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Old 10-23-2016, 07:40 PM   #1
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Solar battery "maintainer?" - thunderbolt

Searched the Solar Power social group and failed to find any specific reference to my query. Bookdock a lot, so I need a viable, inexpensive solar battery "maintainer/charger". I mentioned this to a friend, and he offered his to me for my upcoming trip - a THUNDERBOLT, 1.5W, portable solar unit (very simple), either hooked to directly to the battery or via the "cigarette lighter" (for lack of a better word) within the TT. It's sold by Harbour Freight (and perhaps others), and is very inexpensive; it also has mixed reviews, but about 3.75 on a 5 scale with more recent reviews increasingly better. Has anyone had any experience with this product?
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Old 10-23-2016, 07:53 PM   #2
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Bought a Renogy "suitcase" 100 watt solar unit. Still waiting to use it but by what you describe, it might just work for you.
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Old 10-23-2016, 07:57 PM   #3
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Bought a Renogy "suitcase" 100 watt solar unit. Still waiting to use it but by what you describe, it might just work for you.
Links?
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Old 10-23-2016, 08:06 PM   #4
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TX Jerdog - I'll research it, but 100W?! I'm speaking of a 1.5W "maintainer", not a full on charger. I shall, however, check out the one you bought.
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Old 10-23-2016, 08:17 PM   #5
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Boondock a lot but only need a 1.5w maintainer? I can see that working for a trailer sitting idle waiting to be used on the next trip, but for boondocking it seems lacking at the least. How big is your battery/batteries? I guess I'm just confused if your using this to keep yourself boondocking totally off grid. Something like this is used to keep a charged battery charged and not drained by slight parasitic draw. It in no way will recharge a battery that has been drained while boondocking so you can keep camping the next day.
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Old 10-23-2016, 08:20 PM   #6
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Of the top ....I can't see a panel that small work in ANY rv.
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Old 10-23-2016, 08:41 PM   #7
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Links?
Try this.

https://www.renogy.com/renogy-100-wa...olar-suitcase/
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Old 10-24-2016, 05:34 PM   #8
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Thunderbolt bat maintainer

TX all for weighing in. I understand your trepidation regarding such a small (1.5W) solar unit, however, consider this: for perhaps 10 years, I've boondocked (completely) with two #24 marine batteries for up to 14 days WITHOUT ANY solar unit of any kind without completely draining both batteries -one, yes, but never both. As one can see from my Signature, I'm in a small 154BH. We operate minimal lighting in the PM; the greatest draws are the furnace fan (intermittent due @ 60 degree T-stat setting) and the infrequent use of water pump. I hope only to be a little less parsimonious than usual, but remain judicious in my power usage. Given the foregoing, I was really happy when my friend offered me his Thunderbolt panel for my hunt. I still would appreciate any/all input from members (especially smaller RV owners and boondocking fans), and will provide feedback upon my return - unless of course, I'm a popsicle! Nevertheless, should anyone have a suggestion for a bit larger solar unit (e.g. SCREWBY's above), I'd certainly be happy to entertain it. TX again all.
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Old 10-24-2016, 06:22 PM   #9
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JEFF1963,
Not sure as to how you monitor your batteries while boon docking, but to insure that your voltage does not drop below 12.0VDC, you may want to pickup a Digital Voltage Display, something like the one below and just leave it plugged in. It will give you an idea as to how much battery power you have left (unlike the standard useless LED lights that Jayco installs). Then if you need to you can always back the TV up to the TT and give it a little charge to keep you going. (You have to love acronyms on this site)

I know you mentioned that you use 2 size 24 batteries, probably 85Ah each for a combined total of 170Ah, of which you can only use 85Ah (50% rule), but using them one by one will not give you any additional benefits (Ah's). Between the 2, you only have the 85Ah, the benefit of wiring them in parallel is that you will not have one drained farther down from the other and then when you get back home you can charge them in parallel where as if you use them individually, you need to charge them separately, due to the difference in voltages.

If you are interested in seeing the test results of a 4 year old Interstate 85Ah battery (when new), properly maintained, never drained below 12.0VDC, you may be surprised. Head over to the forum's "RVing with SOLAR" social group and scroll down to "The Results Are In (Battery test). Amazing how age will have an effect on batteries Ah.

I would skip the 1.5 watt SOLAR system. It will only work on A fully charged battery and if there is a LOT of SUN Shine.

Good luck with your plans, just yell if you have any additional questions

Don
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Old 10-24-2016, 06:36 PM   #10
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Lets try this ..... - Call your #24 battery a 12V 80Ah average battery.

Assuming 60Ah at 12V - ie a capacity of 12x60 = 960Watt-hours of power.
at 1.5W charge that will take 640 hours from no charge to full, or 52 days assuming 12hrs of daylight.

You might want to find out what kinda parasitic draws you have in your rv....ie CO detector etc.

However, that's with 100% efficiency, perfect conditions ensuring the panel kicks out full power throughout the day, and most significantly the battery with zero charge will be sulphated and not hold its charge again...
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Old 10-24-2016, 06:56 PM   #11
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WOW! - I feel fortunate y'all are interested in this, but you're advising me way over my head. TX Don (Mustang65); but does that Digital Voltage Display use power as well? Secondly, ArcticFire - can you, given what I said I used for power, what that 960 watt/hours translates into days - ballpark? Remember, I'm NOT trying to CHARGE my batteries - JUST MAINTAIN THEM as usage occurs.
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Old 10-24-2016, 07:37 PM   #12
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The easiest way I can explain it is like this. In theory you can use a 1 watt device for 960 hours or a total of 960watt for 1 hour..... or calculations in between.

You need to calculate the amount of hours and wattage you use..... we don't know if you got led lights ....

your fridge will have a controller that needs about 3w 24 hours a day...

....and don't forget what Mustang said ...... you shpuld not wear your batteries below 50% or you'll buying new ones every year.
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Old 10-24-2016, 07:57 PM   #13
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about the fridge - 3W each hour, so 3 x 24 = 72? OR 3W for the whole 24 hours? The fridge is powered primarily by propane, but I understand it needs a controller to cycle it correctly. I could probably just use my coolers, and dispense with needing the fridge (3 cu ft). Yes, all LED lights. Frankly, my largest use of power I think is the furnace fan. And AR, got it - 50%,
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Old 10-24-2016, 08:05 PM   #14
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3*24 for 72w. Your fridge is not powered by propane .... that is a misconception..... the controller in your fridge is and manages the the thermostat that decides when to turn on / light the propane so the propane works the compressor in your fridge.
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Old 10-24-2016, 08:22 PM   #15
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TX ArcticF.. - syntax I guess. Anyhow, I can do without the fridge 'cause of multiple coolers. Still, the furnace draws, IAW with JAYCO manual Load Ratings Chart, 12 amps. But the Chart provides nothing more, i.e. 12/hour/day or just while it's ON, so it's difficult to determine what "12 AMPS" means. I may have to call JAYCO for interpretation. But thanks for your incite; I appreciate it. This trip should be interesting; I've always been concerned about my batteries and usage, but have never been this informed - and I'm unsure if that's a good thing! Use it up, get an elk, and GO - or not.
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Old 10-24-2016, 08:29 PM   #16
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1.5 watts is not enough for anything other than maybe a puny motorcycle battery, and even then, I doubt it and that's assuming you aren't using it at all. Maybe spend 50 bucks and get something closer to 50 watts for a battery 'maintainer' However - you mention you are boondocking so it sounds like you want to charge your battery, not just 'maintain' a charge - which assumes you aren't using the battery at all.

A 50 watt panel will not recharge your battery in a reasonable time. Assuming you are using your battery at all while off the grid / boondocking - you are looking at a minimum of 100 watts of solar generating capacity to keep you from killing your battery and that's a *tiny* system. I see a lot more research in your future, good luck I can get more than 1.5 watts from a couple of potatoes.
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Old 10-24-2016, 09:04 PM   #17
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I hope you took none of my advise in a negative way. Just hoping to make it obvious this charger will in no way help your batteries the way you want. I believe you can get by with very minimum battery and charging capabilities no problem. Heck, before this TT nonsense I was a backpacker and hammock guy and believe me it was bare bones camping. Use the above info and figure out your amp per hour draw and what you need to put back into your battery/batteries to keep them charged. Keep us updated as I think it would be fun to see just how little you could get by with, almost like a science experiment! We used to carry small foldable solar panels and track the sun to keep GPS units and phones charged. It's a fun game of supply and demand with solar
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Old 10-25-2016, 04:27 AM   #18
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3*24 for 72w. Your fridge is not powered by propane .... that is a misconception..... the controller in your fridge is and manages the the thermostat that decides when to turn on / light the propane so the propane works the compressor in your fridge.
These refrigerators do not have a compressor.
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Old 10-25-2016, 05:39 AM   #19
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These refrigerators do not have a compressor.
Thank you. Learned something....
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Old 10-25-2016, 06:33 AM   #20
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12 amps for your furnace is only while it is running. To figure out the power usage you need to know the duty cycle.

If your furnace ran constantly for 1 hour it would use 12amps x 1hour = 12 Ah

Usually your furnace does not run continuously. Run time will depend on the outside temperature obviously and what temp you have set on the thermostat.

Lets assume it only runs for 10 minutes every hour......
12amps x 10/60 = 2Ah It will also run for 8 hours every night.

2Ah x 8 hours = 16Ah per night

You will have to increase that if it runs during the day as well.

With an 85Ah battery or 42.5Ah useable capacity you should be able to get 2.5 nights on each battery. This does not account for the usual parasitic drains on the battery though which are usually around 1 amp all day everyday. This is an extra 24Ah per day.

Really with just the parasitic drains and running the furnace you should not be able to go more than two days on a group 24 battery if you never let it drop below 12 volts.

I am not sure how you managed two weeks unless your parasitic loads are way less than I am assuming and you weren't running the furnace.

I would recommend the 100W portable solar kit as well. On a good day it might produce around 5 amps and put back 25Ah back into your batteries. The 1.5W maintainer will put back about half an Ah in a good day.

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