We recently acquired a 10″ cast iron skillet, and are convinced that everything tastes better in it. I had been making this recipe in our 9×13 glass pan, but the first time we tried it in the skillet we were blown away by the deliciousness. Super soft, moist, and full of flavor, this cornbread recipe…
Most of our activities are chosen and planned by Jess as we travel. I spend much of my time working and don’t always adventure with the family. Every once in awhile, I choose a place that I’m particularly interested in, and Jess and the kids are awesomely accommodating. My chosen adventure this time was a…
Our Airstream didn’t come with an inverter installed. There is one AC panel inside the Parallax power distribution center which distributes the 30 Amps from the street connection to all internal plugs, the refrigerator, the DC power converter, and the air conditioner. Adding an inverter complicates this setup considerably, for reasons I will now attempt…
I usually make the meatballs one day and we’ll eat half of them over zucchini noodles (or zoodles), and then freeze the other half of them to make Italian Wedding Soup later in the week. The ingredients for both meals are very similar, but they are totally different meals. Works great when you have very little fridge…
Rachel has an intense love of dolphins, so when I told her we had the opportunity to visit Marineland near St. Augustine, Florida and participate in one of their dolphin encounters I’m pretty sure everyone in the campground heard her squeals of delight! When We Visited: February 23, 2016 Ages of Kids: 10, 8, 5…
Thanks for posting this information — might be very helpful down the road. Quick question: on your diagrams, you show the line from your solar controller going to the DC bus, and then to the battery. Wouldn’t that line go to the battery first, then to the DC bus? Otherwise, you be powering your lights and fans directly from the solar panels. Thanks again.
This surprised me as well during the install: The existing converter (battery charger) was also just wired to the DC Bus. But really, it does make sense. The battery doesn’t have different charging terminals than usage terminals, so connecting at the bus is nearly the same as connecting at the battery terminals themselves. Running only one set of wires from battery to Bus is actually much simpler as well, with only one set of connections to deal with at the battery.
That DOES mean that incoming solar power powers the lights and fans before charging the battery, but that is actually the desired behavior anyway. There is a loss involved charging the battery vs using the power immediately, causing immediate use to be better. The presence of the battery in the circuit means that the fluctuating voltage of the solar panels is smoothed into normal 12V ranges.
The battery will charge if the voltage on the DC Bus is higher than its internal voltage, and discharge if the voltage on the DC Bus is lower than it’s internal voltage. The Solar Panels (and also the Converter) charge the battery by raising the voltage on the Bus.
Does that make sense?
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