Stumbled into your channel and was amazed at how genius your unboxing method shocked my mind. I've found a fount of curiosity as I will go wandering into your video mindfield. Thanks for posting!!! PS also thanks for the peso/dollar clarification, changed my viewpoint immensely! I thought you had more money than sense. Glad I was wrong. Great video delivery.
All of those projects sound awesome. I am definitely in for any and all technical project videos. Your content has been an inspiration for my own build.
The video was incredible as usual. It sparked the inner geek in me and the inner industrious man. Love that you are using Python for scripting. Your knowledge of electronics, plumbing, physics, mechanical engineering, information technology, etc. is on par with professionals and you still have the ability to innovate where needed. And you know the theory behind all of them. I salute you, sir.
A friend just introduced me to your channel ... I love it. Best unboxing ever! A small suggestion for a belt and suspenders approach to protect against thermal runaway, or to simply control the water temperature via analog (for those who don't wish to go with digital control). Repurpose the existing tank-mounted thermostat, wiring it in series with the 12V heating pad (after removing the 120V connections). If folks want to keep the 12/120V option, you could also replace the single-pole (120V) thermostat with the 2-pole (240V) version, using one set of contacts for the heating pad and the other set for the 120V heating element.
I vote Maxxair only cause I think it's the most applicable to a lot of people. Could be a big hit for the channel. I love all the ideas though! Can't wait to see them in due time.
Your intelligence never ceases to amaze me. I always love watching you create things. I’d love to see the 3D printer and the dc to dc converter projects!
You could link 3 heater Matt’s on the outside as easy as you put one on there, I do love your presentation almost as much as making comments. Great job and your work bench language
Hi Mike from over the pond, just starting out in off-grid camping, This is a bit advanced, but it's doable. Gonna go simple stupid, power out from the charge controller and thermostat to shut it down when up to temp. We have a tie-in system that dumps to a second oversized hot water cylinder in the home, gonna do the motorhome now.
This was one of my favorite videos of yours so far. Excellent content. I'm extremely interested in the DC-DC conversion, as well as more code demos like this one.
Wasn't sure why RUclips recommend this video to me but I'm sure glad that it did. I'm not into van life although I don't mind the idea of it. But what got me was this ingenious idea of heating water with solar! This would work just as good for home, man who would have thought that I would be pulling together ideas from a motorhome? But there you go! You guys have pulled so far in front and that's amazing! I love the automation! The way that you interfaced the boiler within the network is something that I wanted without knowing what it was! Thanks for the great video, I really enjoyed it. Now I have to stalk your other videos that have anything remotely to do with electronics and control!
DC to DC is interesting! I am running 24V and was thinking to do a switch mode power supply to 19V for my laptop and “big” screen monitor. And good job on the heater, using battery level sounds like to way to go.
I've always wondered about the DC to AC back to DC conversions being inefficient, just never tested it out, so that's my vote. Going from 14v to 19v will have it's drawbacks, and be proprietary to that one device, an inverter gives you the standard AC outlet. Thanks for the content.
Yes, Agreed, but we will still have our Inverter as the "Universal Adaptor". But I'm on the laptop for 6-10 hours a day and the 3D printer is on for long stretches at a time, so I'm hoping that these see the biggest gains in efficiency.
Rheem hotwater tanks are made in Australia everyone had one growing up from the 1950s now are mainly solar. I will ring the factory to see if I can get the size you have. I'll put one in my van pronto. Thanks mate
I always find them entertaining and thought provoking. Some may not always apply to me, but they become a jump off point. I have a cabin that I will be converting to solar and would like to to apply some of these projects. Great work
DC to DC Efficiency - new sub as of 3 minutes ago. I converted a dozen computer servers used in our business from standard AC computer power supplies to 12 VDC Automobile supplies and added 22 ah ACM batteries and powered them with combo power-supply/chargers and this also allowed us to get rid of the UPS units for them as well. It reduced our monthly electric bills by $150 to $200 since it also reduced our A/C requirements by a decent amount. We also converted all of the hard drives to SSDs in the servers at the same time which was required for some servers due to the smaller max size power supplies available for DC (250 vs 350 watt). Payback was 18 to 24 months. If you included the UPS conversions, we were going from AC to DC then to AC then back to DC by the time it reached the computer guts! Now we are AC for the Charger/PS units and all DC from there! Plus the backup batteries would run the servers for 4 hours on average instead of 20 minutes on the UPS units. In Florida (Hurricaneville) this was an AWESOME benefit! Best Dog Gone project I've done in a long time. This is why I vote for DC to DC efficiency. Cheers, Richard
It is not often I can watch a RUclips tutorial/video from start to finish - but I always find these videos gripping...interesting...informative... awesome - thanks for all the information - it is inspirational.
This video of the dumpload waterheater is my favorite video you did so far. Id really like to do something like this once i get a little time off work. Got my minisplit installed this weekend. 38 seer inovair brand at 220 volts. Its freaking amazing and uses the smallest amount of energy ever. Its so silent only way you know its on is you are comfortable and cool.
P.S. the more I watch about your build the more I see how great it is. The keg idea for water is just paying back in dividends; I was looking at a tank solution for my build just out of pure capacity but it's hard to argue with your setup with compressed air and the multiple uses, as well as the ability to easily refill water without needing a real RV fill point.
Nice to watch a gentleman on RUclips that is tech minded, and knows his electrical/electronics. Thank you for the very informed information. I know electronics very well but definitely would like to know more about raspberry pie.
Great video - Keep all the ideas coming. LORA definitely. I fitted a similar tank that's used in boats heated by the engine which has worked very well for many years. Its got a housing for an element which I can use for surplus solar / mains heating. When I get the surplus solar fitted.. Interesting to find out about the bearing problem on the fans.
I'm running 1200 watts of solar to lithium batteries with 3000 wats of inverter. Not that it matters but I have magnum solar controller & inverter. I have heard the conversion to 120vac is inefficient. I would be interested in dc to dc conversion to charge laptop, cell phone,etc. Thank you for all your help. Gary.
Just a heads up, I love all of those projects and looking forward to any of them!!!! The multi step conversion (DC -> AC -> DC) is an issue for so many and even marginal improvements would be worth it as it cost $ to establish specific thresholds of solar systems. Every bit counts! AC -> DC just requires a full bridge rectifier and losses aren't too bad as I understand it but DC -> AC losses are horrible!!!
I'm voting for DC to DC. I'm sure I could go full monkey and rig everything to work myself, but I'd love to see it done with high quality parts and made to look nice and neat and etc. :)
Great job! Thought provoking. The internal 110v element is a potential point of failure/leakage. If you never use the 110v, you might be able to replace the element with a gal. plug.
I would have been so disappointed if you turned out to be a pico guy, so seeing that you use nano, you're obviously okay 😋 Love the project! Trying to figure out how to incorporate into my van!
All of those are excellent ideas. Your attention to detail is always an inspiration. Side note: my Prusa just got delivered yesterday so I’d lean toward 3D printing if I had to choose. :)
I know I am late commenting on your video but I am very interested in the DC to DC adapters. We have an RV van we bought in February of 2020 that is completely stock. It has given us a whole new world to explore. Or a new way to explore this world. I am constantly upgrading and modifying the RV. I learn so much from videos like this, thank you.
Nice setup! One thing you could consider is to put a thermostatic valve on the output so you always get the same output temperature and your reservoir contents lasts longer. You then can even heat your reservoir to let's say 80° and still have a safe output temperature of let's say 40°. Are you also going to use it for the shower?
Shower? I would put a shutoff valve on the shower head. 6 gallons of hot water won't cut it for long but one good thing it don't take long to reheat the water. I once went to my neighbors fishing trailer to do some work and the kitchen had a 10 gallon water heater and the cold water came out hot because of the back feed of the water heater. I would like to see a 12 volt heating element and put it on a ten gallon water heater. But on a house it would be better just to install a solar water heater. I would save the power for running an AC unit. 73
Brilliant!!!! I’m a fan…. I’m preparing to cross the Atlantic and work towards the Mediterranean and into the Black Sea (God willing), in the Summer of 2022. Thank you Friend.
This video was truly great, I"m a little burnt out on the many '10 Things Not to Do' and our '10 best van tips' vides out there. I've recently been watching the Swiss guy with the Hat who performed some LoRa radio experiments, gotta love that link budget. You would seem like the perfect individual to experiment with extracting H2O out of the air especially as you are effectively stuck in a high humidity location, you've got the tools and the requisite skills and the space in the vehicle to install such a beast. Again, thanks for the homebrew technical stuff, it really is a breath of fresh van air!
And after I get the rest of my plumbing parts here, I can connect the cold water to the faucet again and then I'll likely jack it up to 80°c and then blend it back at the tap.
yes to 60 C = Growth This tank needs to be cleaned probably monthly just to ensure nothing nasty has overgrown inside it However, what's more, important is overnight it is dropping to ~40C which is even more dangerous than keeping it at 60C I reckon this water tank should be kept at a toasty constant 100 C ;)
I've installed several of those little water heaters as.i li e spot water heaters in houses that have very long wait times to get hot water or a distant location. This water heater is cheap to run and provides hot water instantly while the main hot water is making it's way to the location. There was a truck camper guy I knew years ago, had a custom dual 12vdc 120vac stainless heating element to use his excess solar production and it worked great. The last line of code I wrote was visual basic back about 2001 . Take care...
As always thank you for the content. An additional praise is required for your sped up unboxing segment. Oh how I dislike unboxing videos. Cheers from OZ
Love it! Wish this kind of thing was available plug and play for the regular people out here. It will be one day, so maybe you should be the one to do it! Thanks again.
Hi and thanks! But I’m sorry, I didn’t mean the DC water heater only. I really meant the whole monitoring systems of it. The program that runs when to turn heater on and off etc.
My father-in-law bought and installed a solar water preheater back in the 1980's. A fluid, I don't remember what, circulated through a solar collector then through a jacket in the water heater. It pre-warmed the water before any energy was used to heat.
You are my favorite RV RUclipsr! I started to learn how to code on microboard and electrical wiring so that I can build my own Campervan just like yours!
Wow.... a real life Mcguyver!!!! Amazing! You could make this a side hobby..... for ladies like myself who couldn’t but would love to have hot water in their van! (my hubby is not that mechanically inclined).
Super timely for me. I have 2 on-demand water heaters and too much solar, but my inverter already prioritizes battery charge over load demand. And On-demand doesn’t run until needed, but the topic is so relevant. What I’m thinking about now is segregating a portion of my fresh water as pre-heated water. Especially in winter when preventing freeze might be helpful. My other thought is to cool the solar panels with either fresh water cycling through or a coolant running to a radiator/exchanger to pre-heat a water tank or the outermost layer below the trailer. Lots to think about but your video sparked my rabbit hole exploration! Thanks!
Definitely the best unboxing video ever. I really enjoyed how you saved all of the materials the tape and the packing materials, just brilliant. Oh and the incisive reflection on the contents, just the best!!
Not sure if you still read comments on old videos. I am inspired by your video to to the following. Buy a cheap 120 v water heater and replace the heating element with a 48v element. Then just use a thermostat probe taped to the side to regulate the temperature for hot water by turning the element on and off by temperature. Then I do not have to invert the power before I heat the water. I will not be using it as a solar dump for power. (great idea though), just use it has my actual water heater, but just on 48v!!! Since the safety valve on top is mechanical and not electrical, it should still have the pressure pop off safety intact.
Yes, I read and approve every comment... We didn't just build it for a dump load, it's our water heater too... this video is a little outdated and we have a revised system shown here: ruclips.net/video/TGMZ7bM-Kow/видео.html
Yes you re right,ment Legionella bacteria in water under 60 degr C.,just be sure your temp doesnt dip too much and let water run 10-20 sec.Maybe not easy to get those things in a more or less off grid installation,where one wants not to use too much water or power.Stay safe,thanks for vid.
I think your refering to Legionella, which "Temperatures above 60 °C (140 °F) kill the bacteria" en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legionnaires%27_disease If you have other studies or papers that show otherwise, please share these facts.
as always a great video. I would vote for the dc to dc vid as I'm about to setup a 24V system and am going to run stepdowns to all the bits and bobs. I look forward to whatever you decide to put out. cheers.
FWIW, I'm interested in everything. I hope eventually you cover all these projects in the future. I'll be here to watch every minute regardless of the order they are presented. I have learned about all kinds of things I never imagined from just watching your channel. Thank YOU! 👍👍😎👍👍
I’ve found it helps the clean the maxxair fan often. But yeah after a year of daily, some days non stop, use it definitely isn’t as quiet as it was the first few months. Any improvements or revisions please share. A solution would be awesome. It’s already 100x better than a fantastic fan
nice! I was planning on doing this with my DSI RV water heater. basically wrapping 3x 220W 12v heating pads, and controlling them based on SOC and demand, basically 80-85% SOC = one heater, 85-90%SOC is 2 heaters, 90+ is all heaters on. then put a thermostatic mixing valve on the output so we can run the heat up a bit more than normal for a larger thermal bank. and then as a last resort the LP heat can come on if it drops below the setpoint.
Did the same thing with one that I bought at homedepot in Toronto for my boat, I also installed the 12 volt heating element. In this case I have dual heating on a open solar panel.
Lora is my 1st choice and I believe once people see how it works the desire for more will grow. When it started it was expensive but prices are lower now. The network idea is a good one. The 2nd choice actually farther than 2nd is DC to DC stuff and most people do not understand this much either. It would be good for those who want 24VDC solar battery bank and need to operate some 12VDC items. I did find the hot water heater at Home Depot here in the states, not inexpensive $189US but you definitely gave me some good ideas. Thanks for the HW info nice stuff.
If you're looking at different DC/DC power supplies, HDPLEX makes some pretty neat high quality variants aimed at the small form factor desktop market. I've considered them a bit for running my desktop gaming PC directly off of my lifepo4 bank.
You are the greatest!!!! I have just started a complete start from scratch Caravan renovation here in Australia.........and watching a bunch of videos to get wised up with water systems and electrical.....this is next level brilliant! You are my hero! Cant wait to get stuck into the other videos......
Boom! Hope you don’t mind if I grab that idea and run. Got 800w on my van and 6.6kw in the battery, find a 10L hot water system, the temperature sensor with digital display etc I already have, add a voltage sensor, buy a 200w heating pad and follow along!
You may be able able to convert your 3D printer to run directly off of 12v without using a boost converter. You'll need a 12v heater cartridge for the hotend, and 12v fans. If you can tap into the center of the heater trace on the bed, you can run the 2 halves of the heater circuit in parallel at 12v without any loss of efficiency. You'll likely need to run an external mosfet, or upgrade the one on your control board to handle the extra current for the bed. The mosfets for the hotend and fans will likely be fine as is. I'm planning a similar project for my van. I'm seriously considering building a Voron V0. What is the wattage of the heater you used on your water tank?
Yes, I considered swapping out the hotend to 12v, I've already replaced the fans with quite 12v Noctua fans... But for the time being I'm running it at 24v
Thank you so much for this post - I have used your heated mat concept (mine included a fixed 90C cut off as it was designed for a waste oil tank heater)) and a programmable variable voltage relay used to trigger a relay via a switch with LED indicator - I can both see when the mat is on & if needed shut the circuit down so my 300 ah lithium can top balance - My Carver water heater is only 4 gallon and I only have 280 watts of solar supplemented by 20a of DC to DC from the alternator - I plan to use the solar dump to prevent the Lithium batteries from climbing the knee in everyday use
all of those projects would be super neat!. but if i had to pick just one it would be the lora network. that would be handy for multiple uses! i fly paramotors with friends and a system like that would be epic for keeping track of my flying buddies in the air!
Super video, lots of people want this too. I recently thought about making a maze of small tubing behind the Solar Panels themselves as in a Thermal Collector. I figured that a tiny pump driven by solar could pump secondary water (Never consumed) through meters of small heat-resistant-tubing all carefully routed behind the solar panel(s). This circulating water is gonna get 60 degrees for sure and fast. Now you only have to make a heat-exchanger to warm up the drinking water in a large container of some sort. Just an idea i had. This is basically a very safe system and might even better than an electrical system. You to judge.
No, a tiny pump with long lengths of thin tubing in a maze would have significant restriction to flow, and certainly wouldn't work with our sliding mechanism shown at 0:13 Further, you want the heat to evacuate the solar panels as quick as possible as the efficiency drops dramatically when they get hot, by heating them to 60° with nowhere for the heat to go, we would be losing a lot of power.
@@Everlanders I guess there is also the possibility of sub zero temperature effects on such a tubing type system that would give problems in freezing conditions
First time seeing this channel. I will be subscribed as soon as I am done writing here. Great video. I too wondered about the conversion loses so when you get to it I'll be there. But in reality it looks like most of your videos will be of interest. Thanks Ray
I am a retired multidisciplinary engineer. You might consider having a melted wax reservoir with a soft copper coiled pipe, immersed in the wax, to heat water as it passes through. The wax will absorb a lot of heat as it melts, and release that heat to the water. You will be able to get about 150 degree F water, and only heat water you are using. You could also add tubing to the bottom of solar panels to remove heat, lowing panel temperature improves efficiency of the panel. Working fluid for that could be water or an oil.
That seems quite a bit more complex than popping in an off the shelf water heater... Perhaps outside the scope of what I can do, on the side of the road in Mexico during a pandemic...
Wow, this is first video. Great efficiency video on use of solar and never thought I would ever see use of computer training I got in early 80's (pascal language ) using the if then sequences. Great information but still don't understand tech of it. I think I got a friend that will enjoy the tech side of this. Will refer him to channel
Personally I'd like to see more amazing unboxing action. Best unboxing ever!😂😂😂
You got it Randy!!!
@@Everlanders That was fantastic! I had to explain my laugh to my wife. Blessings!
Stumbled into your channel and was amazed at how genius your unboxing method shocked my mind.
I've found a fount of curiosity as I will go wandering into your video mindfield.
Thanks for posting!!!
PS also thanks for the peso/dollar clarification, changed my viewpoint immensely! I thought you had more money than sense. Glad I was wrong. Great video delivery.
@@PatrickKQ4HBD I just laughed outloud watching this 😃luckily I am home on my own...I'm going to rewind and watch it again it was so good 😂🤪
Best unboxing EVER!
Oh I vote for DC-DC conversion, nothing annoys more than taking DC, converting it to AC just so I can then convert it back to DC.
Glad it's more than just me...
Agree, work for solar company, DC is the source voltage, just buck off/boost excess of the MPPT
This is why my off grid tiny house is being installed with as many 12 volt appliances as possible
Well, it's your lucky day, the DC-DC conversion video just dropped: ruclips.net/video/UAZGX379dmc/видео.html
@@Everlanders Ha, awesome, I've been using one of those converters to charge my laptop, works great. Need to convert the Dyson now.
I used a voltage sensitive relay to trigger a heating element in my rvs water heater a few years ago. Worked great. Nice job on your system
Hey Will, sorry we missed you on our way South, needed to get out of the USA quickly or we would have come to say hello...
@@Everlanders oh no worries! Really cool video you made 😁 nice job
I agree
Instablaster...
Can you post a link to that video please, I can't find it
I love reviews where the reviewers have the balls to actually take the product apart. Earned your keep.
Balls have brain cells?
Looking most forward to the DC-DC efficiency and the 3d printer mods!!!
Yeaaah me too intresting the dc-dc
"If you've Ever Suffered from Pre Mature Relief this will solve it for you"
Quote of the year 4:35
Thank you for this
I thought he said "premature release".
Followed by "Might need a bigger hammer, or more lube" at 11:54.
@@brikshoe6259 same difference lol
All of those projects sound awesome. I am definitely in for any and all technical project videos. Your content has been an inspiration for my own build.
Thanks so much for the kind words!
This video is great
It took me 3 days of searching the internet but I found a 24v ballast for UV lamps! Then paid 60 dollars for shipping. Totally worth it.
The video was incredible as usual. It sparked the inner geek in me and the inner industrious man. Love that you are using Python for scripting. Your knowledge of electronics, plumbing, physics, mechanical engineering, information technology, etc. is on par with professionals and you still have the ability to innovate where needed. And you know the theory behind all of them. I salute you, sir.
This is the kind of comment I need right now... 🥰
@@Everlanders
You are above the professionals.
A friend just introduced me to your channel ... I love it. Best unboxing ever!
A small suggestion for a belt and suspenders approach to protect against thermal runaway, or to simply control the water temperature via analog (for those who don't wish to go with digital control). Repurpose the existing tank-mounted thermostat, wiring it in series with the 12V heating pad (after removing the 120V connections). If folks want to keep the 12/120V option, you could also replace the single-pole (120V) thermostat with the 2-pole (240V) version, using one set of contacts for the heating pad and the other set for the 120V heating element.
Lora sounds interesting!
Being People are being DE platformed... LORA EFP-32 Mesh Network is a winner for me. Great Project, Cheers
4:05 is pure genius! Best unboxing EVER! 😂
I vote Maxxair only cause I think it's the most applicable to a lot of people. Could be a big hit for the channel. I love all the ideas though! Can't wait to see them in due time.
Your intelligence never ceases to amaze me. I always love watching you create things. I’d love to see the 3D printer and the dc to dc converter projects!
You could link 3 heater Matt’s on the outside as easy as you put one on there, I do love your presentation almost as much as making comments. Great job and your work bench language
Yup, you could...
... I'm in in all of these planned projects ... Thank you for sharing your knowledge and experience ...
Hi Mike from over the pond, just starting out in off-grid camping, This is a bit advanced, but it's doable.
Gonna go simple stupid, power out from the charge controller and thermostat to shut it down when up to temp.
We have a tie-in system that dumps to a second oversized hot water cylinder in the home, gonna do the motorhome now.
This was one of my favorite videos of yours so far. Excellent content. I'm extremely interested in the DC-DC conversion, as well as more code demos like this one.
Wasn't sure why RUclips recommend this video to me but I'm sure glad that it did. I'm not into van life although I don't mind the idea of it.
But what got me was this ingenious idea of heating water with solar! This would work just as good for home, man who would have thought that I would be pulling together ideas from a motorhome? But there you go! You guys have pulled so far in front and that's amazing! I love the automation! The way that you interfaced the boiler within the network is something that I wanted without knowing what it was!
Thanks for the great video, I really enjoyed it. Now I have to stalk your other videos that have anything remotely to do with electronics and control!
Thank you sir! You are a gentleman, a scholar and my favorite subscriber of the day! 🏆
Nice project! I've voting the DC-DC conversion. I hope you have a ready supply of transistors
DC to DC is interesting! I am running 24V and was thinking to do a switch mode power supply to 19V for my laptop and “big” screen monitor. And good job on the heater, using battery level sounds like to way to go.
I love your practical uses for the raspberry Pi and other electronics.
So fascinating. I use my 12L cornelius keg for airconditioning and you use it as a water heater. :)
I've always wondered about the DC to AC back to DC conversions being inefficient, just never tested it out, so that's my vote. Going from 14v to 19v will have it's drawbacks, and be proprietary to that one device, an inverter gives you the standard AC outlet. Thanks for the content.
Yes, Agreed, but we will still have our Inverter as the "Universal Adaptor". But I'm on the laptop for 6-10 hours a day and the 3D printer is on for long stretches at a time, so I'm hoping that these see the biggest gains in efficiency.
Rheem hotwater tanks are made in Australia everyone had one growing up from the 1950s now are mainly solar. I will ring the factory to see if I can get the size you have. I'll put one in my van pronto. Thanks mate
I always find them entertaining and thought provoking. Some may not always apply to me, but they become a jump off point. I have a cabin that I will be converting to solar and would like to to apply some of these projects. Great work
DC to DC Efficiency - new sub as of 3 minutes ago. I converted a dozen computer servers used in our business from standard AC computer power supplies to 12 VDC Automobile supplies and added 22 ah ACM batteries and powered them with combo power-supply/chargers and this also allowed us to get rid of the UPS units for them as well. It reduced our monthly electric bills by $150 to $200 since it also reduced our A/C requirements by a decent amount. We also converted all of the hard drives to SSDs in the servers at the same time which was required for some servers due to the smaller max size power supplies available for DC (250 vs 350 watt). Payback was 18 to 24 months. If you included the UPS conversions, we were going from AC to DC then to AC then back to DC by the time it reached the computer guts! Now we are AC for the Charger/PS units and all DC from there! Plus the backup batteries would run the servers for 4 hours on average instead of 20 minutes on the UPS units. In Florida (Hurricaneville) this was an AWESOME benefit! Best Dog Gone project I've done in a long time. This is why I vote for DC to DC efficiency.
Cheers, Richard
Great example! Nice work!
I very much liked this water heater project.
Thanks.
Cheers.
It is not often I can watch a RUclips tutorial/video from start to finish - but I always find these videos gripping...interesting...informative... awesome - thanks for all the information - it is inspirational.
I bought a few LoRa’s a year or two ago and never got it off the ground. That’s my vote.
This video of the dumpload waterheater is my favorite video you did so far. Id really like to do something like this once i get a little time off work. Got my minisplit installed this weekend. 38 seer inovair brand at 220 volts. Its freaking amazing and uses the smallest amount of energy ever. Its so silent only way you know its on is you are comfortable and cool.
P.S. the more I watch about your build the more I see how great it is. The keg idea for water is just paying back in dividends; I was looking at a tank solution for my build just out of pure capacity but it's hard to argue with your setup with compressed air and the multiple uses, as well as the ability to easily refill water without needing a real RV fill point.
Yes for sure! There are no options for hose refill south of the US border...
Nice to watch a gentleman on RUclips that is tech minded, and knows his electrical/electronics. Thank you for the very informed information. I know electronics very well but definitely would like to know more about raspberry pie.
Nice to be referred to as a Gentleman! 😜
Great video - Keep all the ideas coming. LORA definitely. I fitted a similar tank that's used in boats heated by the engine which has worked very well for many years. Its got a housing for an element which I can use for surplus solar / mains heating. When I get the surplus solar fitted.. Interesting to find out about the bearing problem on the fans.
I'm running 1200 watts of solar to lithium batteries with 3000 wats of inverter. Not that it matters but I have magnum solar controller & inverter. I have heard the conversion to 120vac is inefficient. I would be interested in dc to dc conversion to charge laptop, cell phone,etc.
Thank you for all your help.
Gary.
Just a heads up, I love all of those projects and looking forward to any of them!!!! The multi step conversion (DC -> AC -> DC) is an issue for so many and even marginal improvements would be worth it as it cost $ to establish specific thresholds of solar systems. Every bit counts! AC -> DC just requires a full bridge rectifier and losses aren't too bad as I understand it but DC -> AC losses are horrible!!!
I'm voting for DC to DC. I'm sure I could go full monkey and rig everything to work myself, but I'd love to see it done with high quality parts and made to look nice and neat and etc. :)
Great job! Thought provoking. The internal 110v element is a potential point of failure/leakage. If you never use the 110v, you might be able to replace the element with a gal. plug.
This is what I did: ruclips.net/video/TGMZ7bM-Kow/видео.html
Great video, very interesting, thanks! :) I'm interested in seeing the DC-DC efficiency gains.
Coming soon!
I would have been so disappointed if you turned out to be a pico guy, so seeing that you use nano, you're obviously okay 😋 Love the project! Trying to figure out how to incorporate into my van!
All of those are excellent ideas. Your attention to detail is always an inspiration. Side note: my Prusa just got delivered yesterday so I’d lean toward 3D printing if I had to choose. :)
I know I am late commenting on your video but I am very interested in the DC to DC adapters. We have an RV van we bought in February of 2020 that is completely stock. It has given us a whole new world to explore. Or a new way to explore this world. I am constantly upgrading and modifying the RV. I learn so much from videos like this, thank you.
Nice setup! One thing you could consider is to put a thermostatic valve on the output so you always get the same output temperature and your reservoir contents lasts longer. You then can even heat your reservoir to let's say 80° and still have a safe output temperature of let's say 40°. Are you also going to use it for the shower?
Shower? I would put a shutoff valve on the shower head. 6 gallons of hot water won't cut it for long but one good thing it don't take long to reheat the water. I once went to my neighbors fishing trailer to do some work and the kitchen had a 10 gallon water heater and the cold water came out hot because of the back feed of the water heater. I would like to see a 12 volt heating element and put it on a ten gallon water heater. But on a house it would be better just to install a solar water heater. I would save the power for running an AC unit. 73
Brilliant!!!! I’m a fan…. I’m preparing to cross the Atlantic and work towards the Mediterranean and into the Black Sea (God willing), in the Summer of 2022. Thank you Friend.
Just so others know, the price, $2999 is in MXN currency, which is about $150 USD.
Not for long, lol. Soon to be dollar for dollar : )
Stopped the video and did the conversion, 😆
This video was truly great, I"m a little burnt out on the many '10 Things Not to Do' and our '10 best van tips' vides out there. I've recently been watching the Swiss guy with the Hat who performed some LoRa radio experiments, gotta love that link budget. You would seem like the perfect individual to experiment with extracting H2O out of the air especially as you are effectively stuck in a high humidity location, you've got the tools and the requisite skills and the space in the vehicle to install such a beast. Again, thanks for the homebrew technical stuff, it really is a breath of fresh van air!
Shouldnt that temperature be over 65'C to avoid legionella bacteria growth?
Yes indeed! I'm running it at 70° for the last while.
And after I get the rest of my plumbing parts here, I can connect the cold water to the faucet again and then I'll likely jack it up to 80°c and then blend it back at the tap.
yes to 60 C = Growth
This tank needs to be cleaned probably monthly just to ensure nothing nasty has overgrown inside it
However, what's more, important is overnight it is dropping to ~40C which is even more dangerous than keeping it at 60C
I reckon this water tank should be kept at a toasty constant 100 C ;)
Are you feeding water from the purifier? Would that keep the bad stuff out?
I've installed several of those little water heaters as.i li e spot water heaters in houses that have very long wait times to get hot water or a distant location. This water heater is cheap to run and provides hot water instantly while the main hot water is making it's way to the location. There was a truck camper guy I knew years ago, had a custom dual 12vdc 120vac stainless heating element to use his excess solar production and it worked great. The last line of code I wrote was visual basic back about 2001 . Take care...
always more lube!
I am noticing, you are improving with the Funny!
he is and was always funny just now he is braver to show it
Thanks for the Noticing! (I'm trying)
@@BHrobry Yes, always funny and still Improving! no one is a master at everything right away, unless you are the Hynman
Dry Canadian humour
It’s commercial....
Canada Dry.
Finally I see someone who does what I plan to do: build an app to integrate into your vehicle and control everything.
All of the projects please, definitely not niche !
As always thank you for the content. An additional praise is required for your sped up unboxing segment. Oh how I dislike unboxing videos. Cheers from OZ
@4:10 damn. Good thing I wasn’t drinking milk at the time.
Love it! Wish this kind of thing was available plug and play for the regular people out here. It will be one day, so maybe you should be the one to do it! Thanks again.
It took 15 minutes...
Hi and thanks! But I’m sorry, I didn’t mean the DC water heater only. I really meant the whole monitoring systems of it. The program that runs when to turn heater on and off etc.
Ahhh, I misunderstood... Maybe one day, but we're heading south now...
Cool, welcome back to the south. I am already here and have kept it fairly stable temps, warm for you guys 😄
I’d love to know about dc-ac-dc
I am a network engineer and I really like these type of videos!
I really like these type of comments! 🤣
@@Everlanders excellent! :)
“Metric English” 😂
My father-in-law bought and installed a solar water preheater back in the 1980's. A fluid, I don't remember what, circulated through a solar collector then through a jacket in the water heater. It pre-warmed the water before any energy was used to heat.
DC/AC 2 DC & DC
You are my favorite RV RUclipsr! I started to learn how to code on microboard and electrical wiring so that I can build my own Campervan just like yours!
That is awesome! Thanks!
Thanks for u info on 12 volt elm I am living off grid on sailboats
Wow.... a real life Mcguyver!!!! Amazing! You could make this a side hobby..... for ladies like myself who couldn’t but would love to have hot water in their van! (my hubby is not that mechanically inclined).
Whether you think you couldn't, or you think you could, you're right.
BRILLIANT! Terrific use of excess energy. I would vote for the DC to DC or the 3D printer.
Now that right there is good and proper voiding of a warranty. I am proud of you.
🤣 Thanks! I wish I still had that shirt...
You need an expansion tank. Plugging the relief vale hole is asking to create that bomb you referred to in the video.
We have an expansion tank...
Super timely for me. I have 2 on-demand water heaters and too much solar, but my inverter already prioritizes battery charge over load demand. And On-demand doesn’t run until needed, but the topic is so relevant. What I’m thinking about now is segregating a portion of my fresh water as pre-heated water. Especially in winter when preventing freeze might be helpful.
My other thought is to cool the solar panels with either fresh water cycling through or a coolant running to a radiator/exchanger to pre-heat a water tank or the outermost layer below the trailer.
Lots to think about but your video sparked my rabbit hole exploration!
Thanks!
I should mention that this video is quite old and this system has been superseded by a newer setup already.
ruclips.net/video/TGMZ7bM-Kow/видео.html
Definitely the best unboxing video ever. I really enjoyed how you saved all of the materials the tape and the packing materials, just brilliant. Oh and the incisive reflection on the contents, just the best!!
Thanks! I'm probably best known for my incisiveness... 🤔
Long range radio sounds super interesting! But all your ideas do so...
With the 12volt powered water heater in play, it looks like there's still surplus SOC for the next project :) NICE!
Yup, 3D printer is the new Dump Load, and we're still charging!
Not sure if you still read comments on old videos. I am inspired by your video to to the following.
Buy a cheap 120 v water heater and replace the heating element with a 48v element. Then just use a thermostat probe taped to the side to regulate the temperature for hot water by turning the element on and off by temperature. Then I do not have to invert the power before I heat the water. I will not be using it as a solar dump for power. (great idea though), just use it has my actual water heater, but just on 48v!!! Since the safety valve on top is mechanical and not electrical, it should still have the pressure pop off safety intact.
Yes, I read and approve every comment...
We didn't just build it for a dump load, it's our water heater too... this video is a little outdated and we have a revised system shown here: ruclips.net/video/TGMZ7bM-Kow/видео.html
I loved the unboxing. I wish more folk started their videos like that.
Yes you re right,ment Legionella bacteria in water under 60 degr C.,just be sure your temp doesnt dip too much and let water run 10-20 sec.Maybe not easy to get those things in a more or less off grid installation,where one wants not to use too much water or power.Stay safe,thanks for vid.
I think your refering to Legionella, which "Temperatures above 60 °C (140 °F) kill the bacteria" en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legionnaires%27_disease
If you have other studies or papers that show otherwise, please share these facts.
as always a great video. I would vote for the dc to dc vid as I'm about to setup a 24V system and am going to run stepdowns to all the bits and bobs. I look forward to whatever you decide to put out. cheers.
Nice job. Love your videos. I would stick with DC to DC.
FWIW, I'm interested in everything. I hope eventually you cover all these projects in the future. I'll be here to watch every minute regardless of the order they are presented. I have learned about all kinds of things I never imagined from just watching your channel. Thank YOU! 👍👍😎👍👍
Such a heartwarming comment, thanks so much Joel!
'm not just inspired, I think I'm actually smarter for watching your vlog
I’ve found it helps the clean the maxxair fan often. But yeah after a year of daily, some days non stop, use it definitely isn’t as quiet as it was the first few months. Any improvements or revisions please share. A solution would be awesome. It’s already 100x better than a fantastic fan
nice! I was planning on doing this with my DSI RV water heater. basically wrapping 3x 220W 12v heating pads, and controlling them based on SOC and demand, basically 80-85% SOC = one heater, 85-90%SOC is 2 heaters, 90+ is all heaters on. then put a thermostatic mixing valve on the output so we can run the heat up a bit more than normal for a larger thermal bank. and then as a last resort the LP heat can come on if it drops below the setpoint.
Sounds great!
Did the same thing with one that I bought at homedepot in Toronto for my boat, I also installed the 12 volt heating element. In this case I have dual heating on a open solar panel.
Being an Arduino fan, I can appreciate what you've done here. Well done.
Lora is my 1st choice and I believe once people see how it works the desire for more will grow. When it started it was expensive but prices are lower now. The network idea is a good one. The 2nd choice actually farther than 2nd is DC to DC stuff and most people do not understand this much either. It would be good for those who want 24VDC solar battery bank and need to operate some 12VDC items. I did find the hot water heater at Home Depot here in the states, not inexpensive $189US but you definitely gave me some good ideas. Thanks for the HW info nice stuff.
If you're looking at different DC/DC power supplies, HDPLEX makes some pretty neat high quality variants aimed at the small form factor desktop market. I've considered them a bit for running my desktop gaming PC directly off of my lifepo4 bank.
brilliant system. I love the use of electrodacus and arduinos... great work.
@@opera5714 I’m interested in alternatives?
You are the greatest!!!! I have just started a complete start from scratch Caravan renovation here in Australia.........and watching a bunch of videos to get wised up with water systems and electrical.....this is next level brilliant! You are my hero! Cant wait to get stuck into the other videos......
Great, Yes interesting... I am not a programmer. Dyslexic. But your stuff looks interesting to me.
Boom! Hope you don’t mind if I grab that idea and run. Got 800w on my van and 6.6kw in the battery, find a 10L hot water system, the temperature sensor with digital display etc I already have, add a voltage sensor, buy a 200w heating pad and follow along!
You may be able able to convert your 3D printer to run directly off of 12v without using a boost converter. You'll need a 12v heater cartridge for the hotend, and 12v fans. If you can tap into the center of the heater trace on the bed, you can run the 2 halves of the heater circuit in parallel at 12v without any loss of efficiency. You'll likely need to run an external mosfet, or upgrade the one on your control board to handle the extra current for the bed. The mosfets for the hotend and fans will likely be fine as is. I'm planning a similar project for my van. I'm seriously considering building a Voron V0. What is the wattage of the heater you used on your water tank?
Yes, I considered swapping out the hotend to 12v, I've already replaced the fans with quite 12v Noctua fans... But for the time being I'm running it at 24v
You could use it to heat your camper as well as water has an amazing volumetric heat capacity.
We heat our camper very little in Colombia and Ecuador...
Thank you so much for this post - I have used your heated mat concept (mine included a fixed 90C cut off as it was designed for a waste oil tank heater)) and a programmable variable voltage relay used to trigger a relay via a switch with LED indicator - I can both see when the mat is on & if needed shut the circuit down so my 300 ah lithium can top balance - My Carver water heater is only 4 gallon and I only have 280 watts of solar supplemented by 20a of DC to DC from the alternator - I plan to use the solar dump to prevent the Lithium batteries from climbing the knee in everyday use
Good job!
great video i need to build that 3D printer
Sous vide cooking in an overlander... great stuff...
all of those projects would be super neat!. but if i had to pick just one it would be the lora network. that would be handy for multiple uses! i fly paramotors with friends and a system like that would be epic for keeping track of my flying buddies in the air!
Paragliders are one of the main developers hobbies, so it should fit nicely for your needs.
Super video, lots of people want this too. I recently thought about making a maze of small tubing behind the Solar Panels themselves as in a Thermal Collector. I figured that a tiny pump driven by solar could pump secondary water (Never consumed) through meters of small heat-resistant-tubing all carefully routed behind the solar panel(s). This circulating water is gonna get 60 degrees for sure and fast. Now you only have to make a heat-exchanger to warm up the drinking water in a large container of some sort. Just an idea i had. This is basically a very safe system and might even better than an electrical system. You to judge.
No, a tiny pump with long lengths of thin tubing in a maze would have significant restriction to flow, and certainly wouldn't work with our sliding mechanism shown at 0:13
Further, you want the heat to evacuate the solar panels as quick as possible as the efficiency drops dramatically when they get hot, by heating them to 60° with nowhere for the heat to go, we would be losing a lot of power.
@@Everlanders I guess there is also the possibility of sub zero temperature effects on such a tubing type system that would give problems in freezing conditions
Good work , as usual , Rheem is a very popular brand in Australia .
Only these tiny units aren't available in Australia. 25 litre units appear to be the smallest we can get here.
All those future projects sound interesting. I hope you end up making videos for all of them.
First time seeing this channel. I will be subscribed as soon as I am done writing here. Great video. I too wondered about the conversion loses so when you get to it I'll be there. But in reality it looks like most of your videos will be of interest. Thanks Ray
I am a retired multidisciplinary engineer. You might consider having a melted wax reservoir with a soft copper coiled pipe, immersed in the wax, to heat water as it passes through. The wax will absorb a lot of heat as it melts, and release that heat to the water. You will be able to get about 150 degree F water, and only heat water you are using.
You could also add tubing to the bottom of solar panels to remove heat, lowing panel temperature improves efficiency of the panel. Working fluid for that could be water or an oil.
That seems quite a bit more complex than popping in an off the shelf water heater... Perhaps outside the scope of what I can do, on the side of the road in Mexico during a pandemic...
Your humor = my humor. Love the work!
If you like that, you'll love this...ruclips.net/video/5MXkD7Z_ndc/видео.html
Going public next week.
Wow, this is first video. Great efficiency video on use of solar and never thought I would ever see use of computer training I got in early 80's (pascal language ) using the if then sequences. Great information but still don't understand tech of it. I think I got a friend that will enjoy the tech side of this. Will refer him to channel
I can't believe a little 12v heat mat is so effective!
Yeah, I was happily surprised, we've since upgraded to a 600-watt heater element: ruclips.net/video/TGMZ7bM-Kow/видео.html