Is solar worth it?

[SoulReflection]

Originally Posted by CAG

We dry camped almost exclusively with 2-6 volt golf cart batteries and an Onan 5500 genny. We camped for up to 14 days during summer months and 10 to 12 during the dead of winter elk hunting. Solar is pretty much useless in Arizona if you camp because you DO NOT park in the sun in Arizona in the summer, so solar is pretty much worthless. A couple of hours of genny in the morning cooking/microwave and the same in the evening for some TV and microwave kept things charged.

It really does depend upon your need. If you can park in the sun. Solar is wonderful.

Great explanation! I will add a 100W solar panel to the roof of my 22J because I already have one and a controller. That and a couple of AGM's should provide some dry camping coverage for low amp devices (Sat TV, lights, etc.). Anything else will be covered by propane or the onboard generator.

[CAG]

Originally Posted by SoulReflection

Great explanation! I will add a 100W solar panel to the roof of my 22J because I already have one and a controller. That and a couple of AGM's should provide some dry camping coverage for low amp devices (Sat TV, lights, etc.). Anything else will be covered by propane or the onboard generator.

I think you have it covered especially with AGM batteries. I switched to 3 12 volt AGMs later mainly due to the weight of the 6 volts and the fear of having one crap out on us leaving us with 6 volts of power for a 12 volt system.

[DonS]

What a learning session, I have a 2005 eagle and want to do some dry camping later this year. I have dry camped at some races with a generator and will probably continue to do so for the rest of this year. At the beginning of next year, we plan to upgrade to a new RV. I will be checking the batteries that come with the new unit and insist on high-end batteries, as the new RV come solar-ready, what else on the solar side should I look for in a new RV or ask about?

[Duke4857]

I have not read all the posts that others have posted. I do not know the great advise you have received. Why not try to view solar power as I do. Look at it as a hobby. Install what you want, when you want. A controler and fuses on both sides of the controller are first. One panel, than what is next is up to you.

[Nathan S.]

Originally Posted by DonS

What a learning session, I have a 2005 eagle and want to do some dry camping later this year. I have dry camped at some races with a generator and will probably continue to do so for the rest of this year. At the beginning of next year, we plan to upgrade to a new RV. I will be checking the batteries that come with the new unit and insist on high-end batteries, as the new RV come solar-ready, what else on the solar side should I look for in a new RV or ask about?

Battery Box! They will tell you it will fit 2, or 4 ....etc. You can see from signature my model. Jayco stated a 4 battery capable sized box. It was 2 1/2 at best. I couldn’t buy a 1/2 battery. So I resized the box to handle the battery bank listed below that I wanted. I gave up a little storage but it was well worth it. I don’t have any pics but the battery box ended up about 1/3 bigger with no shelf above it. This battery bank rocks.

I also put in an 1800w inverter to run some of the AC stuff. I basically wanted to run what the battery bank could handle with smart “USER” understanding. So I wanted power to everything but AC, Microwave and fridge. Which was basically all the wall plugs, inside and out and the entertainment center. Lesson learned...buy a pure sine wave inverter, mine wasn’t and I ended up with a little trouble with the GFCI circuit. So if the dealer offers this service you have a lesson.

Don’t even think about running AC or Residential fridge off batteries.

Your “Wired for Solar” feature is 30amp wiring. That’s a little over 500 watts of panels. If you want more. It’s a rewire.

If you go with a dealer panel install, be specific about panel location. You want to be able to walk up there to do maintenance on your roof and panels. I hate walking around up there, but have to do it.

Your doing it right planning ahead and understanding. Have fun and don’t let the research get overwhelming cause it can. I’m a really good DIY’r but I still paid to have some work done that I wasn’t comfortable with. Which was basically installing the inverter.

Qty 4 VMAX V6-225: 6.2kWh 24V AGM Solar Battery Bank for Home, RV, or Industrial (4) 6V 225Ah AGM Deep Cycle Batteries 6 Volt Maintenance Free https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00ASCTJNO..._AUzAEb0GNXVZD

[DonS]

Duke
Thanks, that's what I might do

Nathan
Lots of info there, and better then what I got at a Dealer, the salesman did know if a controller came in solar prep or much about what it did. I'll just keep the basics in mind and look carefully at each RV's set-up.

[Akraft]

I have to park My Travel Trailer 300 feet from my house so shore power isn't an option. I only have $820 into my setup. That includes two 6 volt (215 amp-hr) batteries, a 200 watt Portable Solar Panel kit, and a 1500 watt inverter.

I am able to go down and use my RV for hours at a time and it is usually fully charged by the next afternoon. No shore power needed.

Keep in mind I can't use the Air Conditioner or the microwave.

[1SGPETE]

Originally Posted by Akraft

I have to park My Travel Trailer 300 feet from my house so shore power isn't an option. I only have $820 into my setup. That includes two 6 volt (215 amp-hr) batteries, a 200 watt Portable Solar Panel kit, and a 1500 watt inverter.

I am able to go down and use my RV for hours at a time and it is usually fully charged by the next afternoon. No shore power needed.

Keep in mind I can't use the Air Conditioner or the microwave.

My understanding on the AC and microwave is that you will never be able to use them on solar. Am I wrong about that?

[Screwby]

AC is a lot of amperage draw and using it off solar is going to require quite a large system. The microwave isn’t that big of an issue as any inverter that’s big enough to run your microwave will do the trick. How long the microwave runs will depend on the size of the battery bank your inverter is hooked to. Size of the solar will dictate how quickly you can recharge that battery bank.

[GHen]

Sure you can use solar for A/C. Think about it, if you can power a whole residential house then yes, it just has to be a very expensive and large system. Think $10-15,000 for the setup.

An AC system needs around 1100-1500 amps per hour. Since two 6 volt batteries provide about 100 amp hours of usable power, you would need around 20 batteries to power it for an hour. And then you need around 10 100 watt solar panels to recharge all those batteries. And that’s just for 1 hour of cooling. Lithium batteries are better for the task, but you still need lots of solar to recharge them.

Some (very few) RVers have that kind of a system, most can’t justify the cost.

[Screwby]

Originally Posted by 1SGPETE

My understanding on the AC and microwave is that you will never be able to use them on solar. Am I wrong about that?

Why can’t you use the microwave? As long as your inverter puts out more watts than your microwave draws it will work. How long it will work requires some math to find out how much your energy drawing out with devices and how fast your putting energy back in with solar.

[Akraft]

Originally Posted by Screwby

Why can’t you use the microwave? As long as your inverter puts out more watts than your microwave draws it will work. How long it will work requires some math to find out how much your energy drawing out with devices and how fast your putting energy back in with solar.

If it is a 1000 watt microwave it draws about 9 amps AC. Going through the inverter it will draw 90 amps from your battery. It might work but it will be very hard on your battery and the battery will go dead fast. I wouldn't recommend it.

[Screwby]

Originally Posted by Akraft

If it is a 1000 watt microwave it draws about 9 amps AC. Going through the inverter it will draw 90 amps from your battery. It might work but it will be very hard on your battery and the battery will go dead fast. I wouldn't recommend it.

That’s true and if you have a small battery bank, the microwave shouldn’t be on the menu. And your conversion seems about right but also your not going to be running the microwave for the whole hour to draw those 90amps. You’ll have to divide that by the actual time used. I can run my microwave for somewhere in the range of 2 hours before I bring my 430 aH battery bank to 50% capacity. I don’t run a microwave for two total hours in a week, let alone a day. Then you have to account for the solar putting energy back into the banks as the sun continues to charge the batteries back up, The original question wasn’t how many amps will it draw or how long it will run, it was “can I do it”. And the answer given to the OP was that it’s probably not possible which I disputed. It’s totally possible, I’ve done it and so have may others. Recommended? Not really for a stock setup, but possible if you want to make it work by upgrading

[Akraft]

Originally Posted by Screwby

That’s true and if you have a small battery bank, the microwave shouldn’t be on the menu. And your conversion seems about right but also your not going to be running the microwave for the whole hour to draw those 90amps. You’ll have to divide that by the actual time used. I can run my microwave for somewhere in the range of 2 hours before I bring my 430 aH battery bank to 50% capacity. I don’t run a microwave for two total hours in a week, let alone a day. Then you have to account for the solar putting energy back into the banks as the sun continues to charge the batteries back up, The original question wasn’t how many amps will it draw or how long it will run, it was “can I do it”. And the answer given to the OP was that it’s probably not possible which I disputed. It’s totally possible, I’ve done it and so have may others. Recommended? Not really for a stock setup, but possible if you want to make it work by upgrading

What you are not figuring is the amp-hr rating on batteries is based on a 20 hour discharge. The more current you pull lowers the calculation dramatically.

[Screwby]

Originally Posted by Akraft

What you are not figuring is the amp-hr rating on batteries is based on a 20 hour discharge. The more current you pull lowers the calculation dramatically.

Regardless of consumption calculations and percentage loss and energy gain/return due to many variables such as inverter type, wire size, length of wire run, type of inverter, type of solar panels, battery type, solar controller type, blah blah, and assuming the info on the microwave is even accurate are all a moot point.

The OP asked is it possible to run a microwave when running off solar, he was incorrectly told it wasn’t possible when it absolutely is, so that should be the end of debate lol. We can pour over online data, various forums, Youtube channels and other peoples opinions all day on solar, inverters, battery banks, and all those fun toys.

I’m not looking for an argument over the specifics of how solar and inverters and batteries work. That’s not what this thread was about. I’ve been going sometimes blindly down that road for years and still learning as I build my 4th solar system. There are charts and graphs and data for days on the ins and outs of these systems. Another time, another day

[Duke4857]

Originally Posted by DonS

Duke
Thanks, that's what I might do

Nathan
Lots of info there, and better then what I got at a Dealer, the salesman did know if a controller came in solar prep or much about what it did. I'll just keep the basics in mind and look carefully at each RV's set-up.

My wife has heath issues and needs the A/C when it gets hot. For the hot days we have the Honda twins (as I call them). You would need a house rooftop of solar panels and a two layered pickup bed of batteries to store enough power for the A/C. That is why I look at solar as a hobby for me, a toy so to speak. Some day I may get a 100 watt panel to add to the 70 watt home made one I have now. I do have most of the parts to build another home made panel. That takes lots of time, one of these days maybe. The biggest thing is to have fun with all of your camping adventures and upgrades. Monday we just got back from the first boon docking trip this year. Best 5 days in a long time. We did stumble across only 2 morel mushrooms. I will post some pics next weekend. Have fun with your RV!