Mumblix_Grumph
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Posts posted by Mumblix_Grumph
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Ok, hypothetical question: Your starter is dead. You're by yourself on a dirt road that goes up in both directions, so push starting is out. Could you take a ratchet wrench with a 19mm socket and crank the engine till it starts? I would think that if the engine catches and starts turning, they ratchet action would allow you to quickly pull it off with out it yanking out of your hand.
Any thoughts?
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Hi, all. I have a 1978 Dolphin with a 20r engine. I see a couple of threaded holes on the engine block near the smog pump. They look like they are filled with some kind of sealer like JB Weld. Can I clean that stuff out and use the holes for an air conditioner bracket? I have a compressor and bracket out of a 22r engine.
Thanks for any advice.
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Where is out here.Knowing your location and average summer temp and humidity can give us a better idea of what your dealing with. If it's just the dampness and not super high heat a dehumidifier could take cae of much of the problem with a low wattage unit.. This one could be run easily with an inverter when driving and a small gen set when parked
http://www.ebay.com/...=item519d93eaf2
Check the other listings too. Could probably go to a slightly bigger one and still work with those systems.
Linda S
I'm in Western Washington, Drizzle Central, not too much heat. A de-humidifier is a good idea, hadn't thought of that...thanks!
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The factory truck A/C is about 36,000 btu (typical automotive A/C is about 3 tons)
I would say to keep just the coach cool while traveling you would need one of the 13,000 btu roof units and an onan generator to run it. You need less than half of that if your not moving. I don't believe running just the roof unit will cool the truck while traveling.
John Mc
88 Dolphin 4 Auto
Thanks for replying!
What I'm thinking of is a window A/C unit with clothes dryer hose blowing the cold air on me while driving, not cooling off the entire coach. Then, when parked moving the dryer hose to where I'm sitting. The hot air will be vented out the window. Ideally I'd like to make the thing "portable" by putting some caster wheels on it.
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Hi all.
I have an old Dolphin with no air conditioning. I want something that I can use both in the cab and in the back. I'm a cheapskate and a tinkerer.
I know about the cooler full of ice with a fan but that's not what I'm after. Out here the air is VERY humid and I need to keep the air dry or the windows fog up like a b*tch. I usually run the AC with the heat all winter in the Explorer or else I'm fogging up and driving blind. Plus, Ice is hard to come by when you're out in the sticks.
I'm thinking a portable house AC running on a generator/inverter that I can vent the hot air out a window and the cold air ducted to the cab or the back. Plus I can use it in the house when not on the road.
Any ideas?
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yes, it is possible, and yes, you could easily blow yourself up.
Prudence, knowledge, and a sense of self preservation must prevail, and it can be done safely with the proper equipment and knowledge.
Rather than fill from the BBQ tank, I normally hook up a BBQ tank if I know I'm going to be stopped for any length of time, i.e. overnight in a campground, out in the sticks boondocking. I set the BBQ tank down beside the Propane compartment, disconnect the hose from the Horiz tank and hook it up to the BBQ tank.
Upgrade LP Regulator, tank, and hose
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Refilling propane tank - open and well vented area, no open flames, no static electricity.
Get two full flow soft nose fittings and a short hose (18 inch) 1/4 inch hose. Warm the supply tank, cool the empty tank.
Connect the hose to each tank, the supply tank upside down. Use a brass wrench, (or better yet, use the hand tighten fittings that are available the the soft nose)
Tighten the Supply tank connector, leave the empty tank connector loose to bleed the line.
Open the supply tank for a second to purge air out of the hose. (a puff of propane from the loose connector on the empty tank)
Tighten the connector on the empty tank.
Open both valves all the way, open the bleed valve on the empty tank.
Fill by weight or until liquid squirts out the bleed vent . Close the supply tank, wait about 30 seconds for the liquid in the hose to flash to gas, then close the bleed valve, then close the tank valve.
remove the hose.
This is a slow process and can take 10 - 15 minutes to fill empty tank, depending on temperature.
John Mc
88 Dolphin 4 Auto
Thanks for the info...maybe just running the system off the BBQ tank is the way to go if I run out. I guess I could chain it to the wheel so it doesn't get stolen.
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Don't you have to pay for the propane any way?
Yeah, but there are times when you can't find a fill up place and I'd like the convenience of using a standard tank without having it sit out side the vehicle where some scab can just unhook it and run off with it. I guess I just want the option of transferring the propane from the standard tanks to the horizontal.
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I installed a 1500 watt inverter, mainly to run the microwave to heat up dinner, and make a pot of coffee in the morning. Not a problem. My alternator re-charges the coach battery when I start the truck.
Our microwave is a small 600 watt unit (draws about 1000 watts), This unit draws about 60 - 70 amps at 12 volts through the inverter.
I have standard alternator and battery systems as they came from Toyota and National RV (Nothing special). We did install LED lighting everywhere to reduce battery and alternator loads.
When we're on the road, we use the microwave maybe 5 to 10 minutes a night and make two pots of coffee in the morning. For a typical one night stop, the standard coach battery does OK, without a recharge. A typical one night stop would be: Warm up soup or leftovers in the microwave, TV runs for a couple hours. Several LED lights on for several hours, In the morning, make a couple pots of coffee (small pot).
If I get a low voltage alarm on the inverter, I press the "Start" button on my remote car starter and let the truck run for about 15 minutes to charge the coach battery.
Our longest boondock was in a Sams Club parking lot in the middle of a severe snow storm. A day and a half, running TV, furnace, microwave, lights, I started the truck once just to top off the coach battery.
If we used our toyhouse to boondock for long periods, I would probably get a small portable generator to re-charge the coach battery once a day rather than run the truck. Solar or a small wind turbine would also be an option. Adding higher capacity batteries might also be an option, but look at usage before adding battery capacity (i.e. LED lights and Catalyst heat instead of running furnace)
John Mc
88 Dolphin 4 Auto
Great links...thanks!
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Hi all. I have a horizontal propane tank in my Dolphin. I was wondering if I could refill it myself with a hose connected to a forklift tank or a vertical BBQ tank. I have both. I modified a full size Bronco to run on propane and still have various bits and pieces left over.
The horizontal tank has a gauge built in, so could I just hook the two tanks together and open both valves until the two tanks equalize their pressures or until the horizontal tank reads full enough?
Or am I going to blow myself up just to save a few bucks?
Thanks
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hey bud i just bought a 79 dolphin too, and have had some similar research.
Real rvers learn to use the propane stove for everything.
The cost of running a gas engine, using 2 deep cycles and a 1500 watt inverter to make a cup of soup costs about 50 c just in gas compared to 3 cents in propane.
the rvers who have the set up you want, would never regularly run a microwave off a gas engine.
'never mind the investment of whatever you are missing from it
a generator gets better but is still terrible. however my friend who literally has a propane generator meaning the fuel comes from the same tank, says that coffee costs at least 30 times as much from an electric coffee maker as from heating up water. And in a race it took 45 seconds longer.
A bigger alternator would make it more effecient to microwave popcorn, but permanently reduce the gas mileage.
Meaning you pay a lot for the concept of running electrical kitchen equipment off of an automobile engine. It is a terrible idea!!!!!!!
the microwave in an rv is primarily for a permanent landline plug in, or a very occasional back up, or literally during a road trip use while on the road.
Ok...fair enough. I guess I'm going to stick with the propane stove and oven for cooking. All other electrics will run on 12V: laptop, lights, fan etc. Haven't had a chance to test the fridge on propane. The DC and shore power AC work on it.
Thanks for responding.
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Hi all.
I just bought an old 1979 Dolphin and was wondering if a standard alternator on a 20R engine is enough to power an inverter powerful enough to run a microwave oven. I'm thinking maybe 1000 watts.
Can you swap out the alternator for a more powerful one? Should that even be considered?
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Could you start an engine by hand cranking?
in Engines - Transmissions - Drive Train - Suspension - Chassis - Steering - Exhaust - Tires - Etc.
Posted
Thanks for the replies. I was just thinking of this when I was turning a 20r engine's cracnkshaft pulley at the junkyard with my breaker bar. I just wondered if I could start the engine like that, but use a ratchet instead so the running engine wouldn't take the wrench with it.
Basically it was just a what-if.