Just ordered a little system from Ultraheat. I chatted with Eric and Sandra, who were lovely and helpful. I called on the phone, and that's probably the best way to get ahold of them.

Why do some people that make videos insist on playing distracting music in the background? If you want to be a music show, go for it, if you want to be an information show, go for it....but the two DO NOT mix!

@GimpyCamper

5 ай бұрын

yeah yeah... thats why I no longer have music in my videos

We power our battery heating pads via the Renogy Charge Controller, which allows us to turn the heating pad on and off via Bluetooth. No manual switch requested.

@kellygb9278

7 ай бұрын

I too am using the Renogy 'Load' 's 20a circuit to power a separate 12v/110v 20a relay for my Grid powered circuit that powers my 110v battery charger. I have the Renogy power the relay whenever the solar stops generating & I have it set for 7hours. This way, I can top off my battery if needed, if not, the charger justs powers up but does not charge. If I get the Ulta-Heat battery warming pads, I can add another 20a 12v relay for that circuit By the way, I Have a LiTime 230aH battery with a BMS cold temp shut down, in a Styrofoam box, wrapped with a 12v ComfyTemp lap blanket - So Far, temps in the 20's have not affected my charging abilities

I run an RV tank heating pad at 12v from my Victron mppt load output. Its about 60watts, but is not on when its not cold as it has a thermostat. The battery is in a styrofoam insulated box. This protects the battery and allows me to finetune the on/off times or use low battery shutoff if there is not enough solar to keep the pad on. Use the streetlight function on the Victron if only the nights are cold, and configure load output to a custom battery voltage drop. This is a set and forget solution, even if im not at the cabin for months.

I am using 4 SOK 12.8V 206 AH Batteries with Victron set up for my cabin. I'm new to solar and didn't realize the Batteries cant go below a certain temp.I have the batteries in a shipping container and am in Utah at 8300 ft. So I put the batteries in a non working chest freezer thinking its insulated and might work.Nope then I put 4 inch insulation board all around the outside of freezer,still too cold. So last winter I wired a plug into the inverter and placed a seedling heat pad between the batteries and yes it works but It worries me that batteries are too heavy for the pad or get too hot I have the pad set at 64 degrees and am afraid to leave it on when I'm not there depending on weather if I can get up to the cabin.So then when i do get up to cabin I have no power and I put a halogen work light on a generator to warm it up in freezer,Its exhausting to say the least. Would you think this would be a safer route for me to go with and I don't know if my victron has a temperature probe on it.

@GimpyCamper

Жыл бұрын

I’m really surprised that the freezer and insulation weren’t enough. I’m in no way an expert on this and learn by making mistakes but I can give you my thoughts. I’ve never heard of a seedling mat before and just had to look it up. I would say a 12 volt pad is going to use less power. I would assume they are safer but I have no idea. I try not to be one of these people that think my idea is the only way. One thing that I do like is that by being in this old freezer, it’s very unlikely that a fire would get out of control because it’s an oxygen deprived environment (at least in theory.). I will say these pads weren’t cheap, but I believe they will last a long time. All I can say is ultra heat was helpful in answering my questions when I called them. Sorry to not be much help

@cerisestroud2607

Жыл бұрын

@@GimpyCamper thanks so much,you did help!I Im calling on these pads now and I already ordered the bluetooth thermometer!

@ieism1

Жыл бұрын

I run a Facon RV tank heating pad at 12v from my Victron mppt load output. Its about 60watts, but is not on when its not cold as it has a thermostat. The battery is in a styrofoam insulated box. This protects the battery and allows me to finetune the on/off times or use low battery shutoff if there is not enough solar to keep the pad on. Use the streetlight function on the Victron if only the nights are cold, and configure load output to a custom battery voltage drop. This is a set and forget solution (but requires a little tweaking of the load output settings to get it right), even if im not at the cabin for months. Im in Norway so its gets extremely cold here.

Good video. We have a Dragonfly Energy Lithium Battery by Battleborn. It’s got the built in BMS in it. But for when it gets really cold I’ve recently been looking into solutions for this.

@GimpyCamper

2 жыл бұрын

Well, I know your primary goal is to not be anywhere that it is cold enough to need something. lol

Thanks for the video and the detail you presented. Question 1. My battery compartment is really cramped and if I add heating pads to the long sides, I will not be able to get all my batteries back in. Can the pads be attached to the ends of the batteries? Question 2. Do the battery management systems cope with differential heating (one side of the battery warmer than the other etc. Question 3. Why are bottom pad heaters not a good idea, if properly designed and sized for batteries? Question 4. So, what happens if there is a cold snap during the winter and the temperature goes to -35F are the batteries ruined? Comment 1. I guess you have adequate insulation where you have placed your batteries. Many battery compartments were designed for lead-acid batteries are well ventilated to prevent an accumulation of hydrogen gas. They are often walled in steel for strength. Sealing/insulating these up can be complicated. Comment 2. I use bus bars as well and they are wonderful, however, I would recommend that you do not run your positive wires over the negative bus bar. Better to mount the bus bars vertically with a wooden piece between them or have them well separated as if anything were to happen you would have the full capacity of the batteries shorted out. Comment 3. I realize the converter breaker can be a problem. Using checklists should prevent that. It depends on how your coach is wired as 5th wheel often have more room and large basements. I my case with a 35 ft class A, the inverter from the batteries is rated at 2kW, but the feed lines have 100A breakers on them limiting the inverter to 1200W (bad design). Also, the inverter only connects to a few plugs and is not connected to the appliances. Now, I can see that with the original two 100 Ah LA batteries, BUT with 400 Ah of LFE that I have added in place (took out the LA) it can be a different story. Rewiring the coach is not practical, so I intend to shut off the converter and plug my entire coach into my new 3KW inverter that will be connected directly to the batteries with a 250A fuse. This way I would have access to ALL my appliances and will do the load managing myself. Clearly, this will not work going down the road, but the older 2kW inverter will run the refrigerator (I don't like running down the road with the LPG system open) and if I need roof air, I use the generator. I'm keen to get this installed next spring. I can run the microwave, even one roof AC for and hour or so. Amazing. Comment 4. For battery system monitoring, I use the smart shunt made by Victron. You can inspect the data on your batteries with your phone. The only complaint would be that the range is fairly short. This could be due to the metal in the compartment, but in comparison the Bluetooth module that reports on my solar generation has far better range. Nevertheless, I can sit in a lawn chair and check my batteries and get more information than I would from the gauge on a panel somewhere. It also saves running signal wires all over the RV. Again that is easier in a 5th wheel, but still. Travel safe. Henri (RVing with Henri)

@GimpyCamper

Жыл бұрын

I will say just on my two batteries I had to move my angled aluminum over that I use to hold them in place. Most of the knowledge I have on battery warmers comes from ultaheat as It was very hard to find recommendations other places that were more than opinion. They actually said most of the manufacturers recommended the side heating pads, but stated they did have the bottom pads. I’ll be adding an additional 1-2 batteries in the coming months and I’ve been thinking of moving all my electrical to the front bay. As far as the negative temperatures, I believe the biggest thing is not allowing them to charge in the cold, I believe if they dropped below the rates usage temp the bms would likely prevent discharge but I really don’t know.

This turned out great, thanks for another awesome video

@GimpyCamper

2 жыл бұрын

Just watched your video on the smart shunt

This is great advice thanks for sharing.

I don’t know how much the pads will keep the the batteries from dissipating heat in hot weather climates so I plan on making a strap on system for these pads so that they can be removed from the batteries when in the heat of summer.

Hi Gimpy Camper- I've requested info twice from Ultrafast tand have yet to get a response to see if they have these for sale or will have these for sale in the future. They get two big thumbs down in my book. I'll build my own warmers for 20 bucks using non-uhiworldwide parts as it seems Ultraheat doesn't care for my business.

Definitely a great looking product. Need to protect your investment. Great detailed install and buss bars really do clean it up nice and is a nice touch that you can manually switch them on/off.

Still not on their website and how much? Seems kinda sketchy to still not list it after a year, no?

@GimpyCamper

5 ай бұрын

I think they said they don’t list them because people steal their designs. They were pretty costly but I don’t remember at the moment seems like > $50/battery

@pchris6662

5 ай бұрын

@@GimpyCamper Interesting. Thanks for the reply :). It is sad the intellectual theft going on these days. I’m not sure the answer is to go dark though. I know I strongly value made in the USA and will pay more if I see it even if there’s a lower priced knockoff that stole the design. It’s about the only thing we can do.

@GimpyCamper

5 ай бұрын

@@pchris6662 I will say that I was in my camper in northern Michigan in November/December this year and this kept my batteries running strong the whole time

@pchris6662

5 ай бұрын

@@GimpyCamper Impressive testimonial right there. I grew up in MN and November December up there is no joke.

Since it isn't on their website, what costs are we looking at?

@GimpyCamper

Жыл бұрын

They were a pretty penny. I don’t remember exactly but it was >$100/pair if I remember correctly

@matsulli2086

Жыл бұрын

@@GimpyCamper thanks, Battle Born we're like $200 a piece.

What is the cost of the heaters?

@GimpyCamper

Жыл бұрын

You would need to call about the price for the model to fit your batteries. I can tell you they aren’t cheap

Odd that you state 7 months ago that Ultraheat will add the battery heaters in near future ... They still haven't listed them. Where can I find them?

@GimpyCamper

Жыл бұрын

The contact information is in the description

@raymatthews9978

Жыл бұрын

@@GimpyCamper Yes I went to their site. I see tank heaters, elbow heaters, and valve heaters. but no battery heaters.

@GimpyCamper

Жыл бұрын

There is an email address, a number to text, and a number to call. I understand it’s not the best way to order in today’s date and time but that’s all the options they had at the time I ordered mine

Informative video. Thank you. I did struggle to hear you though with the background music being so loud. Thanks again 👍

@GimpyCamper

Жыл бұрын

I’ve since stopped the background music in my videos because of feedback like this

Overpriced

Is this a paid endorsement?

@GimpyCamper

7 ай бұрын

The first thing that pops up on the video is a banner that states "Includes paid promotion." However it was only paid with one pair of the three sets of heating pads that I have. So I paid 66% for the products. I am happy with them and spent a couple months in Michigan this winter.