JdFinley.com

Fulltime RV Living Adventures

Solar to Power the Water Heater?

I am preparing to enter ‘old age’ a little later this year and, while cold showers are wonderfully beneficial – I wrote about them here, the last few have convinced me that I ought to think about a heater to warm up the water. I think I may be on the edge of heart attack… [Read More]

Railroad, mountain biking, solar, and sink

Not a tremendous amount going on this week. A number of storms have blown thru. Some of them have brought some serious wind. It seems that Missy is not prone to rolling over in “high” winds – not to be confused with tornado or hurricane force wind. 🙂 I had a super great visit from… [Read More]

Programming Solar Charge Controller for Lithium

I have a Morningstar TS-MPPT-60 solar charge controller and an LFMP Lithium battery bank. This charge controller has a series of DIP switches that allow for various pre-configured charge settings. However; none of them are appropriate for a Lithium battery (the correct absorption and float voltages) so one must configure the system “manually.” Thankfully, that… [Read More]

Installing a Lithium Battery Bank

Missy’s Lithium (LFMP) battery bank (introduced here) is completely computer controlled. Installing it is more complicated than hooking up the positive and negative battery terminals.  That said; the fantastic storage capacity is worth the effort! The first thing I had to do was figure out where I wanted it located. I’m not super happy with… [Read More]

Solar Charging System for Missy

I LOVE solar power!! I think I’ve mentioned that before. 🙂 It is amazing to me that such a small investment can provide such huge returns. For a few thousand dollars, the sun provides all of the electricity that I need to live in very normal fashion while sitting in the middle of nowhere. JBAM… [Read More]

Lithium Battery (LFMP) for Missy

I have made the leap to a Lithium battery for my RV house electrical system. To be precise, a Lithium Iron Manganese Phosphate (LiFeMnPO4) battery, or simply LFMP. This is a 400Ah, 24 volt – 10.24 kWh – battery. That roughly equates to a 1400Ah lead-acid battery bank. LOTSA LITHIUM JUICE!! Why? There are many… [Read More]

Electrical System Design

This post is likely to bore everyone except that one fella who may someday stumble onto it looking for tips for doing something similar. Sorry everyone… My house electrical system is not too different than what you will find on larger motorhomes. There is 50 amp shore power, 50 amp generator power (no generator yet… [Read More]

What’s next??

Great question! I’ve been doing some thinking about what’s next myself. I’ve made a mess of things and now need to clean it up. I’ve certainly learned a lot and, as Mike recently commented on a previous post, I can probably attribute my recent “boat lesson” to the “tuition of life.” From one perspective, the… [Read More]

Prepping the Boat for Launch

The flight from the States to St. Lucia was wonderful and all my bags made it without issue. Cheers to Delta Airlines!! As one would expect, paradise is a really nice place!! Obviously, it is warmer than Missouri was when I left – in a snow storm. The sailboat is wonderful! I am definitely in… [Read More]