I'm blown away with your vast knowledge with everything from mechanical, electronics, electrical, hydraulics, fabrication, oil wells, carpentry and the list goes on. Your videos very entertaining and educational, keep them coming.
@absolutelynonameslef
10 ай бұрын
Zach's a pretty clever dude. The type I like to be around.
@TheZachLife
10 ай бұрын
Thanks.
@jaketd6262
10 ай бұрын
I love learning from this dude. Southerners are half engineer and half mechanic! The best combination
@TheZachLife
10 ай бұрын
Haha
@advancednutritioninc908
10 ай бұрын
As an Electrical Engineer, I approve of all the decisions you made! :) You were smart not repairing that inverter and sending it back considering the warranty! There are lots of integrated circuits, microprocessors and flat pack devices in modern circuits like that - without special tools they are a pain and nearly impossible to do a good repair. I like your idea of simply picking up the hot air at the end of the inverter and sucking the heat out of it. I know they are not cheap but you might consider having a spare identical inverter stored away on you RV. With the loads you are carrying and the money you already have invested in your Rv, (it is a beauty!) I think its a small price for knowing you won't be stuck somewhere with no power! Depending on the cost I might also have a spare voltage regulator for your generator on board as well. Lastly I like the idea of some over-voltage protection coming out of your generator to protect your rig. Or you could force your generator to be in battery charging mode all the time, and don't allow it to be on-line with your AC.
@TheZachLife
10 ай бұрын
Thanks. That thought has crossed my mind. I did take a extra regulator with my. I used to do some work on generators and have a couple of others of my own and keep several regulators on the shelf.
@brettmerryman2837
10 ай бұрын
Glad to see you’re alive! Thanks for posting Zach
@rickjohnston9113
10 ай бұрын
Great shirt, great video
@robertpeters9438
10 ай бұрын
Stones from the tires will puncture your wheel well heat exchanger.
@06halfton4x4
10 ай бұрын
Zack, from my time in the standby generator field i learned that most voltage regulators do not like it when the engine is not run at rated speed. Id guess that the low speed battery charging killed it over time and you may need to come up with a scheme that "disconnects" it when not at full speed. A simple generator controller from deep sea electronics may be worth installing to monitor the engine and generator, they can be set up to kill the engine when a parameter exceeds the programmed setpoints. Please excuse me if i have missed something and you have already accounted for this, just wanted to try contribute my 2 cents if i can help lol.
@TheZachLife
10 ай бұрын
I didn’t explain this because I felt it would confuse more than it helped but that’s exactly what I’ve got. It only supplies line voltage to the regular when in gen mode via a relay. I have a plc set up to control the engine and monitor temp and pressures.
@06halfton4x4
10 ай бұрын
@TheZachLife I had a feeling a guy that was smart enough to write plc logic and put all of that together had something in place but I figured I'd say it just incase lol. Keep up the good work, we enjoy the videos. I'm especially interested to see your scada set up for the oil wells when you get time to explain it.
@stanleykendziorski7964
10 ай бұрын
I have a suggestion for your generator cooling woes, run a coolant loop up to the trucks cooling system.. hardline it most of the way, like 3/4 or 1", and keep the radiator in the back as well.. you would have a greater capacity with the hot coolant.. also, during the cooler months if you go somewhere, the generator would act like a block heater for the trucks engine at night if you run it.. Great content! Love it
@advancednutritioninc908
10 ай бұрын
Depending on the distance of the run, I think this is a great idea!
@FishFind3000
10 ай бұрын
Also the engine would heat up the generator and pre heat it before use when you stop. Only issue is if the generator can heat up all that fluid to get up to operating temps with a much larger cooling system. You would have to have a thermostat and make it all just right including the size of the water pump so it can move all that water that distance.
@stanleykendziorski7964
10 ай бұрын
@FishFind3000 thats why I was thinking it would be like a block heater.. most likely wouldn't get it up to temp, but warmer than the ambient temp.. I was also thinking that keeping the line size smaller, it would help the water pump get it there, the trucks engine would be pushing the coolant back.. If a guy took it off the bottom of the rad on the cooled side, and with it traveling back, it would be significantly cooler I would think, having to run 20' or so..
@TheZachLife
10 ай бұрын
I have thought and thought about this. Even if the truck was off there would be enough radiated heat from the engine and radiator to make the difference. The biggest problem I have is mixing of the coolants and that one cooling system would overflow the other. It would take a heat exchanger or something.
@stanleykendziorski7964
10 ай бұрын
@TheZachLife if I may ask, what do you mean by mixing of the coolants? As long as they're the same type, like both green or both red elc, it would be fine.. Now, I'm not sure how they would overflow each other? In theory, it would act like a webasto I would think coming into either engine.. I leave mine on my truck during the winter to help with warm up with no ill side effects.. I guess I don't see how it would be different? Just curious, as you may have seen something that I haven't and I am unaware of.. always good to learn from someone else with life knowledge, hence why I watch your channel
@firewalker1372
10 ай бұрын
You always have the most interesting T-Shirts, can’t help but chuckle 🤣. Keep up the great videos man, especially when you explain the oil field. Your series on building your own RV was really good. That thing is a beast.
@TheZachLife
10 ай бұрын
Thanks.
@ericrotermund1004
10 ай бұрын
Cascading failures is a reason to have totally separate systems I guess. I bet replacing the inverter was expensive. Your engineering is pretty awesome.
@TheZachLife
10 ай бұрын
Thanks
@paulbrown8467
10 ай бұрын
We have all been there, the cascade of failures because something simple was forgotten and it's a hard way to learn! Enjoy the vacation!
@fitzroyfastnet
10 ай бұрын
Could happen to anyone. Look up Merrimack Valley gas explosion. Utility ran the gas distribution system with the regulator pressure sense lines disconnected. Sent high pressure gas to peoples houses, blowing a bunch of them up.
@PlutoTheCat
10 ай бұрын
I feel your pain with losing those recessed light ballasts. Ouch!
@BlackBuzzzard
10 ай бұрын
Damn! So glad nothing caught fire. Gotta like folks who will do vids where everything goes wrong, and still they post about it.
@richardward-pf8xu
10 ай бұрын
You are the best mechanic and electrician I have seen short of an engineer. You must have a good wife to understand how complex things can get. Keep up the entertaining videos.
@TheZachLife
10 ай бұрын
Thanks. I got a gooden.
@jeffcurtis5460
7 ай бұрын
Love your videos, to think through with you troubleshooting. Thank you!
@georgen.8027
10 ай бұрын
Water cooled CT scanners use a similar radiator system since the x-ray tube is actually spinning and can't be directly connected to chilled water. So instead there are 3 radiators mounted in the corners of the machine housing cooling the air around the spinning tube transferring the heat (ultimately) outside the room somewhere.
@TheZachLife
10 ай бұрын
Interesting
@nuxboxen
10 ай бұрын
Love your video's, I love that you really go for it. So many people him-haw around, always trying to reduce risk to zero. You're style is much better IMHO, you remind me of SpaceX, you build it and learn as fast as possible. Great stuff buddy
@TheZachLife
10 ай бұрын
Thanks
@darenlowery1235
10 ай бұрын
I love the old supply signs, especially the Emsco!😊
@corydriver7634
10 ай бұрын
Thanks for sharing the chaotic fiasco it was entertaining and educational. Enjoy the vacation.
@TheZachLife
10 ай бұрын
Thanks
@catman5546
10 ай бұрын
We have all let the smoke out of some electrical device 😂😂😂 Remember Down and to the right , hang tough !!!
@TheZachLife
10 ай бұрын
Hahaha
@chriss1728
10 ай бұрын
Love the shirt - spot on!!
@jason0870
10 ай бұрын
There's always one way or another to get things back on the right track. Thanks
@garrison3675
10 ай бұрын
... in the end, everything comes out OK !! ... an amazing episode of dodging bullets ... Texas Luck! ... enjoy that coool weather ... and keep pump'n that Texas Crude ...
@fintechrepairshop
Ай бұрын
I've just started installing Victron AC/DC systems in some large yachts, Noticed you had the Victron solar controller. The cerbo, lynx system is incredible. Pretty expensive stuff but awesome.
@cdoublejj
10 ай бұрын
i enjoy the electrical stuff as much as i enjoy the talk about oil and bearing wear! also be shure to use aluminum radiators. if you mix metals in low temp cooling it corrodes, at leasts it's big deal in custom PC realm . i made thatm istake and it got pin holes.
@TheZachLife
10 ай бұрын
Thanks.
@raykaufman7156
10 ай бұрын
I installed a 3200W inverter in my employer's toterhome, and it was nothing but trouble. After untold hours of fiddling, we could get it to run 1 AC unit for about 4 hrs before we ran out of battery (relying on the truck alternator for recharge), then we upgraded the alternator, etc etc etc. Finally I put in a switch to tie the truck batteries in (NOT a good idea). The inverters are great in concept, but an unrelenting hassle in reality.
@AugustusTitus
10 ай бұрын
Hindsight is 20/20 but you'd be better off putting the hot radiator outside up top; heat rises. Eventually you'll want to change out the engine alternator to a large one as well. It's pretty random to have not one failure but two, so don't let that get you down. Anything that survived probably has a universal 100 - 250 VAC power supply. The capacitors in those are rated 400VDC, because sqrt(2)*240 = 393 V. I think the small radiator solution for the inverter isn't all that bad because you'd be better to pull heat off the aluminum heatsinks but you get into issues because of water purity when you've got conductive (aluminum) heat exchangers on heatsinks at opposite potentials. Dow Corning 340 (the white paste) is rated for conduction-cooled vacuum tubes, so that may work if you decide to attempt to cool the heatsinks directly. It has good insulating properties. Still, good results cooling the air from 150F to 100.
@miles5884
10 ай бұрын
It’s easy to tell that you are a very busy and active person. You also can tell that you are very smart and knowledgeable. But man we need more videos. I’ve watched all your videos. Love the content you are awesome in front of the camera. BTW Love the shirt.
@TheZachLife
10 ай бұрын
Thanks.
@richardlincoln8438
10 ай бұрын
Thank You for the time and effort to post this Zach.
@TheZachLife
10 ай бұрын
Thanks.
@rockhunter6260
10 ай бұрын
Nice to see you back. As they say “all in a days work, I mean vacation”👍🏻
@hmrody
10 ай бұрын
Have a great vacation! We just gotta be related somehow 😁. Sounds like some of my projects! Great videos and thanks! Misery DOES love company! Best!
@TheZachLife
10 ай бұрын
Hahaha
@davidskiffington7039
10 ай бұрын
I feel your pain. Some jobs find a way to drag themselves out to become a life’s work
@garbleduser
10 ай бұрын
If that inverter wasn't under warranty, I would offer to fix the control circuitry. I buy and repair broken inverters for fun...
@TheZachLife
10 ай бұрын
I’ll keep you in mind. I may look into fixing it.
@garbleduser
10 ай бұрын
Just let me know. I am in Arkansas.@@TheZachLife
@scrotiemcboogerballs1981
10 ай бұрын
Been wondering how you were buddy gonna enjoy watching the video hope you’re having a good vacation other than the troubles you are talking about safe travels thanks for sharing
@bt9653
10 ай бұрын
You need to enjoy yourself. Best wishes for your vacation and relaxation.
@Jpaydirt
10 ай бұрын
I just came to look at your shirt LOL
@TheZachLife
10 ай бұрын
Hahaha
@montrocon
10 ай бұрын
Thanks for the update Zach enjoy your vacation!!
@RickySwinedick
10 ай бұрын
Zach, I'm not sure if you'll ever have a reoccurance, but a Bender relay may help protect you from over voltage. You could run the contactor closure voltage through a normally closed contact in the bender. They aren't cheap, but I thought I'd pass it along. Really enjoy your videos.
@advancednutritioninc908
10 ай бұрын
Good idea if it can actually handle his situation ... they are about $700 used, about $1000 new i think.
@TheZachLife
10 ай бұрын
I actually got a Chineses one setup for undervoltage exactly like that. I may find one that does overvoltage as well.
@imgettinby
4 ай бұрын
In the winter you would want that heat back into the cabin so you should have made a flip/flop door in your vent channel to where you could direct the heat thru the vent over the fridge in winter, but also direct it out the side of the toterhome thru an external vent in the summer. That way you get rid of it when you don't need it, and make use of it when you do.
@demartin5366
10 ай бұрын
Glad to see another great video and that you are surviving that Texas heat, Zach. I was in the Nacogdoches area several weeks ago and it was awful. So glad to see that you are able to adapt to your inverter issues. You are blessed to have such great knowledge and experience in handling these problems. Stay cool out there and take it easy. Always a pleasure to see another video.
@TheZachLife
10 ай бұрын
Thanks. It’s been terrible.
@sergioortega7640
4 ай бұрын
My brother in-law was seling one of his old Rv's in miami and a gentleman gave him asking price no Haggling. He was a bit surprised since haggling is in the Hispanic Culture so he asked the gentlemen that bought his overpriced Motorhome what he planned to do with it and the guy told him he just wanted that old Onan generator that was in that junk motorhome for one of his shrimp boats. He explained the old units were analog controls and worked hassle free the longest. He also told my brother in-law the new units will just go thru control and regulator boards like nothing. The motto seems to be go simple and enjoy.
@paulgoolsby6120
10 ай бұрын
The heating issue reminds me of similar issues with a server bank. The absolute only way we efficiently ran that was using a dedicated cooling system and sealing off the room it was in. A suggestion below regarding “looping” your truck AC to this might be a good fix.
@ruben_balea
10 ай бұрын
You need a voltage monitor relay, industrial grade from a reputable manufacturer, if you can get two or more second hand for the price of a new one install two and wire their relay contacts in series just in case one goes crazy. Use them to control a big power contactor, better if it's a 4 wire model and you wire one half of contacts in series with the other half to reduce the chances of stuck contacts. That's part of the setup I've to power my submersible water pumps because without water at home life is hard. I said pumps because I've two for redundancy, the well bore is 10" so I tought it was a good idea.
@TheZachLife
10 ай бұрын
I agree I’ve actually got a under voltage but not a over voltage relay.
@scubasky
10 ай бұрын
Another great video thanks man!!!
@jerrywhite5770
10 ай бұрын
Enjoyed the video, have a great vacation
@72plyduster1
10 ай бұрын
Haven’t herd from you in a while, was glad to hear that your issues we not to serious, listening to you explain every thing was quite technical and you handled it well. You need some time off to just relax, so have fun.
@ugetridofit
10 ай бұрын
They say bad things come in 3's, so looks like you got them all out of the way in one swoop. Hope you guys have a relaxing vacation! FYI... Typically, on devices where they have multiple paralleled fets if one goes odd are the others were pushed to their limits. So it a good idea to just change them all.
@TheZachLife
10 ай бұрын
Thanks that’s something to look into. That might have a source to gate leak or something.
@douglassfwilson
10 ай бұрын
Have a great time in Colorado!
@TheZachLife
10 ай бұрын
Thanks.
@michaelmcclure8673
10 ай бұрын
So you had a super domino crash down 😮😮😮 I hate those with a passion. 😊
@davidkuehl8713
10 ай бұрын
Awesome shirt as well.
@TheZachLife
10 ай бұрын
Thanks
@DavidCAllen50
10 ай бұрын
Tuber here: Have you given any thought to a 12 or 24 volt DC water pump instead of the 115vac unit Also you could replace some of 115vac lighting with 12 or 24 volt DC LED’s
@imgettinby
4 ай бұрын
I hope you are making a list of these little parts, your FETs or whatever, so that you can have repair parts with you while on the road.
@James-kd7dc
10 ай бұрын
You have the best T shirts 😂
@RustyorBroken
10 ай бұрын
A wise man once said, "Everything should be as simple as it can be, but not simpler." The inverse is also true. Don't make something more complicated than it needs to be.
@altgenesis
10 ай бұрын
Hot glued the heat sink? That glue will melt. This guy is dangerous.
@tugboat2739
10 ай бұрын
Howdy Zach awesome T-shirt
@TheZachLife
10 ай бұрын
Thanks.
@fitzroyfastnet
10 ай бұрын
You might be able to connect a low-value resistor between the sense terminal and output terminal of the generator.. in normal operation, the resistor is shorted by the sense wires. If the sense wires open up, the resistor keeps the sense terminal near the output voltage.
@Skunkhunt_42
10 ай бұрын
Someone pass this man the HeatPipe 😉 easy to rig, just size it right.
@cdoublejj
10 ай бұрын
also be shure to use aluminum radiators. if you mix metals in low temp cooling it corrodes, at leasts it's big deal in custom PC realm . i made thatm istake and it got pin holes. edit, mixing aluminum and copper. you can mix nichol and copper fine.
@pl747
10 ай бұрын
I like your tee shirt.
@courtrutherford8913
10 ай бұрын
Supco AT021 is a close on rise snap action line voltage thermostat that you could use for the enclosure fans.
@cdoublejj
10 ай бұрын
hell yeah, another video from TheZachLife
@cdoublejj
10 ай бұрын
back in the day the mfg would give you schematics and specs to trouble shoot! electric repair is hard as shit these days. it's caused the right to repair to start taking off and even passed in a few states. also be shure to use aluminum radiators. if you mix metals in low temp cooling it corrodes, at leasts it's big deal in custom PC realm . i made thatm istake and it got pin holes.
@steveladner4346
10 ай бұрын
It's nothing money can't fix.... It just might take a lot of it.
@shawnstillman736
10 ай бұрын
Love your shirt man!
@oldroscoe2590
10 ай бұрын
I have about 50% success on the projects I dream up and attempt.
@TonyLasagna
9 ай бұрын
I love that sorry I’m late i didn’t want to come t-shirt. I would absolutely wear that everywhere. Even to work if i did not work for myself hahaha 😂
@TheZachLife
9 ай бұрын
Hahaha
@austindavis6314
10 ай бұрын
Look into immersion cooling, I bet you could just put the transformer in a container of mineral oil and just cool that liquid outside. I did it years ago whenever I had a bunch of bitcoin miners in a camper putting off 10k Watts of heat, ended up doing immersion cooling and put a medium sized radiator underneath the camper and it worked perfectly for almost 16 months continuously.
@jasonGreenVw
10 ай бұрын
@LinusTechTips Did immersion cooling in a fish tank many years ago, using mineral oil. A plastic container would be better for @TheZachLife inverter with a larger radiator.
@TheZachLife
10 ай бұрын
I think something like this may have to happen.
@cdoublejj
10 ай бұрын
i've heard Butyl holds longer than silicone. when it comes to removal butyl is brutal. it's some strong shit
@TheZachLife
10 ай бұрын
Not a bad idea.
@victoryfirst2878
10 ай бұрын
That is why I like your channel Zach. Murphy's law just follows you wherever you go fella. But KZitem must be your meditation and release from the real world. Look forward to ......
@TheZachLife
10 ай бұрын
Hahaha Thanks
@victoryfirst2878
10 ай бұрын
I would just love to be your understory one week and learn a lot of stuff from you Zach. Peace. @@TheZachLife
@ahmeds7345
10 ай бұрын
Who will take care of the oil production while you're away, we need more videos, enjoy your vacation
@thedopplereffect00
10 ай бұрын
You need to put an over voltage regulator on that generator. That seems to be the actual root of the problem
@ccronn
10 ай бұрын
Love your vids Zach!
@angusandleigh
10 ай бұрын
...might be something to try on a different inverter to dial in the cooling, but you could submerge the whole unit in mineral oil and run the whole fluid through an external cooler...it may carry more heat than a small targeted heat exchanger...I have seen guys run whole electronics in an oil tank and it seems to work well...might take some experimentation...
@TheZachLife
10 ай бұрын
I thought about doing this to the transformer. Interesting.
@steveladner4346
10 ай бұрын
If a little heat is the problem you better stay away from Laredo Texas because 100 degrees is a chilly day.
@TheZachLife
10 ай бұрын
It was officially 113 the day I left.
@novanut1964
10 ай бұрын
good video, thanks
@whitesapphire5865
10 ай бұрын
Two hour vacation? - Shoot, that means you didn't even get off your own property?!!
@TheZachLife
10 ай бұрын
Haha
@flyboy6876
10 ай бұрын
Well, your little venture into cooling costs you how many barrels of oil? Every good person learns from their mistakes, and it is important to keep learning even if it hurts.
@Orbacron
10 ай бұрын
My $99 chinese inverter smoked the circuits as soon as i connected it to my battery today. They must have not even tested their product before selling. I was bummed about that. Hopefully they will refund the money
@rksg2003
10 ай бұрын
Zach do you think one of those 5kw dc to dc air conditioner inverters would cool your electrical cabinet? I think they make a 5000 btu unit that is very small you might could put the outside part underneath the rv they are so small they install them on one of the rear van doors.
@ambersmith6517
10 ай бұрын
yes or a very small window unit my inverters are low freq i built them myself under 20 watts no load idle and the fans have never kicd on
@TheZachLife
10 ай бұрын
I’ve considered something like that.
@markdavidson9720
10 ай бұрын
More oil videos !!!
@brianmoore5498
10 ай бұрын
nice signage in your coach. looks like colorado i think. have a nice time!
@TheZachLife
10 ай бұрын
Thanks. And yes
@kansasadventure1831
10 ай бұрын
How many amps is your pack? Is it FLA or? I've got an eg4 of grid inverter charger. Thing puts out a lot of heat. The fan is always running.
@TheZachLife
10 ай бұрын
675@24v
@kansasadventure1831
10 ай бұрын
What kind of thing do you have that senses the battery voltage to tell the generator to start up?
@TheZachLife
10 ай бұрын
Cheap Amazon voltage sensing relay.
@zakksrage
10 ай бұрын
Get all the heat maker 11,000s out of the living space. Not only for the heat but the fan noise
@ordinaryguy5702
10 ай бұрын
you want to know what i think? i think that you are probably the smartest person on youtube. i feel this because your so modest you dont see it
@AFellowBrother
10 ай бұрын
Realy like you shirt's always 👍
@wlogue
10 ай бұрын
Thanks bud!
@riverflyswatter
10 ай бұрын
Go day sir
@joshlavallee8139
10 ай бұрын
Good to see ya back in the Toter! Any chance we can get a toterhome update video?
@TheZachLife
10 ай бұрын
Yes absolutely. I’m going to work on it when I get back.
@HyperSpaceProphet
10 ай бұрын
Why not just duct the hot inverter air outside? This would keep the hot air from adding to you AC load....Simpler and at most would require a booster fan to move that air farther.
@dalegawne5286
10 ай бұрын
just vent the cabinet to the outside instead of into the motorhome ?
@thedopplereffect00
10 ай бұрын
Then he'd be sucking warm outside air into the cabin
@dalegawne5286
6 ай бұрын
not if the cabinet is sealed and sucks from outside as well
@keithaldridge8780
9 ай бұрын
I missed another one
@BillyLapTop
10 ай бұрын
Enjoy your vacation!
@TheZachLife
10 ай бұрын
Thanks
@japc4326
10 ай бұрын
Back feeding ...well I do not have to tell you now, why that is not a good idea. If you must "Back Feed", everything connected to that circuit should be disconnected either by the breaker or physically. Then one by one inserted into the active "Back Feed" circuit. I have blown stuff up too. John
@terryou812
10 ай бұрын
👍👍
@craigsymington5401
10 ай бұрын
Gawsh!
@Wingnut_Stickman
10 ай бұрын
Have a great vacation!
@TheZachLife
10 ай бұрын
Thanks.
@timaz1066
10 ай бұрын
Haven’t even watched the video yet and I just had to stop and comment and say I love your shirt.
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