What a fuckin week it was. Had some struggles in the beginning, but got it all sorted out. Notes:
1. Honda 2200i will run the rooftop AC in the upper 90s ambient heat, but it's running full tilt. The inverter has to be adjusted to pull 19.5A out of it for this to work (which it will do 100% of the time)
2. Even though the LiFePO4 BMS is configured for 120a peak current, it won't cut off for 320ms, and for that duration, the inverter will pull over 200a of juice from the battery (BMS short circuit instant cutoff is configured at ~320a). This oversight fried 5 ANL style fuses before I figured it out. I built "Ol Reliable", a strip of 1/8" steel cut in the shape of an ANL fuse, to prevent any future blown fuses. The BMS still does its job of protecting the battery array and cables.
3. LiFePO4 array can charge at 120a constant, but it causes major cell imbalances in the array, which causes BMS protection events. That took a while to figure out. At the moment, I have the inverter configured to charge the array at 50a, which seems to be a good balance between charging speed and maintaining cell balance.
4. The diesel genny is killer. It's not very loud inside when running, no earplugs necessary to fall asleep. In fact, it's less annoying than the honda running at full tilt. We used the diesel genny overnight 4 nights in a row and it was amazing. Burns about 1/3gal of diesel per hour running the AC and keeping the LiFePO4 array topped up.
5. The diesel genny will output 25a (breaker at 25a), but this is insufficient for welders. The inverter will use the Power Assist feature and momentarily (less than 320ms) pull about 200a from the LiFePO4 array every time the arc starts on the welder. After arc start, load from the welder is only 15-20a, meaning the diesel genny can supply all of it.
6. There's something up with the circuit for the external outlet on the motel. If I have a fan or light connected to it, no problem, but connect a grinder to it, and the inverter trips off. Doesn't make much sense. Grinders work perfectly fine on all other outlets. Is there such a thing as a load-based romex short?
7. On My buddy Chris 's recommendation, bought a drum fan to create some circulation while hanging out outside the motel, and holy shit was that a gamechanger. 11/10.
8. My buddy Chris and I came up with a sun shade idea using a Slumberjack Roadhouse vehicle tarp, which worked very very well. Expands the shaded area under the awning by 100% or so, makes a ton more room.
In short, the motel is amazing. Best trip yet. The rooftop AC wasn't blowing as hard on the last day as it was the rest of the week, but it's still working for now. Still want to put a second LiFePO4 array in for more capacity and load absorbance, but that can come later.
^^ After this, we figured out we could put another vertical post up on the near side to give even more room.
Sick shot by my buddy Chris . Love the palm tree, and the fake grass did a great job keeping the dirt out of the motel throughout the week. Also a convenient place to swap boots for flip flops at the end of the day.
Random morning shot:
Ol Reliable.
My buddy Zach using the miller my buddy Adam brought off of the motel power:
Big ol fire later that night with Friends
