Andy, Right you are by saying Newmark is the manufacturer of the 1970 Univolt. It is marked on the front plate.
The facts I stated in prior message are still valid since all of the 12 volts fuses are located in the Univolt. Therefore the tow vehicle system and the shore power 12 volts are all interconnected through the Univolt and that is why I listed the appropriate fuse and path for the current flow.
By Cleaning up the wiring where my univolt was, I gained a big storage area. Really worthwhile to do it. It took me a day because I soldered all wires instead of just crimping the lugs.
I may have to replace my Univolt in my 70's Overlander
Are there any words of wisdom in replacing my Univolt in my 70's Overlander... I found the unit deep inside a work hole next to the battery box... I would also like to replace the battery box with a larger box, big enough to hold two Golf Cart Batteries... I plan to attach two, 90 watt PV cells to the battery...
I have been off grid at my home for years, and would now like to add solar charging to the Overlander... I am experienced at working with my PV setup, and think it will work good on the trailer...
The Univolt seems to be located somewhat under the bath tub... and from all the screws in the top of the tub, it looks like at one time, the tub was cut loose and taken out to get to the Univolt... the Univolt hums loud, and does not keep the two Golf CArt batteries charged....
Are there any words of wisdom from anyone on this subject?
Golf cart six volt batteries should not be used, "ever" in any Airstream trailer.
There are previous posts about that.
Secondly, your asking for rear end separation, by adding that much more weight, in the back.
Additional batteries should only be installed on the A-frame, or, underneath the front lounge.
A univolt can make a humming noise, but that does not impair it's performance. Newer style Univolts are solid state, therefore they cannot make any noise.
You can, install a shut off switch for the univolt, if you wish, so that it's off when your trying to sleep.
Replacing it because of the hum, is not worth the expense.
Lastly, the story of two six volt batteries in series being better than two twelve volt batteries in parallel, is nothing more than a "MYTH".
The wattage is the same, the weight is the same.
BUT, if one of the six volt batteries becomes weak, your in trouble. If one of the twelve volt batteries becomes weak, simply disconnect it, and go one your way, as you still will have battery power.
while we're on the topic, I want to install a shutoff switch for my Univolt. Do you recommend just putting a 110V household switch on the AC input to the univolt? I don't want to destroy anything by putting it in the wrong spot in the system.
Golf cart six volt batteries should not be used, "ever" in any Airstream trailer.
There are previous posts about that.
Secondly, your asking for rear end separation, by adding that much more weight, in the back.
Additional batteries should only be installed on the A-frame, or, underneath the front lounge.
A univolt can make a humming noise, but that does not impair it's performance. Newer style Univolts are solid state, therefore they cannot make any noise.
You can, install a shut off switch for the univolt, if you wish, so that it's off when your trying to sleep.
Replacing it because of the hum, is not worth the expense.
Lastly, the story of two six volt batteries in series being better than two twelve volt batteries in parallel, is nothing more than a "MYTH".
The wattage is the same, the weight is the same.
BUT, if one of the six volt batteries becomes weak, your in trouble. If one of the twelve volt batteries becomes weak, simply disconnect it, and go one your way, as you still will have battery power.
Andy
************
Andy;
I have eight GC batteries, and what I had in mind doing, was to install two of them inside the battery box at the rear... then I wanted to wire these two to to 90 watt PV panels that I would like to mount on top of the trailer...
The other Six GC batteries are now installed inside the trailer at the base where the fridge should be (there was no fridge in my trailer) so the weight of the batteries is distributed over the two axels.... I thought that would be OK... and these six batteries over the axels are not to be used for the main DC trailer power, but for the inverters that will power all the AC things in the trailer...
I wanted to rewire the trailer so that when I plugged in an external AC source, this would give me power for the Air Conditioner and with the turn of a switch, I could recharge all the batteries if that was ever necessary... As a rule, I have not used Air Conditioning in years, so using AC current for an Air conditioner would be rare... and I have enough PV panels to keep all 8 of the batteries charged from the sun most of the time... I used the same setup at home, and rarely ran low on 120 volt power from the sun powered inverters.... I could even run my AC powered submersible water pump for house water from my rain water tanks without straining the batteries... so I am trying to have a similer setup in my trailer, only with the trailer the PV and rainwater systems will be portable...
Because I have 8 of them already, which are the ones I used at the house for the past 5 years when I took my house mostly off the grid... I didn't want to waste them, and thought to hook two of them into the battery box at the rear of my Airstream... and have already put the remaining 6 GC batteries in the area for the fridge... this area is in front of the trailer's front axil and should balance OK... the front 6 batteries would only be used through my 1000 watt iverter to produce 120 volts ac for my AC powered devices, like my microwave oven, TV, VCR, DVD player, Computer, On Demand rain water pump, and a few other things...
Thank you Leipper for link. After reading the article which i agree mostly with, I don't see how anyone came out with the conclusion to never use series batteries in an As?? Now can someone tell me why not to use GC batteries?
Quick Links
Removing an old Ferroresonant Univolt
Linear Mode
