Marko,
As usual manufacturers quote ideal conditions. Keep in mind most batteries are in the back of the van and there is line loss and what not. I have no idea what wire size Roadtrek uses but Advanced RV uses the largest practical 4/0 with similar results of the Nations alternator and air conditioning even with the high-idle option. So, I would not think that would be a sole cause. You are right, the lithium batteries can pretty much take all you can slam into them limited by what the wire can deliver. I just don't think alternators perform as well as stated in real conditions. They tell you 165 amps at 200F but is that a reading when that temperature is reached and not over a period of time? The 270 amps probably occurs very briefly at startup from what I glean from my readouts. Since the problem is happening, that tells me real conditions can be different than tested.
The one last poster in that Roadtreking thread was simply saying that after you initially use up your battery reserve running your air conditioner, the Voltstart comes on but the air conditioning draw (and obviously other electrical draws) just about equals out what the alternator can produce at idle. So you never re-charge your battery and you run through your 5 auto starts one after another. Part of that is Roadtrek's 35 minute limit. That would not recharge a lithium battery bank as it would only put about 100ah back into the battery reserve in one idle run even if the air conditioner was not on.
This is not an overnight issue in my mind. This is a boondocking daytime issue during the heat of the day, and pet issue, that isn't being met. If you don't have pets if you have a sliding door screen and back door screen you can keep your van at ambient temperature with a ceiling fan without air conditioning and not turn it into an oven. It is not or I should say should not be an overnight issue since most campgrounds have generator hour restrictions and running a diesel Sprinter engine or a gas engine is every bit as noise obnoxious as a generator especially in the dead of the night.
The answer my friends is seek shore power.
We did that in Palm Springs this year when we were going to be gone most all day with friends and had a cat on board. That was pre-Delco alternator install. You can only trust unattended automatic technology so far.
As usual manufacturers quote ideal conditions. Keep in mind most batteries are in the back of the van and there is line loss and what not. I have no idea what wire size Roadtrek uses but Advanced RV uses the largest practical 4/0 with similar results of the Nations alternator and air conditioning even with the high-idle option. So, I would not think that would be a sole cause. You are right, the lithium batteries can pretty much take all you can slam into them limited by what the wire can deliver. I just don't think alternators perform as well as stated in real conditions. They tell you 165 amps at 200F but is that a reading when that temperature is reached and not over a period of time? The 270 amps probably occurs very briefly at startup from what I glean from my readouts. Since the problem is happening, that tells me real conditions can be different than tested.
The one last poster in that Roadtreking thread was simply saying that after you initially use up your battery reserve running your air conditioner, the Voltstart comes on but the air conditioning draw (and obviously other electrical draws) just about equals out what the alternator can produce at idle. So you never re-charge your battery and you run through your 5 auto starts one after another. Part of that is Roadtrek's 35 minute limit. That would not recharge a lithium battery bank as it would only put about 100ah back into the battery reserve in one idle run even if the air conditioner was not on.
This is not an overnight issue in my mind. This is a boondocking daytime issue during the heat of the day, and pet issue, that isn't being met. If you don't have pets if you have a sliding door screen and back door screen you can keep your van at ambient temperature with a ceiling fan without air conditioning and not turn it into an oven. It is not or I should say should not be an overnight issue since most campgrounds have generator hour restrictions and running a diesel Sprinter engine or a gas engine is every bit as noise obnoxious as a generator especially in the dead of the night.
The answer my friends is seek shore power.
We did that in Palm Springs this year when we were going to be gone most all day with friends and had a cat on board. That was pre-Delco alternator install. You can only trust unattended automatic technology so far.
