure you use that coupon code and get yourself some free tracking! 😁

Interesting, what didn't you like about it? It was the right size for one spot for me, and I found the dimensions a bit easier to manoeuvre than the traditional tall skinny ones.

@@TheMusingGreg Thank you Greg. I bought one of the squat 20L cans thinking it would have a lower centre of gravity (which it does) but what I discovered is that they are harder to handle in regards to holding the entire can whilst pouring it into a vehicle. The can itself is great and the COG is good too but it's a pain to hold. It could very well be that I am short and muscly and so have a slight handling issue. Let me tell you that the can still works great and I would recommend them over any other brand. I just prefer the regular upright 20L Scepter. This is a firs world issue. The squat cans work fine 🙂 I just like the taller one's better for ease of use in my setting (cattle station SW Qld)

Fair enough, we're all different and I guess that's why it's good there are different choices out there! I'm more tall and thin so I found it easy to get my arms around the squat one.

@@TheMusingGreg We use both and they are both good. I just prefer the regular one.

That's true if it's stationary like in that video, but if the chains are under tension if the van is braking they might catch the coupling

Thanks!! Just stay safe!

Thanks for the tip. Wynn's products are very hard to find in Australia, I'm guessing you're from UK or EU? I'll see if I can track some down.

Not exactly. The vents in well designed maintenance free batteries run through a maze in the lid of the battery which allows the water to condense back to a liquid and distill back into the battery. It's not perfect as the battery body will still be quite warm, but it should recapture most of the water.

@@TheMusingGreg I didn't know that. Does the maze lose its ability to condense water over time?

I wouldn't think so, there's nothing in the maze to degrade. It would only decrease in effectiveness as it warms up, so over time in a hot engine bay you are probably still going to lose water,nbut nowhere near as much as in a regular battery.

Sure thanks for checking, please just link to the original video

@@TheMusingGreg Sure thank you

Haha what a hilarious story! Hope the chook is ok! There's nothing particularly special about the pin, so providing the thread portion of a screw fits into the clamp on the board, and the screw head is about the right size and shape there's no reason why it shouldn't work. But as you say there's not a lot to lose now. Good luck and thanks for the laugh! 🤣

@@TheMusingGreg Thank you so much for your reply! I actually used a rivet...bashed the flange off and cut it to length...didn't work when I first tried to lock/unlock, but after I started it and turned it off, it would lock but not unlock....noticed there's a bit of crud from the old buttons I replaced a year or so ago underneath that particular switch so hopefully if I can clean it without 'poultry interference' I'll get to unlock it with the buttons again....glad you got a chuckle, will let you know if I get any egg surprises 😉

Haha great! Yeah a rivet would be a good choice. Hope it works for you!

Yep these two products certainly don't make a very big difference. I agree regular servicing helps with many things, although it's probably not going to do much for reducing manifold buildup given EGR is the main culprit there.

So you run the stuff through the engine?! When I cleaned my manifold it was off the vehicle and I washed all out, I didn't think it would be very good to run a caustic product through the combustion chamber?