Charger for the battery packs on bus

Wes Eargle · **Joined:** Mon Oct 27, 2003 9:47 am **Posts:** 3683

Every other club in the state also runs all of their runs at once, has open forum access and sites within 30 minutes of the majority of their membership.

And generators keep getting mentioned for some reason as being priority number one ...

Bernie Baake · **Posted:** Mon Jul 20, 2009 7:13 pm

A generator ought to be our priority number one also. Havent been to an event yet that one failed. To help those with weak memories the club used mine at the NCAC we hosted. And Guess what it's still running, cooling me at autox events and track days when other power is not available. And everyone that has sat with us and enjoyed the cool air the fans provide, were damn grateful we brought it. As I recall you were one of them in Danville two years ago .

Wes Eargle · **Joined:** Mon Oct 27, 2003 9:47 am **Posts:** 3683

Cum hoc ergo propter hoc.

Electrical work has been performed on the bus within the past three years that negates the need for an extra generator.

If I didn't say thank you enough at the event on the surface of the sun, then thank you again. People are free to use whatever personal generators they want to in the pits for fans, air compressors, daiquiri machines, etc.

That doesn't mean that we need to spend the money in a down economy for a luxury when there are other places to put the money (down payment for another bus with a longer wheelbase/shorter overhang, a bus transmission, fixing the bus AC properly ...).

Bernie Baake · **Posted:** Mon Jul 20, 2009 8:01 pm

Wes Eargle wrote:

Electrical work has been performed on the bus within the past three years that negates the need for an extra generator.

.

Thats a load of crap. there's hardly an event goes by where we don't run the bus to charge the batteries.
generator to supply power $350
running the bus to generate 12vdc priceless

Wes Eargle · **Joined:** Mon Oct 27, 2003 9:47 am **Posts:** 3683

Bernie Baake wrote:

Thats a load of crap. there's hardly an event goes by where we don't run the bus to charge the batteries.
generator to supply power $350
running the bus to generate 12vdc priceless

Thanks for proving my point that we don't need one because we already have one.

Stephen Westerfield · **Posted:** Mon Jul 20, 2009 8:56 pm

Bernie Baake wrote:

Wes Eargle wrote:

Electrical work has been performed on the bus within the past three years that negates the need for an extra generator.

.

Thats a load of crap. there's hardly an event goes by where we don't run the bus to charge the batteries.
generator to supply power $350
running the bus to generate 12vdc priceless

Did we run the bus on Sunday?

Dustin Fredrickson · **Posted:** Mon Jul 20, 2009 9:06 pm

Yes, we've used our backup system (i.e. started the bus) a number of times in recent years. But we HAVE a backup system and it is always there for us without any additional effort.

We've run the bus very _little_, if at all, at events this year since the bus day when the deep cycle was replaced. The bus didn't get run at _all_ yesterday that I'm aware of, despite running 2 fans inside the bus all day long on that same battery, additional load that wasn't there last year.

Many of the issues we had with electrical last year were due also to faulty 12V wires, and a bad inverter that would start complaining (bad alarm) when the voltage dropped just a bit.

Don't get me wrong, I can see where a gas powered 12V charging system could be beneficial at a 2-day event (i.e. generator using 12V output as a "charger" as needed), but I strongly feel we should maintain the 12V system as our primary power mechanism as it gives us a failsafe. The question, then, is do we really need that second backup system? Yes, a 7.3l diesel powered "generator" is a bit overkill, but it's also paid for, isn't getting used very often during events, and requires no special considerations for fueling or maintenance.

In an all volunteer organization, there's a LOT to be said for keeping the logistics simple.

Scott Johnson · **Posted:** Mon Jul 20, 2009 9:07 pm

Wes Eargle wrote:

Every other club in the state also runs all of their runs at once, has open forum access and sites within 30 minutes of the majority of their membership.

And generators keep getting mentioned for some reason as being priority number one ...

They have clean cones too. What's your point

Karl Shultz · **Posted:** Mon Jul 20, 2009 9:14 pm

scottjohnson wrote:

They have clean cones too. What's your point

Theirs are also dirty, but it's a different kind of dirty. Theirs have some sort of black goo on them - almost like grease. It's weird.

Wes Eargle · **Joined:** Mon Oct 27, 2003 9:47 am **Posts:** 3683

Find me the metric where we can justify a gasoline powered generator that's cheaper than cranking the bus for 15 minutes three to five times a year to power up the system and I'll vote for it. Until then, please step outside your current frame of reference and ask yourself if they're actually the ones that are doing it wrong and we're doing it right.

If Johnny jumped off of a bridge, would you do it too?

Carl Fisher · **Posted:** Tue Jul 21, 2009 6:17 am

IBTL!

ChrisSuich · **Posted:** Tue Jul 21, 2009 9:19 am

For us internet dummies :oops:

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=IBTL
IBTL:
"I Beat The Lock": IBTL is an acronym used on an internet forum when a poster has judged a thread to be due for locking by an administrator due to off-topic or offensive content. Use of IBTL is a declaration that the user has "won a race" versus the forum administrator, who is about to close the thread.

KendtEklund · **Joined:** Tue Mar 27, 2007 7:29 pm **Posts:** 1204

Karl Shultz wrote:

scottjohnson wrote:

They have clean cones too. What's your point

Theirs are also dirty, but it's a different kind of dirty. Theirs have some sort of black goo on them - almost like grease. It's weird.

Armor-All Tire Shine?

Karl Shultz · **Posted:** Tue Jul 21, 2009 12:18 pm

KendtEklund wrote:

Armor-All Tire Shine?

I figured it was some sort of vital fluid that leaked out of Hodges' FSP Neon.

jimpastorius · **Posted:** Tue Jul 21, 2009 12:26 pm

This battle has waged on for years. There are a few that have stood pat against generators over the past 5-6 years. They remind me of BMW Motorcycle engineers, spend untold dollars and hours trying to design a super bike. Finally they wised up and got simple and used what everyone else has. Now they have a valid super bike :-)

Over the years, all the money for inverters, wiring, time, batteries, chargers, charging, solar panels, electrical failures... yada, yada, yada It is never going to change.

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Charger for the battery packs on bus

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