Chinook RV

I think I'll go with the Victron so I can see the real time usage. The Balmar is nice as it has no shunt but doesn't give the draw down.
I'm going to mount it where the TV/Radio panel is as we've deleted that already. Just going to have to make a panel to cover and mount the Victron.
I'll have to figure out how and where to mount the shunt, lots of connections on the batteries now...
Great write up and pics on the Genset removal, that's going to be very helpful, Thanks!!

Rokrover wrote:Extracting the untethered generator then proved the hardest part. It needed to come out square to the opening otherwise the case hung up on the door flange. It certainly would be better with this piece off. Damage to the flange became inevitable after I found no way to finesse the situation.

If it helps the next person, I've read that some have put a piece of flexible sheet metal over the bottom door lip as a leveling ramp, and that helps to evenly slide the genset out.

kdarling wrote: If it helps the next person, I've read that some have put a piece of flexible sheet metal over the bottom door lip as a leveling ramp, and that helps to evenly slide the genset out.

Thanks for the practical tip kdarling; I thought of something along these lines but had no suitable material on hand at the critical moment.

Here I present a quirky solution to sealing the generator cabinet floor effectively. My floorboard was warped with gaping holes, as shown in the first picture. Note the top view of the MorRyde suspension shackle, by the way.

The floor is 34” x 19 1/2” and the door is too narrow to admit a one-piece rigid insert. I chose to tack down a flexible covering consisting of two layers of spare roofing shingles. These covered the gaping holes nicely with a liberal bead of roofing tar as sealant.

The last picture shows the overlay of 1/2” ply board. It is held in place by an interference fit and treated with Thompson’s Water Seal.

Sorry to have diverted from the main battery theme in this thread.

Afterthought: Galvanized sheet metal would be a nicer floor backing material - future project?

P.S. I put the generator up for sale on our local Craigslist. The first reply offered a trade of marijuana
The second responder bought it with no haggling or shady deals. He was a fine gentleman from Phoenix who specializes in the Onan market and said there's still a good demand for these units.

autox wrote:I think I'll go with the Victron so I can see the real time usage. The Balmar is nice as it has no shunt but doesn't give the draw down.

After reading varying opinions on different monitors on forums like this...

https://canalworld.net/forums/index.php ... y-monitor/

... I'm still loving my much less expensive monitor which constantly displays all the realtime and accumulated info at once, instead of either having to manually cycle through to show each measurement, or having to get a Bluetooth dongle and use a smartphone to see more at once. Its only downside is that in standby the shunt computer uses about 24AH a month vs 3AH a month for the Victron, but I have either solar, engine or shore power making that up anyway. Kev

Autox:

If you are going with the Victron (which I think is a good product) one thing you might be interested is is that their new 712 (basically the same as the 702 but also improved) has a bluetooth function. I don't have that meter (I have the older 700), but I do have a Victron solar controller in my car with their bluetooth functionality and it is really good. I can read/set/or fiddle with it all from my smart phone with many parameters all on one screen (or of course from the device itself). I'm not one who has to have everything on my phone (in fact I prefer not to); but I figured I'd mention it as you would then not need to mount the round meter anyplace visible (unless you wanted to).

BG

Thanks BG
I just ordered the 702 this weekend...The Blue tooth sounds good but too late now... I've eliminated the TV/Audio control to the left where the TV was because it had terrible static in the TV mode and but in a new Radio/cd player with a auxiliary port that I run the TV audio into, sounds great.
I'll put the 702 in place of the old controls with a face plate..

I can't remember, but it may be possible to read the 702 with the "bluetooth dongle" Victron has (that's how I get the data from the Victron solar controller, which has a port for the dongle). But it may not be that important to you anyway, and it's an added cost.

Project Done...
Taking out the old Gen was fun,fortunately our door frame unscrewed and was removed,I tried without taking it out and the Gen wouldn't fit through the opening,had to cut the 120v wires also, thanks for the tips!!
I put down a plywood overlay and screwed it in then undercoated all the openings underneath with a spray rubberized flexible coating and silicon-ed all around the inside.I used a cut fatigue mat over the inside bay floor to keep things from sliding around and strapped the Honda secure.
I then but a valve on the 1/4" gas line and connected it to a marine bulb pump with a 2' line that I can use to fill the Honda gen if needed, like having a 39 gallon gas can and no need to have one stored.
Then I put in a handy box and connected the 120v Onan gen feed to a pig tail that I connect to the Honda 2000i away from the coach, much more quite and not smelling up the inside when the door or windows are open.
Now I have room for camp chairs and table and a small BBQ..

Nice to have that done.

Did you run into any issue with the grounding? I cannot quite remember all the details now, but there is something about Honda generators vs. shore power or "internal" generators that is different vis-a-vis the ground/neutral/bonding. Gah, I hate it when I knew something but now I can't remember it but only a vague half-gist. So irritating!

Edited to add: Okay, I haven't re-read this and thought about it again (since a few years ago), but there might be something in here of interest. Or maybe not because the ATS is taking care of it....

Anyway, I'll be re-reading it just to get my mind around it again.

http://noshockzone.org/generator-ground ... l-bonding/

Thanks, great article on this, I hadn't really thought about that but I think all is ok..
Apparently the Honda 2000i is a "floating" G-N and since I'm using the old Onan input to the ATS it automatically does the G-N bonding, If I was using the shore power cord that could be a problem. I'll check it with a 3 prong tester next time I hook it up. I'm sure other folks have hooked up a portable Gen to shore power cord, wonder if they have had problems. I guess it depends on if their Gen is floating or bonded....
Learn something everyday....