[Rev.Vassago]

Originally Posted by Doghouse

Whats up with Landstars trailers? are they in bad shape?
When I drove for Stevens, all the trucks had weedburners and we all pulled reefers, there was never a problem with fumes getting into the trailers.
Just screw it and run the exhaust up to the front of the truck and have it exit in the front. How much fumes are there??

Enough that they are nasty. Exhaust is working great now. I've found that the low oil shutoff on this thing is very sensitive. The dipstick read full this morning, but it kept shutting off. I added one cap full of oil, and that solved it.

It is using a little under 0.3 gallons per hour.

[NotSteve]

Originally Posted by Rev.Vassago

It is using a little under 0.3 gallons per hour.

Is that just running or under a load?

[Rev.Vassago]

Originally Posted by NotSteve

Is that just running or under a load?

5 hours of the AC running plus 1 1/2 hours making Chinese food used 1.86 gallons. Battery charger was on the entire time.

[NotSteve]

That sounds pretty good. I can't find the specs on what the Rigmaster claims it uses per hour but I would like to see someone who's done a real study with the AC running.

[NotSteve]

I just spent the last 1/2 hour looking for anyone that's actually done a comparison of APU fuel usage in a real environment like using the AC non stop for 8 hours.

Rigmaster claims .2 but I know it's a lot more then that when running the AC.

[Doghouse]

I know that now that I'm turning a 165amp alternator, that mine goes through 1 gallon every 12 hrs. I'm going to use it this winter to warm my engine up on cold mornings and the boost the batteries. Thats all its good for, this spring I'll upgrade to I think a new propane unit, or a diesel.

[Rev.Vassago]

I ran it for 8 1/2 hours yesterday, and it used 0.25 gallons per hour. When I get home, a secondary fuel tank is going on. Filling this thing up every day is a PITA, but I knew it would be. I'm also going to start looking into putting a thermostat switch inside the box so that the fan won't be running constantly.

[NotSteve]

Originally Posted by Doghouse

I know that now that I'm turning a 165amp alternator, that mine goes through 1 gallon every 12 hrs. I'm going to use it this winter to warm my engine up on cold mornings and the boost the batteries. Thats all its good for, this spring I'll upgrade to I think a new propane unit, or a diesel.

If there isn't any load on the alternator it doesn't matter. The more load on the alternator the harder it is to turn it and more fuel required. Same principle with regards to a generator on an APU.

[Heavy Duty]

Filling this thing up every day is a PITA

I feel your pain, I have to fill my tank every 2 - 3 days It uses about 8 gallons in 10 minutes.... oh I'm sorry, you were talking about something different.

[Doghouse]

Originally Posted by NotSteve

If there isn't any load on the alternator it doesn't matter. The more load on the alternator the harder it is to turn it and more fuel required. Same principle with regards to a generator on an APU.

Yeah, but the load is pretty consistant. My batteries are never under 12.42volts. The truck alt. assists the solar panels while the engine is running, and the only time I've seen the voltage drop down to 12.0volts was when I was parked for 3 days without running my main engine.
Now that winter is near I won't need a 120volt power source, so swapping the genhead for the alt is just a way to try and recover some of the costs that went into the failed APU.
Pretty soon I'll be doing the lifting tag axle on the truck and the lift axle on the trailer.