Electrical items found inside the RV
Today I found myself staying in an older RV park campsite with relatively low voltage on the AC power pedestal feed. If I ran anything more than about 1500 watts, the AC voltage began to drop dramatically. For example, if I attempted 3000 watts, the voltage sagged to around 101 VAC. I thought this would … Read more
In this video, I demo and review a 100 amp-hour 12V lithium battery from Aolithium. The battery looks well made and utilizes quality components like grade “A” CALB brand lithium cells. But what intrigued me was the inclusion of Bluetooth data connectivity. A feature not often seen in a battery that sells in the same … Read more
I needed a high-wattage inverter to help with my lithium battery reviews, but I didn’t want to spend too much money. The Motomaster Eliminator 3000W looked to fill the bill. I bought it at Canadian Tire during a summer sale for $511 (The regular price is $639). Specs were decent enough and came with a … Read more
Recently WFCO Electronics contacted me and asked if I’d like to test and review a new product they are releasing. It’s a power converter charger that can auto-detect whether the RV has lead-acid or lithium-type batteries installed. Once it detects which type, it adjusts its charging algorithms for the most efficient charging. I thought my … Read more
In this video, I demo and review a 12V 100AH self-heating lithium battery from RELiBATT (Model RE12-100BL). I was interested in testing out a lithium RV battery with low-temperature charging capability. This option could come in handy for RVers who like to venture out camping or hunting in wintertime. Lithium cells might be damaged if … Read more
In this video, I review the Safari ME portable power station from Lion Energy. This isn’t my first time reviewing a Lion Energy product. In fact, two years ago I installed and reviewed their UT1300 12V RV lithium battery offering. Over the months that followed, I published a number of updates and demo videos. They … Read more
In this video, I install a Drok AC Amp/Volt Meter into my 2011 Keystone Cougar fifth-wheel trailers power distribution panel. Disclaimer: Working with electricity is dangerous. The following installation mod I describe should be performed by a qualified RV technician or electrician. Doing it yourself could cause you serious injury or death and may void … Read more
I finally bought myself a Kill-A-Watt meter. For me, it will be an additional tool for my RV product reviews testing arsenal. If you haven’t heard of it before, it’s an inexpensive but handy gadget for checking how many watts or amps a particular appliance draws. Extremely useful when trying to figure out how much … Read more
In this video, I conclude my initial review of my new Lion Energy Safari UT 1200 lithium batteries. I have 3 of their 12V 90Ah batteries wired in parallel to produce a 270Ah bank. They are replacing 4 Interstate 6V golf cart batteries we have used for the last 3-4 years. So far, I’ve published … Read more
For a while now I’ve heard hear folks rave about an RV kitchen gadget called the Instant Pot. The Instant Pot appliance is an all in one multicooker. It’s mainly a pressure cooker but also can be a rice cooker, steamer, slow cooker and even a yogurt maker. In pressure cooking mode it dramatically speeds … Read more
While visiting a fellow RVer friend of mine recently I helped him out by diagnosing and fixing his motorhome entrance steps. They were stuck in the out position unable to retract. In the video, I show you what was causing the entrance steps to be stuck in the out position on his Travel Supreme Motorhome. The culprit … Read more
Soon after receiving our new Cougar fifth wheel I purchased a 1000W Pure Sine Wave Inverter to be able to run our 21″ iMac computer and 32″ LCD TV while off the grid. I wanted a pure sine wave inverter to give our sensitive electronic items clean, stable, and safe power. The unit has performed … Read more
What is Wrong with the OEM Converter? I’ve always suspected that the manufacturer installed power converter in our Keystone Cougar fifth wheel did a poor job when it came to charging our batteries. They never seemed to pack the punch I felt they were capable of. This suspicion was confirmed when I installed a Trimetric … Read more
RV Solar Upgrades So, if you have been following my blog for the last while you will know that I have upgraded the RV battery bank from two six volt golf cart batteries to four. And just last week I added two more Renogy 100 watt panels to the roof for a total four. Now … Read more
That #$@*ing Fan is Driving Me Nuts! Our Keystone Cougar 276RLS trailer came equipped with a Dometic model DM2652LBX refrigerator. It does a pretty good job of keeping our food cold or frozen but has one annoying little quirk that drives me crazy at times. In the backside area, between the cooling unit piping is … Read more