Builds 2008 LX Live Camera Car and Overlanding Build.

[SharpeCat]

Tried going for a hike today and the path was flooded so decided to go on a bike ride instead.

turns out I won’t need the MX bike hauler to drop and load the bike easily, I just need a curb or ditch! Didn’t even use the ramp.

 

[SharpeCat]

One of the many ways I plan on tackling a shortage of power while living full time in the LX:

My charge/power bank bag. I wanted to charge my 3 power banks and lab top and some USB devices, but also wanted to be discreet about it. The 3 plugs are for laptop, maxoak bank and Jackery bank, then the Renogy bank charges through the maxoak (pass through charging). Any usb devices can be plugged into the laptop and maxoak and Jackery, as well as 2 12v output available.

I also wanted to keep things neat while they are charging in the car as well. I stuck everything in my only backpack but eventually the idea is to get a custom one made that will secure everything and hold the wires neatly in place. A better power strip wouldn’t hurt either.

Now I can just plug the pack into the car, and have everything charged from the cars 1 outlet. Then when it’s time to go I can take all my power banks with me! This also makes it quick and discreet when I need to charge 8 things at Starbucks or the library!

 

[CharlieS]

Is there any issue with heat with all of those devices in an enclosed bag?

 

[SharpeCat]

Is there any issue with heat with all of those devices in an enclosed bag?

Good point brother, and it’s something we can look into long term. I was thinking maybe switch to a mesh backpack but that would make it less discreet. Chances are I will mount a USB fan or something in there to help reduce heat, and ventilate the fan area. If you have any ideas I’d love to hear it.

It does get hot after a few hours of charging, around the connections, but I have not had an issue with the entire bag being too hot. I plugged it into the side of a building (with owners permission) for 5 hours and almost everything was charged except for the Renogy (which was using a 20V output from the maxoak).

I’m in the process of draining everything again and seeing how long it takes, and if things get too hot for a full charge. Also going to switch to a strip with 4 110v outputs to see if I can reduce my total charging time.

Speaking of which, are there any experts here who can tell me how to get the most continuous watts out of 1 115v outlet? Is there a way to get enough to charge them all at the same time, rather than have it wait for the laptop to charge before it charges the power banks? I’ll see what I can find out on my own but maybe you guys can save me some

Thanks Mudders!

Also, I actually logged on today to tell you guys to consider a queen bed if you’re traveling with a half-cow, half-dog breed. I rarely ever get to pick my sleeping position unless Tiger feels like napping on the cool grass or pavement. It’s funny until back pains lol. I wouldn’t trade the experience for the world but sometimes I do wish this man-bear-dog had some bed-sharing etiquettes lol.

After looking through some old pictures I think I may go back to keeping the cooler area cleared again, so that we can use the top of the cooler for extra sleeping space. I sometimes lay diagonally and rest my feet on the cooler, or he sometimes lays on the cooler and I get the bed.

 

[grinchy]

Good point brother, and it’s something we can look into long term. I was thinking maybe switch to a mesh backpack but that would make it less discreet. Chances are I will mount a USB fan or something in there to help reduce heat, and ventilate the fan area. If you have any ideas I’d love to hear it.

It does get hot after a few hours of charging, around the connections, but I have not had an issue with the entire bag being too hot. I plugged it into the side of a building (with owners permission) for 5 hours and almost everything was charged except for the Renogy (which was using a 20V output from the maxoak).

I’m in the process of draining everything again and seeing how long it takes, and if things get too hot for a full charge. Also going to switch to a strip with 4 110v outputs to see if I can reduce my total charging time.

Speaking of which, is there any experts here who can tell me how to get the most continuous watts out of 1 115v outlet? Is there a way to get enough to charge them all at the same time, rather than have it wait for the laptop to charge before it charges the power banks?

Thanks Mudders!

Seems you'd be limited by the breaker on the circuit. 15 amp is the common residential breaker. 15*120=1800 theoretical watts. Ymmv.

 

[SharpeCat]

Seems you'd be limited by the breaker on the circuit. 15 amp is the common residential breaker. 15*120=1800 theoretical watts. Ymmv.

What about the cars outlet In the back? if it is also capable of outputting 1800 watts then I’m not sure why I don’t have enough to charge everything at the same time. 1800 watts I should be able to charge almost 20 of these laptops (95w)!

I’m trying to figure out why the Jackery isn’t getting a charge when the laptop is charging, when they are plugged into the same power strip. I think it may have done the same thing when I plugged it into the side of the warehouse but I have to test again to be sure. The 2nd 2 photos are laptop unplugged to show that the Jackery is charging as normal.

Anyways, I’m going to get another power strip with at least 4 outputs so I don’t have to charge the Renogy via pass-through. Anything I need to know about power strips or are they all about the same?

 

[SharpeCat]

Also a couple baseline maintenance issues:

Tiger knocked over a drink while riding shotgun and a little bit spilled into the center area around the cigarette lighter. My cig lighter next to the Aux input does not work now. Blown fuse? Which fuse box and the which fuse? Not a big deal but I can move the Jackery charging to the front via the 12V input if I fix this.

Other issue is that the rear AC is a little warm, even when set to the same temp as the front (Low) , and while the front is blowing ice cold. I don’t think it’s a case of the rear system trying to compensate for the front system since they are set to same temp. Doesn’t bother me enough to spend a lot of money to fix, but ifs something that can be fixed with mostly just my time then I’d love to get it fixed. Otherwise, I’ll live and so will Tiger.

thanks again!

 

[grinchy]

What about the cars outlet In the back? if it is also capable of outputting 1800 watts then I’m not sure why I don’t have enough to charge everything at the same time. 1800 watts I should be able to charge almost 20 of these laptops (95w)!

I’m trying to figure out why the Jackery isn’t getting a charge when the laptop is charging, when they are plugged into the same power strip. I think it may have done the same thing when I plugged it into the side of the warehouse but I have to test again to be sure. The 2nd 2 photos are laptop unplugged to show that the Jackery is charging as normal.

Anyways, I’m going to get another power strip with at least 4 outputs so I don’t have to charge the Renogy via pass-through. Anything I need to know about power strips or are they all about the same?

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I believe that outlet in the 200 has a 10amp fuse in it. 12V*10A = 120W. There will be DC/AC conversion loss, so maybe 100W? I believe it is labeled.

 

[TeCKis300]

Yes, the rear 115V outlet is only good for 100W.

For the cig lighter at the front, could be the fuse. Also check that the contacts in the barrel of the cig lighter doesn't have sticky residue that may prevent contact of the center pin of a lighter plug.

 

[SharpeCat]

Yes, the rear 115V outlet is only good for 100W.

For the cig lighter at the front, could be the fuse. Also check that the contacts in the barrel of the cig lighter doesn't have sticky residue that may prevent contact of the center pin of a lighter plug.

yeah I just plugged it into the buildings outlet with same power strip, and everything is charging simultaneously, to confirm what you and @grinchy said. It is indeed the cars outlet that is the limiting factor. I could move the Jackery and renogy to the front and use the 12v cig lighter to lessen the load While charging in the car. The Jackery goes into the cig lighter and renogy goes into the Jackery.

I assume charging with the cig lighters simultaneously will not reduce the 115v outlet’s charging current?

Also the addition of solar panels in the near future will help carry the load. Just gotta do some research as to which panels (I’m thinking flexible panels I can just take out and throw on the awning/roof/hood when camped).

and thanks, I will clean the contact area on the cig lighter and see.

 

[SharpeCat]

Brainstorming post for solar panels.

Renogy options:

flex panels 100w or 160w (242 for 160w)
solar panel suitcase

10% discount (6913) if through Renogy website.

Will need adapter Cable and likely charge controller

Jackery:

100 w is $300
Does not need adapter or charge controller if plugged directly into Jackery. If I go the Jackery route I will either upgrade to a 500 or pick up 2 more Jackery 160s (since 110 bucks for 160wHs is better than 450 for 500). Probably better to have one bigger one than 3 little ones but I’ll give it more thought. I do like the idea of taking one with me while leaving others to charge, and a the 500 is prob too big for the charge backpack.

will keep editing this post as I give it more consideration.

 

[SharpeCat]

Just missed a Memorial Day sale from Jackery, darn! Going to email them and see if they can make an exception for me so I can upgrade Jackery size to the 250 or 500, and pick up their solar saga 60/100.

Anyways, today I noticed even my front AC isn’t blowing as ice cold as last week. This is in addition to the rear blowing warm. I also noticed the passenger side on front has been slowly getting less cool. So it goes coldest on driver front, then passenger front, then gets warmer the further back you go.

because even the front is getting less cool, I decided to check the Freon. I followed this post on clublexus and I posted a video for reference, to show that there are a lot of bubbles flowing in there.

pictures are to show where the Glass screen is to let you check your refrigerant.

I’m going to autozone and picking up one of those recharge kits for 25. I think they are 22 oz. Any recommendations on which ac recharge kit?

 

[SharpeCat]

According to that site off google search, this car takes over 30 oz of refrigerant.

I am going to start with 1 18 oz bottle and follow above advice from Club Lexus, and get a 2nd bottle if there are still bubbles after 1 bottle.

 

[CharlieS]

You might have luck like that, but it is much better to purge (capture), put a vacuum to it, and refill using gauges to get the right quantity of refrigerant.

 

[SharpeCat]

You mean completely drain and refill? Not sure how to purge it but I can look into it. Thank you.

went with this guy for 33 at walmart

 

[CharlieS]

Not something you can do without specialized tools. It is illegal to vent to atmosphere. Good luck, that might work out for you.

 

[SharpeCat]

Ok so I dumped the 20oz bottle in there (all of it) and noticed a difference immediately. Not ice cold but Both front side is equally cool now. Back is now also cool/cold but not as cool/cold as front.

Next time I will purge it for sure, but this will do for now. It’s nice to be able to turn the rear on again without it blowing warm air. I think I will add another 12 oz to try and push it to ice cold in front.

Probably one of the only wayS to improve from here is to drain the old refrigerant and replace it with fresh fluid like Charlie suggested.

Overall I’m very happy with the results so far and hopefully another 12 oz will get me there.

 

[SharpeCat]

He’s been afraid to get in the car past few days because it’s an oven even with AC on full blast.

he’s no longer panting or trying to climb up to the front for the AC!

Im a happy man. Going to grab another 12 oz just to seal the deal. Also, now that I have the hose I can just grab one of the cheaper cans.

So the pressure does settle down after a little. It was full when I put in the 20 oz but settled down and now it’s still in green Area after another 13 oz. so if you’re filling and pressure says full just let it settle and fill some more.

Update:

Not sure why being low on Freon would cause one to blow cold and others warm, rather than affecting all equally, but I can confirm All 3 rows blowing nice and cold now after refilling refrigerant. Front is ICE cold again! Cheers.

 

[Ratchey]

Ok so I dumped the 20oz bottle in there (all of it) and noticed a difference immediately. Not ice cold but Both front side is equally cool now. Back is now also cool/cold but not as cool/cold as front.

Next time I will purge it for sure, but this will do for now. It’s nice to be able to turn the rear on again without it blowing warm air. I think I will add another 12 oz to try and push it to ice cold in front.

Probably one of the only wayS to improve from here is to drain the old refrigerant and replace it with fresh fluid like Charlie suggested.

Overall I’m very happy with the results so far and hopefully another 12 oz will get me there.

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Be really careful with this stuff. I added some to my 94 civic and about 2 months later spent a lot of money to have the complete system replaced. I just very slightly over charged it and it destroyed the compressor which in turn sent metallic pieces through the whole system. It was a very expensive $20 can of freon...

 

[SharpeCat]

Be really careful with this stuff. I added some to my 94 civic and about 2 months later spent a lot of money to have the complete system replaced. I just very slightly over charged it and it destroyed the compressor which in turn sent metallic pieces through the whole system. It was a very expensive $20 can of freon...

I will keep an eye on it, was there any warning signs other than your compressor not working? If needed I can drain it and refill from empty. I haven’t noticed any leaks or anything, but I did wonder how I fit 30oz in there. The AC was blowing warm in all but drivers vent so maybe it was almost empty. It went from warm to ice cold after the fill though, and she’s blowing like a new car.

I did keep an eye on the pressure gauge and stayed in the green zone as I filled, so hopefully that gauge was accurate. I will keep checking the pressure.

And good morning mud! Seems I need another pillow since Tiger decided to step up his hoarding game lol.

Also just got my check and I’m torn between building a motorcycle sidecar for Tiger, a set of rims for the LX, or a kayak to mount on the roof for fishing trips.