Some REALLY awesome and some not-so-awesome stuff happened this summer (patrons know all about it) but I'm back releasing the best video content I can make. If you like this kinda stuff and want to support more of it, the best thing you can do is join my awesome Patreon supporters who made this video possible. To become one of them visit: www.patreon.com/QuintBUILDs If instead you prefer a one-time donation option, here's a PayPal address you can use: BUILD2LRN@GMAIL.COM You can also check out my more detailed Behind the Scenes Video on BUILD2: kzread.info/dash/bejne/a56Co8mLndSafKw.html

@l0gic23

7 ай бұрын

Hope the full ad plays while i engage in the chat helps

@unmanaged

7 ай бұрын

I have an idea on how you can get a charred flavor with a microwave ... would make a good project

@orionofvolga

7 ай бұрын

Love your stuff thanks for the awesome video!

"I'm not really a woodworker, but this isn't really wood" HA lol

@BaldBozo

7 ай бұрын

Shots fired!

I hope your kids know how cool their dad is. They are very fortunate.

The bonus everyone misses is that you can use your trailer as a power station if the power goes out. A couple of cords and you can keep your fridge and freezer cold and run some lights, charge your phone ect.

@theclearsounds3911

7 ай бұрын

Carefully, the word is carefully!!! Sure, it's very possible to run things in your house off of this system, and that is a BIG bonus. But don't back feed the power into your home and electrocute the good people from your power company who are trying to restore your power! If you are going to try running your home, you need a generator transfer switch, and you need to know how to use it. Or, just use a few extension cords to plug your fridge and freezer and a few lights into your trailer, which is what I think @dangeroustoman was referring to.

@charliem989

7 ай бұрын

@@theclearsounds3911 no, the power company uses watt/hours, tokens can't hurt them

@dangeroustoman

7 ай бұрын

@@theclearsounds3911 I was assuming that you have a inverter in your camper and yes I ment extension cords.

@theclearsounds3911

7 ай бұрын

@@dangeroustoman Pretty close; in my previous house I had a detached garage that I had mounted a few solar panels, batteries, an inverter, and a generator transfer switch so I could power some circuits in my house during a power outage. I just felt the need to warn people that, if they built what I did, which is similar but different to your setup, they have to make it safe.

@stinson87

7 ай бұрын

This is very easy if you know electrical. I have two auto transfer switches, one on the RV (basically like what a victron has built in) and one in the house. I have two 30A cables, one from my RV and one to my RV. When both are plugged in, my RV is just sitting there making sure everything is good. When the power is out and the house is still plugged in, both auto transfer switches change, moving my home fridge, microwave, and a few outlets to the RV inverter and isolating them from the grid. This required a sub panel on the house, and a 30A outlet on the RV. I have 2000W of solar and 10kwh of batteries so I can easily run what is needed.

Quint, the token analogy is fantastic, thank you for that!

@QuintBUILDs

7 ай бұрын

Awesome, glad it worked for you! 👍

Have you considered adding a second alternator to the Bronco, that could charge the battery bank while you drive? I still find it weird no one has tried using the wind from the drive lol

@tyrelirwin

7 ай бұрын

then you are just paying for electricity with reduced fuel economy. nothing is free (except solar)

@juanmacias5922

7 ай бұрын

@@tyrelirwinright, but I think it's a good trade off, when the sun isn't shining, like in his video.

@JD2jr.

7 ай бұрын

@@juanmacias5922 you're just suggesting a less efficient generator. And literally on this channel he built the wind turbine and did the math to show the inefficiencies there.

@juanmacias5922

7 ай бұрын

@@JD2jr.ah, you're right, I literally forgot that series, where he used the turbine on the Bronco. xD

@mrwess1927

4 ай бұрын

If the turbines are above the car its less efficient but if the turbine is placed in front where the wind hits the car anyways it would be about the same efficiency without a turbine but with added generation. The car is already being hit by air, just redirect it.

Stout Grove! That's my favorite place to see the ladies, as I call the redwoods. I lived in Humboldt for 8 years, and now I live an hour from you, so this is familiar. I need to replace the battery in my old RV, and have been putting it off. Unlike yours, mine is rather small, so it'll be hard to shoehorn everything in. But I love the lithium chemistry, far better than lead acid. One thing: never rely on sealant alone! I used to do solar installs in Humboldt and we never ever mounted panels by just gooping the feet and screwing them down. If I were you, I'd put rubber sheets under the PV panel brackets and also attach a small flashing in front of each one to divert water around them when driving.

@QuintBUILDs

7 ай бұрын

Thanks for the tip!

So, i noticed that you put the interior from a 05-10 f150 in the bronco!? That is awesome. Does it have an updated engine as well! Very nice to retrofit old vehicles with new stuff!

@slopoke22

7 ай бұрын

I'd like to see some more of the truck if you get a chance!

@QuintBUILDs

7 ай бұрын

www.quintbuilds.com/bronco-project

This was one monster of a project. Makes me feel a bit inadequate as a fellow engineer. 😅 Good stuff.

@QuintBUILDs

7 ай бұрын

LOL, thanks!

I had 4 lovely 305ah cells delivered this morning, now sat twiddling thumbs while they get a BMS in stock!

The right brand of liquid smoke and a good grill pan on an induction cooktop might solve your burger problem 🤔

Rain gutter generator had me laughing

That comment about the rain gutter generator got me! That was a fun one!

Victron stuff is so good. This is basically what I have, but I went with 24v to have smaller cables , but I needed a 24 to 12 converter.

Nice to see you’re back

What a damn good video Quint. Thank you.

One of my favorite channels. Been looking at getting a 36ft bus and converting it, so this video helps.

Super cool setup and excellent video altogether!

@QuintBUILDs

7 ай бұрын

Thanks Kyler! 👍

A lot of the teardrop trailer campers use external solar cell panels like Zamp. The problem is that a good campsite is usually in the shade, so by able to putting panel in near by sunny spot allows recharging in boon docks.

Thank you so much for sharing! It is really appreciated.

Awesome you are getting your son to help and letting him make stuff. and to your son, Good work young man!

Glad to see you publishing again!

Fascinating beginning to end!! nice solar set up! I need a vacation!!

It's absolutely wild to me that transporting a bike (or anything at all) on the front of a car is somehow legal in the US. 🤯

@JD2jr.

7 ай бұрын

Why? The entire engine is there, what's a bicycle going to do that the engine wont?

@TeKaMOTO

7 ай бұрын

@@JD2jr. Well for starters, it's in the field of vision of the driver and thus blocking some of it. And a bike has a lot more pointy bits than the front end of a car so if one was to hit a person they'd be more likely impaled than if it was just the blunt front end.

Hi Clint, nice build and a great place to visit, the only thing I would have added to the build would be a dc to dc charger from your tow vehicles alternator. Thus charging your batteries whilst you are driving, this would charge as you run you AC and replenish some of the usage. Thanks again for the video. Dean in the UK

For the TV you can buy TV's that use a "power brick" with a barrel jack, then find out if it's 12v, 19v, 24v and get a simple voltage converter if it isn't 12v. OR look specifically for one that is they exist! It'll save maybe 20% on energy used by the TV, likewise the microwave can be converted to run on straight DC but it requires more advanced knowledge, I think they make DC microwaves though. I'm a fan of 24-48v systems myself, thinner wire, use a step down converter where needed but if you are doing a full build/reno then just make everything 24 or 48v respectively that you can. This is a great video and highly information I totally understand why you prefer 12v it's generally far safer.

Great video! Educational and entertaining.

Amazing stuff!

The hydrocarbons ARE the flavor, Quint.

Nice simple breakdown. I have a renogy DC-DC charger to pull 50A from my truck if my 2000W solar does not keep up. I am planning 3 more so I don't have to run the truck long if needed, but I do have a Cummins diesel with dual 220A alternators that at high idle can safely provide 300A continuous since they are designed for ambulances. I have a little over 10KwH of battery and converted our dual fuel fridge to residential since a residential only uses 1000-1800WH per day where the duel fuel on electric only mode uses 8-11Kwh! Cabling is a pain to deal with but keeping everything very close really helps. My inverter input is 18" from the battery and solar chargers are 24" from the battery. The only challenging run was from my truck to the trailer where I have ran 4AWG cable using a 120A rated quick connect. For those wondering... my truck consumes right at 0.3 GPH of diesel to generate 3KW of electricity off the alternators. While driving the alternators need about 4 hp, which is no problem for my 400HP 1000LB-FT High output Cummins.

Sick video bro I did this in a Dutchman royal it was the life of a surfer for me🤙😎

Thank you SO MUCH for taking care to explain the units correctly! It matters a lot to me, and I unsubscribe from KZread channels who use watts as tokens.

@QuintBUILDs

7 ай бұрын

Love this, thank you! 😊

This was awesome.

This is such a sweet build! It's a shame you didn't bring that water generator. Given the fires, perhaps a heat generator will be of use for the next adventure ;)

Hahahaha all due respect to your wife she's not doing any of the work so she can shush until your done lol. I Love your work man keep on keeping on. She will be a luxury vessel before you know it.

For charring stuff with electricity directly, there are high voltage vacuum tube tesla coils. At high enough frequencies and powers a discharge can resemble a real flame. Or you could just whip out a microwave transformer if insane enough. But these things are DEADLY. However some microwaves do have a grill function, but i am not sure it will char anything. The woods that you went to are amazing! Thank you!

@kreynolds1123

7 ай бұрын

What really adds flavor is the smoke from the fats that run off. Maybe that can be replicated but in my opinion, for camping in the woods, i think a few hubdred dollar for a grill and propane beats thousands for an electric grill and additional batteries and solar panels, and that's not covering their additional weight over a tank or two of 20 lbs of propane fuel.

Sir, your content is amazing. Very through. May I request some info on the interior of your fine automobile. The outside is very retro, yet the interior looks very modern.

@QuintBUILDs

7 ай бұрын

www.quintbuilds.com/bronco-project

Why not using 24 V system or even 48 Volts?

@QuintBUILDs

7 ай бұрын

I didn't want to have to add a voltage converter for my 12v stuff.

@Xiaomila

7 ай бұрын

@@QuintBUILDsthanks a lot for answering I love your videos! Building solar on my roof as well and wanted to keep the amps down. Maybe 12 volts have the benefit of less “spark” potential if there ever comes a wire lose.

Nice vid. Thanks

He's back!

Nice to see you back. It's nice to have a nice sized battery bank. If it were more portable, you could get more use out of it then camping a few days a year.

One recommendation - we went with a self-installed 9,000BTU mini-split for both heat and cool (we prefer winter camping) instead of trailer AC / fuel heat. We're in year 3 and it travels well / quiet and is pretty efficient on power at 1" foam board insulation (R5) / 100sq ft. Some numbers for you: We went 13kwh battery w/1200w panels instead of you're 5kwh / 1000w panels and we're all electric (fridge, micro, hot-plate, k-cup, tv, etc). The mini-split burns ~4kwh for mild temps (45F low 95F hi) - very reasonable. Unfortunately, at a full 15F low, 50F hi, and 75F internal, the mini-split needs ~20kwh/24hrs so we can't winter boondock for 1 day at all electric. We're in the process of expanding our DIY battery bank to meet this goal. Overall - we found we can boondock for overnights while traveling because of sun while driving but prefer electric outlet for multi-day stays at the destination. We have a generator but it's so noisy and a pain we don't think of this as anything other than emergency.

@Dang_Near_Fed_Up

7 ай бұрын

To increase your available power when boondocking off grid, I would suggest a collapsible 'ground' station you can carry inside the camper for travel, and deploy once you are at your multiple day stay destination. My thought is a set of panels on collapsible aluminum stands that you carry out and set up once you stop. They merely plug into the existing charge controller on a second circuit. And will provide as much more power as you are willing to carry out and set up. Think of an artists easel, with solar panels in place of a canvas.

@kennethalmond8922

7 ай бұрын

Already have 1200w of panels - it's the trees that kill the solar. Most spots we camp are among trees (beautiful) and/or in winter (cloudy) and would need hundreds of feet of wire to put 'remote' panels in a spot with no trees :) Agree there are plenty of camp sites with sun, we just don't seem to wind up in them for the most part.

@Dang_Near_Fed_Up

7 ай бұрын

@@kennethalmond8922 True you can not move the trees, but more sq ft of panel will give more power. I merely suggested a way to add more sq ft of panels since the roof is already occupied.

Always consider making your own carbohydrates via a biogas production from plant clippings and food waste. You can get hundreds of liters / galons from 10kilos/20 lbs. And you basically just stop the produced methane from going into the atmosphere where it is 30 times more harmful compared to burning it and releasing only CO2. Because as this waste composts, it releases the methane.

For cooking on a real flame without hydrocarbons, try pure hydrogen ;-)

Awesome!

Did I miss the comparo for panels wired in series vs parallel?

@QuintBUILDs

7 ай бұрын

Naw, I ran out of time, figuring I'd cover it in a later video.

If you park it next to your house and with proper electrical connections it becomes on grid power supply for home passively cutting power bills to nothing while still having grid access for shady or non windy days more batteries in the house the better just expanded storage then more panels more production don't even worry about branding just something to start and safe electrical hookups oversize the wires to lower the electrical friction as i call it but everyone else says heat losses due to resistance 😊

Need to get 48v lol like the cybertruck

Have you been following the tech ingredients passive cooling series? You seem like the perfect guy to continue it...

Some appliances require AC power, but what about TVs and electronics that will convert it back to DC? What would happen if you supplied DC power to a AC/DC converter?

I see you are a reMarkable user - I absolutely love mine - right now I’m carrying around the equivalent of about 4 cases of paper in it!

What is a rough estimate on this project cost? How much are the batteries themselves? Thank you.

@juanmacias5922

7 ай бұрын

He mentions $6k towards the end. 25:13

@joshuagibson2520

7 ай бұрын

@@juanmacias5922 Thank you. I was probably writing one of my many comments when it was said.

@juanmacias5922

7 ай бұрын

@@joshuagibson2520lol no worries.

Another great video! Nice to see your work again. You prove that one doesn't have to be an extreme climate aktivist to make a change. At the same time, your explanation is very good.

What is if the Batteries are full and still gets charged by the Solarpanles, isn't this dangerous for the batteries or is there a off switch for this case?

@QuintBUILDs

7 ай бұрын

The solar charge controller limits the voltage and the internal battery BMS disconnects the cells when full.

I suppose you don't use your trailer all year long, so have you considered using the energy from your PV panels to generate free electricity for your home ? Micro-inverters are what you want to use (converting DC to AC of your home, using the MPP of your panels).

@QuintBUILDs

7 ай бұрын

Monitoring power draw of the freezer in the garage as I type this.

I hear tell the fire was caused by someone trying to do a DIY solar system on their RV...🤔

Why didnt you put the batteries in Series to at least make it a 24V System? Also isnt Victon gear kinda overkill for a trailer? Probably would've been more than fine with an Aliexpress job

@speedsterh

7 ай бұрын

Especially when using 24V instead of 12V halves the current for a given power (so lowers the size of cables running from the panels). Some home system use 48V for this very reason.

Hey buddy! Great video! I spy a 360 camera :)

@QuintBUILDs

7 ай бұрын

Ha, yes you did! :)

Nice job. Could you summarize the solar panel wiring? The reason I ask is that mismatched solar panels can be troublesome unless you’re careful to observe a few rules. 1). When wiring mismatched panels in parallel, the lowest voltage solar panel will bring the other panels down to its voltage. That can waste a large amount of power if you fail to recognize it. E.g.- four 40 Volt panels plus a 20 Volt panel all wired in parallel . The voltage of ALL panels will be 20 volts. 2) when wiring mismatched solar panels in series, the current will be dictated by the lowest current solar panel. Again, this can decrease the power by quite a bit if you’re not aware of this. E.g.- four 10 Amp panels all wired in series, then add a 5 Amp panel in series….. the result is that the current for all five panels in series will only be 5 Amps. 3) Regarding your choice to use parallel connections for most of the panels (as you briefly mentioned) I agree with you. If you had chosen a series connection scheme, Partial shading from all those trees would have wreaked havoc on your system. If any one panel is shaded in a series string, the current of the entire string drops to almost zero. In this system, parallel is definitely the better choice. Thanks again for all the hard work. I’m a Patreon contributor. Love your projects!

@QuintBUILDs

7 ай бұрын

Happy to, and thanks for being a patron! It was easy to fit 4x 200W panels on the trailer but I wanted an even 1000W to make the numbers easier to explain. 2x 100W panels fit nicely but as you say, the (maximum power) voltage was about half the 200W panels (19.1 vs. 37.9). So putting the two 100W panels in series would get them really close to the voltage of a single 200W panel (38.2 vs. 37.9). My research agrees with your assessment, that ALL panels wired in parallel with these two series 100W panels will operate at the lower of the two voltages. Fortunately according to these specs, the 4x 200W panels get to operate as normal while the 2x 100W panels will perform slightly lower than their rating. But multiplying the lower 37.9V x 5.29 amp rating is still 198W. My original calculations with slightly different ratings showed a loss of ~20-30W but that's a trade I was very willing to make to get another 170-180 watts out of the system! Hope that answers what you were looking for. If not, you know where to find me!

If the Air HVAC could be moved to the DC side of the inverter in which case the DC-to-AC loss could be eliminated from sroucing the power from the Batteries and Solar PV sources. The negative is that if you're on AC power from a campground hookup, you'll lose on that conversion to DC get to the HVAC. It'd be great if you can set it up tp switch the HVAC power source between AC and DC so you could have best of both worlds.

diy rechargeable znso4 zinc plating zinc-air fuel cell battery, with carbon rod/felt electrodes. watt hours? also a high amps dc lorentz motor, radial bar with wheel running on a track over a vertical ring magnet.. just brilliant, also some sparks. btw its just about 14kg of zinc for 14kWh of battery, which is a small volume, as zinc is 7g/cm^3 or 2L of zinc.

Watching your videos makes me think I should have been an engineer. Absolutely amazing channel. I'm a former medic, worked in Ukraine and now I'm taking a career shift for Data Science, but math was always my weak point. After starting to work on that (statistics and calculus are important for Data) Engineering is within reach! Do you recommend any channels that can teach me to use a CAD system with a CNC machine / mill? How can I learn these other important skills so I can build my own energy efficient home and machine shop with a 3D printer? - Fan and total newbie to this amazing world of engineering and self sufficiency

10:53 If you enable 'has DC-system' in the settings you probable see where your 'loss' went. A loss of 400+ watt is to much.... Probably running the lights of the DC side of the trailer.

If you have the cash and are willing to do it, here is an option to increase your solar immensely. Think about when you deploy your canopy over the entrance to the RV. In place of a simple roll out 'cloth' shade there, put flexible solar panels in place. If your canopy is 8 feet wide and 12 feet long you could have 96 sq feet of solar panels there. Most solar panels with an output of 100 to 250 watts per panel are under 4 feet long and 2 feet wide, or 8 sq feet. So you can have up to 12 standard solar panels equivalent or 1.2kw to 3kw by replacing that canopy cloth with flexible solar panel material. That's 1.2 to 3 times more solar than your current system, by replacing the canopy over the door. This is either labor intensive or expensive depending on how you approach it, but it will over double the normal solar capacity of your RV with only roof mounted panels. If you replace the roll out material it is going to be expensive. Here you use a flexible material that rolls on the normal canopy rod, but requires much heavier duty motors and hardware. If you make a detachable panel you hand attach to the outside of the camper and manually remove and fold every time it is going to be inconvenient, and labor intensive, as well as bulky to store inside the camper every time you move. Just thinking aloud, but it is a possible I think to make this work.

I think the ground on the frame should have been a bolt welded in place. I've seen nut rivets losen and corrod causing bad electoral connections.

you used silicone for the cablehousing and the screws in the roof? you dont want that as its not long lasting dealing with weather outside. you should use dekasyl ms-5 or sicaflex.

I'd put that up in my home those batteries are rated up to 12,000 cycles or get a grid tie with a limiter for 350.

There are electric grills, no clue how efficient they are, you just add a few pieces aromatic woods to get that char broiled flavor.

Heh, it's not actually wood. Great video, you put a lot of work into this!

@QuintBUILDs

7 ай бұрын

Thanks for noticing! :)

More solar vids!!! Do your house

Love this Channel! Also, just curious, is there going to be a part two for the shower power generator?

Simple would be to use one hybrid Inverter and high voltage from in series connected solar panels, cause then only small wires are enought. Lead acid batteries are totally obsolete. Buy some 280Ah Lifepo4 batteries, a Jikong BMS (with 2A balancing). From the capacity of lead acid you can only use half of it, with Lifepo4 you can use all the capacity without damaging them. Lead acid has a cycle life of 600 if only discharged down to 50%, but in reality it will last far below 600 cycles. Lifepo4 has a cycle life of 6000 and they will be reached. The weight of Lifepo4 is 10 times less (compared with a lead acid battery with double capacity, were you can only use half of it) and the volume is 130% less. The costs for Lifepo4 may be initial a bit more, but all in all its less than 1/3 of the costs you would have with lead acid.

Dogs not allowed on the trails?! What crazy bullshit is that! Things have changed much since I was last there. I wouldn't leave my puppy behind for anything!

@QuintBUILDs

7 ай бұрын

Yeah we were bummed. Looks like the only trails they're allowed on are ones around the campgrounds like Jedediah. Doesn't compare to the others. Maybe they could make one of the big ones dog-friendly and dog-o-phobes can pick one if the others???

@noelsteele

7 ай бұрын

@@QuintBUILDsYEAH! I agree wholeheartedly! Too many dog-o-phobes running things these days! 😁🤘

I really like lithium batteries. I really dont like the mining \ humanity aspect. I hope we can improve that situation. I've missed you. Always a great watch.

when weight/space is important the propane is hart to beat for heat

Starlink missed)

@QuintBUILDs

7 ай бұрын

Strongly considering Starlink on the trailer. Got kicked off a video call when grid power to the house went out for 1 second. Would have been fine on the trailer!

Why not 48V system and step down to 12V?

next time u screw panels to a roof.. use silcone sheets.

Wow, the "token" system is one of the best explanations of a kilowatt-hour I've ever heard.

sawdust is technically wood

You can't get the same flavour with electricity because smoke gives the flavor

11:06 so... it's token tax...

Tokens... ? Really ? Why not glasses of water or Crickets

Aside from "that's not "camping"", the "tokens" thing, for me, was just annoying. Are North Americans really so fixated on imperial units that nice, clean watts, kilowatts and kilowatt/hours are confusing?

@Leron...

7 ай бұрын

The issue isn't so much the units as it is understanding what each unit measures. Amps, Volts, and Watts are all in play here, and, for the uninitiated, making sense of which units mean what and why they need to be multiplied together to yield yet another unit can be overwhelming. Visualizing watt hours is unintuitive but visualizing a box of tokens is simple.

@niktak1114

7 ай бұрын

I'd say it is confusing for most people, especially considering that even you just messed it up (it's kWh not kW/h).

A hiking trail where dogs arent allowed? I dont live in th US, but this seems stupid to me...

@TheSpiffyNeoStar

7 ай бұрын

This is the norm for certain areas that are known to have bears or other bigger wild animals that can cause problems with dogs.

@engineer0239

7 ай бұрын

@@TheSpiffyNeoStar Oh, I see! That makes sense. Thank you for clearing that up.

I live in Minneapolis where gorge Floyd was killed when the riots happened the army wouldn't let me get downtown to my apartment had to sleep in a hotel Parking lot

Weird, never lists the make and model (specifications) of the equipment used. Waste of time.

I don't like the Token description. Using the real name for things is better. Kids now a days don't even know what tokens are, going to an arcade, you use a card and swipe with it.