Time for Some 2015 185RB Baja Repairs & Upgrades

[MrKABC]

Any update on your leak hunt?

[Bob K]

Originally Posted by Bob K

I've been hunting an ignition problem with my Atwood G6A-7 hot water heater for a couple years now. Gas would ignite at the air shutter and act like a pulse jet engine. No bueno!

Video: https://tv.gab.com/channel/robertkno...049d87d2a5a946

Attachment 85885

It seemed to become a self-reinforcing problem: When gas would ignite there, it would make the tube hot and dirty in that location, which made subsequent ignitions at that location much more likely. I'd clean the combustion tube with a wire brush occasionally but the premature ignition would still sporadically happen. I also adjusted the air shutter so that the gas wasn't burning so lean.

Then I happened to notice one day that, after the thermostat tripped and started sending gas down the tube, it would take too long before it would ignite. This would result in a mini explosion of all the gas in the hot water tank passage and create a mini backdraft back into the combustion tube. As an experiment, I held a lighter right next to the end of the combustion tube and turned the thermostat up. With the flame right next to the combustion tube opening, the gas lit immediately and very gently.

So I think I've cracked the case: The pilot flame was too far away from the end of the combustion tube. Too much gas was filling the area before it finally got to the pilot flame and ignited. The mini explosion and backdraft were enough to cause ignition at the air shutter.

I rotated the pilot light bracket and bent it slightly so that it is right next to the end of the combustion tube. The gas now lights immediately and gently.
Attachment 85886

Ugh. That STILL didn't work. While it made for a quicker, gentler ignition, moving the pilot closer to the end of the combustion tube didn't stop it from turning into a pulse jet engine.

I'm down to throwing parts at it. Installed a new gas orifice (the old one looked fine) and a new main burner assembly.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B009UPLIG6
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B009UPLKIW

I bought the one that is more aerodynamic and reduces wind drag, so maybe that'll make the difference.


Maybe there was a defect somewhere in the original assembly that encouraged pre-ignition. If this doesn't solve the problem, my next step is to get a digital manometer and see if I've got LPG pressure problems.

[Bob K]

Originally Posted by MrKABC

Any update on your leak hunt?

Other than frustration? Nope!

I discovered that my silicone repair on the glass (back in September 2022) isn't worth a hill of beans and is weeping again, so there's that. How in the world water is still getting by that new, super-tight rubber gasket is beyond me. That could potentially be the source of my continued leak.

Or I could have multiple leaks. Lovely, eh??

[wordsmyth]

Originally Posted by Bob K

I asked my father to weld some metal supports on the bumper so that I can carry a bike rack with more confidence.

They're across the seams from the frame to the bumper so the weld that's normally experiencing the torque (and prone to fail) is reinforced while the weld on the bottom is kept in compression.
Attachment 72257
Attachment 72258
Attachment 72259

A Curt heavy duty receiver holds the bike rack.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0007M1ZGE

I followed behind my wife to observe how bouncy the back end is while traveling over common roads and thankfully I'm not seeing any more bounce or movement in the bike rack than I see when it's on the back of the car. The Kuat NV2 is a beast of a bike rack.
Attachment 72260

Yo Bob K! I appreciate your posting those pictures and am thinking the reinforcements is the route I'll go. I do have a follow up question about electrical components.

Specifically, my TT is equipped with Solar and has an onboard inverter. What steps do I need to take (if any) to assure the welder doing work on the bumper will not damage anything in the electrical and electronic systems of the camper?

Thanks,

Rick

PS: I'll also post a reply on my original question (thread) so it shows for those who answered over there. Thx.

[Bob K]

Originally Posted by wordsmyth

Yo Bob K! I appreciate your posting those pictures and am thinking the reinforcements is the route I'll go. I do have a follow up question about electrical components.

Specifically, my TT is equipped with Solar and has an onboard inverter. What steps do I need to take (if any) to assure the welder doing work on the bumper will not damage anything in the electrical and electronic systems of the camper?

Thanks,

Rick

PS: I'll also post a reply on my original question (thread) so it shows for those who answered over there. Thx.

The welding will create a local electrical circuit through the bumper (from the machine through the bumper to the welding rod and back to the machine). Therefore, I don't believe there's any automatic risk to any onboard electronics since the circuit won't be going through those items. However, my father (the master welder) says it's always a good idea to disconnect shore power and the battery so that there's no risk of backfeeding something if the welder loses ground.

[wordsmyth]

Thank you sir. Shore power won’t be an issue and disconnecting the battery is simple enough.

Best to you, and thanks again.

[MrKABC]

I still think you should pull that front Dicor seal and redo it with Eternabond.

Worth a shot?

How did the new parts go to solve your gas problem?

[Bob K]

Originally Posted by MrKABC

How did the new parts go to solve your gas problem?

It didn't. I'm pushing everything to the standalone thread since this has become such an involved troubleshooting process.

https://www.jaycoowners.com/forums/f...ipe-77955.html

[MrKABC]

Checking in on your leak saga! Wish I had something constructive to add about your water heater issue...

[Bob K]

Originally Posted by MrKABC

Checking in on your leak saga! Wish I had something constructive to add about your water heater issue...

It turns out that I can't re-silicone a window worth a darn. All of the water was coming through the repair I thought I made last Fall and sneaking through the frame. That new black gasket, despite how tight it is, isn't tight enough to keep out water. That really surprised me.

https://www.jaycoowners.com/forums/f...ml#post1076301



I have the gasket & seam taped up with painter's tape right now and it'll stay that way until we're in a place where we can effect a repair. This time I'll be detaching and resealing the entire window.

[Bob K]

I finally decided to install an inverter. I picked the 2000 watt Renogy Pure Sine Wave Inverter. It's enough to run the 800 watt microwave or an Instant Pot & accompanying air fryer (~1200 watts). Plenty big enough to run the refrigerator on AC while underway along with a coffee grinder, etc.

Lots of changes this time around:

• Upgraded the main battery cables and inverter cables to 2/0 AWG
• Upgraded the main battery circuit breaker to 200 amp (https://a.co/d/ascqSwO)
• 10 AWG THHN stranded wire (from Lowe's) to ground the inverter chassis

Rather than just plugging appliances into outlets on the inverter, I decided to wire the inverter directly into the power distribution center through a switch.

10/2 Romex carries AC power from the inverter in the basement over to the power distribution center (follows the PEX pipes underneath the cabinets and fridge (https://a.co/d/jdKen5o). While 12/2 Romex is sufficient for 15 amp circuits, I decided to use 10/2 in order cover the 4000-watt surge capability of the inverter instead running right on the edge of the ampacity of 12/2 Romex.

A 32-amp switch lets me choose between shore power and inverter power. (https://a.co/d/4u4NeK0)


While I had the power distribution center out, I also replaced all of the wire nuts with appropriate 10 gauge or 12 gauge Wago levernuts. A few are 8 gauge wires and Wago doesn't have connectors large enough for that, so wire nuts stayed on those.


I checked the tightness of all screws while I was in there and I'm glad I did. The factory did a terrible job of capturing all of the wire strands from the shore power cord under the screw for the main 30 amp circuit breaker.

I mounted the switch and the Renogy remote power switch next to the breaker panel. Unfortunately the switch requires a pretty thin panel, so I had to route/chisel out a recess for it, and I had to buy a slightly longer screw for the knob.


The Instant Pot (resistive load) works like a charm. The 800 watt microwave, however, is a little weird. It seems to take longer/struggle to start up while on inverter power. It doesn't do this on shore power. The Victron shunt says it's pulling about 1400 watts during startup and operation. Take 20% off that for the waste from the DC to AC conversion, but 1120 watts is still a lot more than 800 watts. I'll have to keep an eye on it and see if I have an aging microwave or an inverter problem. Edit: This explains it. Microwaves are rated in output "cooking" power, not input power, and they're only about 70% efficient. https://greenbuildingelements.com/wh...run-microwave/. Still doesn't explain the slow start on inverter versus shore power, especially when the shunt is not showing an inrush current or "peak startup power" load that would, ostensibly, tax the inverter.

The other thing that surprised me is how hot the 200 amp circuit breaker gets during sustained operation. When running about 160 amps through it for an Instant Pot cycle, the lugs on the breaker get up to about 115 deg F. I guess that makes sense once I realized that the breaker is heat activated.


I'm looking forward to seeing what fun we can have with a little bit of AC power while boondocking.

[Bob K]

Originally Posted by Bob K

I finally decided to install an inverter. I picked the 2000 watt Renogy Pure Sine Wave Inverter. It's enough to run the 800 watt microwave or an Instant Pot & accompanying air fryer (~1200 watts). Plenty big enough to run the refrigerator on AC while underway along with a coffee grinder, etc.

Lots of changes this time around:

• Upgraded the main battery cables and inverter cables to 2/0 AWG
• Upgraded the main battery circuit breaker to 200 amp (https://a.co/d/ascqSwO)
• 10 AWG THHN stranded wire (from Lowe's) to ground the inverter chassis

Attachment 88053

Rather than just plugging appliances into outlets on the inverter, I decided to wire the inverter directly into the power distribution center through a switch.

10/2 Romex carries AC power from the inverter in the basement over to the power distribution center (follows the PEX pipes underneath the cabinets and fridge (https://a.co/d/jdKen5o). While 12/2 Romex is sufficient for 15 amp circuits, I decided to use 10/2 in order cover the 4000-watt surge capability of the inverter instead running right on the edge of the ampacity of 12/2 Romex.

A 32-amp switch lets me choose between shore power and inverter power. (https://a.co/d/4u4NeK0)
Attachment 88058

While I had the power distribution center out, I also replaced all of the wire nuts with appropriate 10 gauge or 12 gauge Wago levernuts. A few are 8 gauge wires and Wago doesn't have connectors large enough for that, so wire nuts stayed on those.
Attachment 88059

I checked the tightness of all screws while I was in there and I'm glad I did. The factory did a terrible job of capturing all of the wire strands from the shore power cord under the screw for the main 30 amp circuit breaker.

I mounted the switch and the Renogy remote power switch next to the breaker panel. Unfortunately the switch requires a pretty thin panel, so I had to route/chisel out a recess for it, and I had to buy a slightly longer screw for the knob.
Attachment 88060

The Instant Pot (resistive load) works like a charm. The 800 watt microwave, however, is a little weird. It seems to take longer/struggle to start up while on inverter power. It doesn't do this on shore power. The Victron shunt says it's pulling about 1400 watts during startup and operation. Take 20% off that for the waste from the DC to AC conversion, but 1120 watts is still a lot more than 800 watts. I'll have to keep an eye on it and see if I have an aging microwave or an inverter problem. Edit: This explains it. Microwaves are rated in output "cooking" power, not input power, and they're only about 70% efficient. https://greenbuildingelements.com/wh...run-microwave/. Still doesn't explain the slow start on inverter versus shore power, especially when the shunt is not showing an inrush current or "peak startup power" load that would, ostensibly, tax the inverter.

The other thing that surprised me is how hot the 200 amp circuit breaker gets during sustained operation. When running about 160 amps through it for an Instant Pot cycle, the lugs on the breaker get up to about 115 deg F. I guess that makes sense once I realized that the breaker is heat activated.
Attachment 88061

I'm looking forward to seeing what fun we can have with a little bit of AC power while boondocking.

A couple weeks in the boonies with the new inverter. I decided to return/replace the original one because of that terrible voltage dip it would cause when starting the microwave. Unfortunately, the 2nd Renogy inverter does the same exact thing, so this appears to be a batch problem or a design flaw. I need to have a conversation with Renogy.

We used it for several Instant Pot air fryer meals, made popcorn with the microwave, and discovered that the air conditioner starts softly and only pulls 660 watts on full power. Score!