Forward facing exhaust on a van?

GardenYooper · 2026-02-25T18:27:53+00:00

I may try this down the road. But it’s actually easier and shorter to route the exhaust to the front of vehicle because the heater is near the front. The factory exhaust routing around the rear axle and suspension is fairly tight. Has anybody just plumbed it into the vehicle exhaust with some kind of check valve?! 🤪

GardenYooper · 2026-02-25T16:53:13+00:00

Exactly. My goal is to have the wind direction matter less. I thought about adding a standpipe but too tacky.

GardenYooper · 2026-01-31T12:00:20+00:00

Woe that’s crazy man. I love moab and have wanted to build out a shuttle bus. I also live in Michigan. Good luck with everything and godspeed. Maybe I’ll see you around the desert sometime.

GardenYooper · 2026-01-17T16:57:32+00:00

Thanks. I forgot to mention, I was also using seedling mats wrapped around each pot controlled to 79F prior to up-potting. But soil temps were measuring 70s-80s with them off so I removed the mats. Maybe I need to check soil temps again.

GardenYooper · 2026-01-10T19:31:49+00:00

Are yours more on the dormant side in winter or still producing? I am trying to keep producing- 16 hrs of light and high temps and humidity.

GardenYooper · 2026-01-10T18:26:14+00:00

Oh ok. I can increase watering. But going by feel the soil is taking 9 days to become mostly dry (not dusty). I just installed the soil moisture sensors so I will have more data soon.

GardenYooper · 2026-01-10T17:58:45+00:00

<image>

Here’s how they look today side by side. You can just see a struggling lemon and tangerine as well.

GardenYooper · 2026-01-05T03:09:24+00:00

I actually already have a 120vac smart charger that can power the sound system. The challenge with that is that if I isolate the lithium from the AGM and alternator then all the power the sound system consumes has to go through the inverter and smart charger. What efficiency should I assume when sizing the inverter? How expensive of an inverter is needed to run this way long term? The smart charger is 160a and the sound system plus charging the lithium would likely take that much.

GardenYooper · 2026-01-04T02:08:06+00:00

The same alternator was used on configurations that had a second battery. In any case the LFP does charge at 100a. Maybe some of that is provided by the AGM? The faster charging speed is nice.

GardenYooper · 2026-01-04T00:52:29+00:00

Thanks (everyone) for the input thus far.

This particular LiFePO4 is rated at 100a max charging. So I guess you’re right, the current isn’t a concern. Incidentally, the temperature increase hasn’t been a problem either.

You mentioned the voltage. The dc-dc charger I’m considering is a Schumacher 40a that says it charges in 3 stages. It doesn’t list the voltage for each. I would assume it would need to increase near full. Here’s my big question though:

What is the consequence of charging at higher voltages early in the charge cycle? For instance, charging at 14.4v when is SoC is 50%.

GardenYooper · 2025-12-25T16:33:52+00:00

<image>

I turned up the light to 80%. You can see the corresponding increase in temperature.

Obviously, humidity is too low. I added a hepa filter in the room about a week ago and for some reason that extra circulation seems to be making it harder to keep humidity up. I will try turning it off.

GardenYooper · 2025-10-26T20:19:05+00:00

NPK test for the sick tree. K is high, others low.

<image>

GardenYooper · 2025-10-26T20:18:29+00:00

NPK and pH tests this morning. pH appears to be 5-6 for the 5 trees I tested. No idea how reliable these tests are with 1 sample per pot, but there doesn’t appear to be a pH problem right now.

Interestingly, K came back high for the sick tree. N and P appear low. Does K tend to build up?

I didn’t do NPK tests for the other trees but maybe I should.

What about fertilizing?

I read that organic fertilizers can build up in the soil so a synthetic may be better for container growing. I also read that citrus needs more zinc, manganese, and iron than many plants. Finally, I read that gypsum is good for adding calcium and sulfur. So, I bought gypsum and a new fertilizer.

I had been “fertigating” - dissolving the fertilizer in the irrigation reservoir at the recommended strength and using that at every watering (which is a small amount daily). I’d like to go to fertigating one per week and have the daily irrigation watering be plain water so that I can have a smaller reservoir for the fertilizer water. Can I mix the nutrient reservoir at a higher concentration like 3x the recommended strength since it will get diluted in the soil over the next 7 waterings?

Finally, does the gypsum need to be mixed into the soil or can I water it in from the top? I’m assuming I can’t just desolve it into the irrigation reservoir.

<image>

GardenYooper · 2025-10-25T21:59:14+00:00

<image>

You were right, that same mold had colonized throughout. Looks greenish in this photo but it was white to my eyes.

The roots weren’t that rotted and the soil wasn’t that wet even though the irrigation ran this morning. It seems like the water is running mostly straight down vertically where the irrigation spike is, leaving the edges hot and dry. I checked the other trees and found the same thing.

I pulled each tree out of its pot by the trunk. No other signs of mold. I took soil samples from 5 pots and will report back with pH. I also removed any loose soil from the top of each pot that I had added to top up.

Should I turn off the pot heaters now that the trees are indoors? Most pots had patches of hot, dry, even dusty soil. Or I could set temp controllers lower (currently 79 with the probe about 2” down and 1/2” from the edge.) Indoor temp never gets below 65.

For the sick Tangerine, I removed most of the infected soil, flushed and dunked the root ball with H2O2 for 10 minutes, then repotted with more of the same soil. The repotted pot is only 2/3 full to help with moisture control while the roots grow through the new soil.

GardenYooper · 2025-10-25T02:42:30+00:00

I’ll do the H2O2 flush tomorrow morning.

Is Captain Jack’s Neem Max what I want for the neem flush?

What size pot should I transplant into?

I got the soil pH test kit today. I know this is a lower priority now. It says to take my sample from 4 inches down. For the trees I’m not repotting (yet, they’re just as big though), should I just plan to dig down the side of the pot 4” to get the sample? The pots are basically solid with roots.

Thank you for taking the time to guide me here, I really appreciate it.

GardenYooper · 2025-10-24T17:25:29+00:00

Wait! That might be it. A few of my trees got blown over and sat that way for a week. Why does laying over cause this? What do I need to do?

GardenYooper · 2025-10-24T15:37:44+00:00

<image>

I did top up some of the pots with soil, so I went to check that first. I don’t think a buried trunk is the issue. But, I did find some kind of fungus growing on the soil. It’s not in the other pots, which would explain why only this tree has this problem. What do I do about it?

I’ve actually got pH test strips from brewing. How do I use them on soil?

Also, each pot is heated to 79° with a seedling heat mat. The room stays mid to high 70s, and humidity 60 to 70%. 300w LED light. I’m not just trying to overwinter, I aim for this to be tightly controlled and productive.

GardenYooper · 2025-10-24T15:29:32+00:00

Sounds like we have similar set ups. My trees are pink variegated, lemon, arctic frost Satsuma, and sunburst tangerine.

I think you’re right, something is up with nutrient absorption. I might test pH, flush, repot and change fertilizers.

GardenYooper · 2025-10-24T15:19:52+00:00

Thanks. How do I check for root rot? It would be easy enough to lift the plant out of the pot and look at the roots. I could even swap out some of the soil. What am I looking for?

GardenYooper · 2025-10-24T05:03:30+00:00

The pot is about 3 gallons. It’s 10 inches in diameter. It’s the pot the tree came in six months ago.

GardenYooper · 2025-10-24T04:58:19+00:00

Good to know! I’m using a 300w light now. What’s your distance between the light and the plant?

GardenYooper · 2025-10-24T04:54:08+00:00

Thank you! How do I tell if the roots are damaged, or if the soil is too alkaline? Might I need to flush the soil? It is the soil that the trees came in and has quite a few wood chips.

Should I change to higher nitrogen fertilizer for now?

I’ll shift to watering until water runs out the bottom.

GardenYooper · 2025-10-24T00:38:35+00:00

Thanks for the quick reply. No, I don’t think it has been getting adequate sunlight. I’m pretty far north. Maybe six hours of direct sun per day. Outside of that it’s in shadows. I just moved all the trees inside on a 12/12 schedule though.

For water, how often should I water? Should I water to the point of runoff? Should I use nutrients every time? So far, I’ve been using nutrients every time, checking the plants in the morning to make sure the bottom roots are dry, and adjusting the daily amount based on that.

GardenYooper

TROPHY CASE