M109A3 Shelter Conversion

[RECONJON]

The past few days have been slow but productive. I have installed a battery cutoff key and mounted the Golight and remote to run it. Some minor fabrication of a dash mount for the remote and a bracket to mount the light was necessary and I am pleased with my results.

 

[moving chicane]

Nice work on the cutoff switch, I like how you did that.

 

[RECONJON]

Hello to all! Iv'e been quiet but busy. Things are really coming together in the shelter. If money were no issue probably would have gone bigger and more fancy. A lot has happened in the past few months, Parades, Shows, Fundraisers, Upgrades, Repairs and took Max to settle some bone conflict. lol

It was very nice to see everyone in Somers CT at Comvec. I thought it was a great turnout. We won 2nd Place. We did Memorial Day Parade in Thompson, Touch a truck in Danielson, and had a couple stationary displays at home.

Solar is in, Cabs and Counter top is in, the Fresh Water Tank and pump has been installed and wired.

Some Pic.s of work done.

 

[BAZYRKYR]

 

[BAZYRKYR]

That paint job looks AWESOME!!!

 

[RECONJON]

 

[BAZYRKYR]

As far as that single solar panel goes...what size it, what size battery bank do you have, how long does it take to charge, and what can you run off of it because from my calculations just to run a laptop, 20 inch LED TV (used as a second laptop screen), a small refrigerator, and 6 low watt light bulbs 24/7 I would need to cover the roof with solar panels & have a large battery bank?

 

[RECONJON]

So Far only 1-12V Deep Cycle 150AH Battery in solar bank ( I plan on 3-4 total), Panel is Renogy 100 Watt (kit, Easy plug and play), Inverter is temporary HF 750 Watt, going with 3000 W soon as I add more batteries. ALL will be tied in to main box so I can get 110 to all my outlets and run interior lights.

In the pic above this post with the flood light, that load is all sun, no stored (60W Out Door Flood, a power pig) and it did well. Very Happy with this solar kit so far, I may even add another panel or two. Its become quite addicting. Free Energy is a kick in the teeth to the gov and utilities, that just sweetens the taste.

 

[RECONJON]

Running anything off grid is all about what you can store, Amp Hours are what you want to max out with, the more the better. For our needs and after testing, this set up will do well for our needs( some boon-docking) we also have a 2500 Watt Honda Generator, Super Quiet and will run 18 Hours on 3 Gal Gas with a 2000-2200 Tested Load.

If I can figure it all out, we will also have a small wind turbine from a Auto alternator and and a funny looking toilet paper roll looking cylinder that catches wind from any direction. But that's still in my mind and hasn't made it to paper yet

 

[Vintage iron]

RonJon the truck looked great at the COMVEC show. It was great to meet you and the little lady

 

[215Dave]

Just read through your whole thread. The build looks great! Keep up the great work and please continue to post pics

 

[RECONJON]

Yes Matt Great Meeting you too. We had a nice time at the show, picked up a few goodies. Any chance you have a battery box available? Looking to store batteries for solar bank in one.

 

[RECONJON]

Hello All,

My latest distraction. Kept me busy this past fall and winter, spring started so slow and I got a late start on the finish coat. She was picked up by new owner this past Monday.

Frag Out!

 

[RECONJON]

Now back to finishing mine on the inside. Got the mattress, TV, 4000W Power inverter and AC hot water heater. Ill be installing this stuff over the next few weeks. I'd like to hit the Quonset RI show coming up this Sept 6-7.

 

[k9lestat]

very nice .

 

[RECONJON]

Hello All,

The latest progress was something I thought about for a long time, wasn't sure at first how we would heat the water. Propane was an option, but decided against it as I need to purchase that, not very survival like. So we went with electric off the solar bank. The sink is a basic 15x15 SS deep bowl. Plumbing this whole thing was scary in thought, a nightmare with home depot help. They sold me some PVC stuff and some glue and sent me home with instructions, I do not have any plumbing knowledge. So I made some T connector with 1/2 " out, on their instruction. I was very explicit about 1/2" NPT. that was a huge failure. So I did a little more thinking and some searches and found what I needed. A brass T with female 1/2" NPT in and male 1/2" NPT out. The rest was simple pre-made hose connections from pump to cold and hot water supply and then from HWT to the faucet. The fresh water tank holds 44 gallons, and HW tank is 4 gallons for a total of about 48 gallons. I plan on draining to another tank, but for now a catch bucket has worked fine. I purged, filled and primed system before powering up the HWT, 25 minutes to heat water, at tap under decent pressure very hot water, cold works great and the pump seams to be more than adequate, 12V Flojet.

 

[QUADJEEPER]

Just came across your thread. Great work so far, an inspiration too. Working on my own 109 project. Haven't started a thread yet though. Keep up the good work.

Hello All,

The latest progress was something I thought about for a long time, wasn't sure at first how we would heat the water. Propane was an option, but decided against it as I need to purchase that, not very survival like. So we went with electric off the solar bank. The sink is a basic 15x15 SS deep bowl. Plumbing this whole thing was scary in thought, a nightmare with home depot help. They sold me some PVC stuff and some glue and sent me home with instructions, I do not have any plumbing knowledge. So I made some T connector with 1/2 " out, on their instruction. I was very explicit about 1/2" NPT. that was a huge failure. So I did a little more thinking and some searches and found what I needed. A brass T with female 1/2" NPT in and male 1/2" NPT out. The rest was simple pre-made hose connections from pump to cold and hot water supply and then from HWT to the faucet. The fresh water tank holds 44 gallons, and HW tank is 4 gallons for a total of about 48 gallons. I plan on draining to another tank, but for now a catch bucket has worked fine. I purged, filled and primed system before powering up the HWT, 25 minutes to heat water, at tap under decent pressure very hot water, cold works great and the pump seams to be more than adequate, 12V Flojet.

View attachment 510242View attachment 510243

 

[Mike929]

Yes I think a lot of 109 owners want to see what others are doing, myself included. I still have a lot of work to set up the truck before I can start working on the box.

I have been looking at truck sleepers to get ideas on bed placement.

 

[RECONJON]

Hi Mike,

Yes I have seen a post here, I believe on one that has a sleeper set up, its a very nice upgrade. A little more than what I can do here on my compound. In a few years I hope to be settled more south and west from here. Better equipped for bigger jobs.

 

[RECONJON]

Hello Everyone!

I got the batteries and power inverter installed today. For now I have 2 Deep Cycle 12V with a total of 240 Amp hours, recharged from the solar panel. After testing the system this coming weekend at the Quontsett show Ill decide on the upgrades, Original plan calls for 3 Solar Panels and 5 Batteries, 300 watts of solar and 1100 Amp hour bank.