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Old 09-17-2018, 06:30 AM   #1
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Solar watts: how much do I need?

We're gonna go solar. We dry-camp often and find ourselves using the generator a lot. We are not heavy power users.
It's a Jayco Melbourne 24M.
--How many watts do I need, primarily just to maintain a fully charged battery?
--Online info seems to point to Zamp and Renogy as the preferred manufacturers. Price is a factor....Any thoughts?
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Old 09-17-2018, 06:43 AM   #2
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Can't just come up with a number without knowing what you use out of the batteries. The use of the generator will help with the calc's.

You would need to know how many amps your onboard charger puts into the batteries when charging from the generator. Multiply by the hrs you run the genny to get back to float charge on the batteries and that's an AH needed. Then you need to figure what if any 110v you need which requires an inverter.

If you use a coffeemaker then switch to a pour thru or french press and heat water by propane. You say you use the gen a lot but you're not heavy pwr users?

Rough calcs: Full sun 100w panel @ 85% = 85w @ 12v = 7A = 7AH per hr of sun. From that use the AH above to figure out if you can recharge in a day. The 85% would be midday with sun overhead, derate from there.

We have 4 6v AGM's. We use an inverter to watch TV in the evening if we want, plus lighting, plus appliance usage. Last yr with 320w we were fully charged by late morning in AZ (Jan-Feb tilt panels). This yr we have 640w and won't take the genny (didn't use it last yr)
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Old 09-17-2018, 06:46 AM   #3
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Third,

To start, what kind of battery are you using? Are you using more than one?
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Old 09-17-2018, 09:06 AM   #4
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Details, from thirdktm, on solar:
--We have a 12-volt battery, less than a year old.
--When I say we use the generator often: It's usually to charge the battery, from two-thirds to full. We use the generator to extend and retract the slideout; for the microwave, which is seldom and for only minutes at a time; and sometimes to extend the stabilizers.
--During the day, the only things drawing power are the fridge and the CO monitor and other devices that draw parasitic power.
--We do not watch TV.
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Old 09-17-2018, 09:39 AM   #5
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Solar

Why do you use the generator to extend the stabilizers and slide out? Your battery may be faulty - 2 or 4 true deep cycle batteries ( 6 volt ) and a battery monitor would be a good starting place ( you will need both as part of your future solar system ) this way you can monitor your needs and size your solar system properly - I would oversize the system for cloudy days and future added needs - we have 560 watts and are fully charged by 1pm most days - 280 watts might provide for our needs but the extra allows us not to be overly conservative Les
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Old 09-17-2018, 09:56 AM   #6
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If you are at least somewhat handy I would suggest putting together all the pieces yourself rather than just buying a kit. First thing would be to get up on the roof and figure out where you can put panels and what sizes. I used 165w panels and the cost/watt was less up here in Canada. If you started with 2 6v batteries and planned for 4 then you can expand, same with panel layout. I put 2 up first then added 2 more this summer.
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Old 09-17-2018, 10:03 AM   #7
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Adding panels as you go along is popular among solar users.Just want to make sure your controller will handle the extra watts!
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Old 09-17-2018, 11:32 AM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by thirdktm View Post
Details, from thirdktm, on solar:
--We have a 12-volt battery, less than a year old.
--When I say we use the generator often: It's usually to charge the battery, from two-thirds to full. We use the generator to extend and retract the slideout; for the microwave, which is seldom and for only minutes at a time; and sometimes to extend the stabilizers.
--During the day, the only things drawing power are the fridge and the CO monitor and other devices that draw parasitic power.
--We do not watch TV.
What the others have already said.

1st, when using the slide outs or stabilizers, run them with the TV hooked up and the engine running. SAVE the battery!!!

When you say 2/3 to FULL, I take it that you are looking at the Battery monitor LED lights that come with the TT. You do not want to monitor your battery(s) based on those "Idiot Lights" (1960's definition for the warning lights used in cars). Get yourself a Digital Voltage monitor for a QUICK EASY reference. They are cheap on Amazon. Since $$ are a budget concern see the meter below. They are very accurate and a lot of members have them and they are easy to install.

One 12Volt battery will get you overnight for only lights, parasitic power, and maybe the heater fan over night. The deeper the discharge the longer the charging of the batteries. Microwave is not an option with (1) 12Volt battery.

If you are going to dry-camp the minimum you will want is 200 watts to charge up your (2) 6 volt batteries. You can pick up a Renogy 200 watt system for less than $300 with SOLAR charge controller included. A good basic system with expandability to (4) 100 watt SOALR panels.
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Old 09-17-2018, 01:19 PM   #9
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How much solar you need varies with each person. One fellow on this group figures 100 watts is over kill and I need over 500 watts to feel comfortable.

I like watching my satellite TV, using my microwave and drinking K-pod coffee. this all takes power and need to recharge every morning.. So figure how much you use every day and size appropriately. (there are lots of forms online you can use to figure out how much you use)
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Old 09-17-2018, 08:41 PM   #10
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Just a different angle here but we dry camp the majority of the time also. I know they aren't popular with most people because of the cost but I highly recommend going with Lithium Ion batteries. Get Lithium Ion batteries now and save for the solar later. You wont be disappointed.
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Old 09-18-2018, 10:26 AM   #11
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I think my solar system 300 watt panel MPPT controller maybe costs a little over half one lithium battery! Maybe..
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Old 09-19-2018, 05:33 AM   #12
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I think my solar system 300 watt panel MPPT controller maybe costs a little over half one lithium battery! Maybe..
My 640w with MPPT, 2000w PSW and 4 6v AGM's was about 2000$. I can get the same AH of Li for that money with none of the rest.

That said if I was doing a new install of a reasonable size (>750w) I would use Li batteries.
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Old 09-19-2018, 10:50 PM   #13
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I know... I know... Nobody likes the cost of Lithium Ion batteries. Yes I know that you can get your AGM's for less. I know....

What I also know is for me I am beyond happy with my purchase. I owned a TT for over 10 years and never had a set of batteries last more than 3 years. Admittedly I probably wasn't even close to being as good as all of you in ensuring that they were maintained 365 days a year. I'm not a full timer and unfortunately RV batteries aren't the top priority in my day to day life. So when I made the huge jump ($$$ investment) to my new 29MPV, I was tired of playing the "is it going to be dead" game and I went with Lithium.

Here are some things to consider.... You like your AGM's? Great... your 4 AGM batteries weigh about 250lbs, my 2 Lithium batteries weigh less than 60lbs total. Your 4 AGM batteries take up twice the space as my 2 Lithium batteries. Your 4 AGM batteries can only be discharged to 50% without risking damage AND you lose voltage as they are discharged. My Lithium batteries can be fully discharged without any risk of damage (set at about 90% by the factory) AND they maintain their full voltage the entire way down. Your AGM's might last 5-7 years (mine never did), my Lithium batteries should last at least 10 years and when they reach around 3000 cycles they will still operate at 75-80% for about 5 more years.

So all you haters out there......take that!!!!

Just Kidding.... I just wanted to throw out some reasons why I went with Lithium. Trust me I know they were expensive but I wanted to give them a shot. Fingers crossed my investment will pay off. Only time will tell.
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Old 09-20-2018, 04:49 AM   #14
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I agree with you about the Li's being better than AGM's. When I did my batteries the Li's were a lot more money than now. They do bring a different set of parameters (charge temp, heating, etc) but if you're weight sensitive then they're the way to go.

As I said, when I do my next system it'll be Li. They pay off in the long run (not so much in the short run or smaller systems)
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Old 09-21-2018, 08:01 PM   #15
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Just a different angle here but we dry camp the majority of the time also. I know they aren't popular with most people because of the cost but I highly recommend going with Lithium Ion batteries. Get Lithium Ion batteries now and save for the solar later. You wont be disappointed.
+1. I switched to LiFePo4 batteries, two 12v 100AH, and thinking of a third. Everyone's need for power is different depending on the rig, batteries, and your use. We boondock a lot, so 750 watts of solar, a Tracer 40A lithium charger, the aforementioned batteries, and a Tri-metric monitor is good for me. You should only draw a flooded battery down (DOD) to 70% if you want it to last, never lower than 50%, my LiFePo4 can go down to 5-10%, and then charge back to 100% faster than a flooded can from 70%.
The best part of lithium? no voltage drop, 12.8 from 100% to 10%, unlike flooded. I am a fan.
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Old 09-21-2018, 11:31 PM   #16
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Get yourself a Digital Voltage monitor for a QUICK EASY reference. They are cheap on Amazon. Since $$ are a budget concern see the meter below. They are very accurate and a lot of members have them and they are easy to install.
Question for you. I'm not a spark chaser, just an old retired jet engine mechanic. Where do you install this monitor and exactly how easy is it?

Thanks!
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Old 09-22-2018, 05:29 AM   #17
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Solar wanna-be

I am really interested with going solar and ditching having to find someone to help me lift the genny into the truck. My Pinnacle is prewired for solar, has the inverter, and a digital battery voltage readout inside the RV where you turn the inverter on.

What I don't understand is how to take full advantage of going solar. Not all the electrical outlets in the FW will work when on battery. Am I correct that with solar I'm still powering the appliances, lights, outlets, tv's, etc. from the batteries and the solar panels are only trying keep the batteries charged fast enough to match the electical usage? If so, no one here has mentioned using the AC. Is this even possible or are is possible there is a point where solar still needs a small quiet genny to make up the difference?
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Old 09-22-2018, 05:59 AM   #18
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I am really interested with going solar and ditching having to find someone to help me lift the genny into the truck. My Pinnacle is prewired for solar, has the inverter, and a digital battery voltage readout inside the RV where you turn the inverter on.

What I don't understand is how to take full advantage of going solar. Not all the electrical outlets in the FW will work when on battery. Am I correct that with solar I'm still powering the appliances, lights, outlets, tv's, etc. from the batteries and the solar panels are only trying keep the batteries charged fast enough to match the electical usage? If so, no one here has mentioned using the AC. Is this even possible or are is possible there is a point where solar still needs a small quiet genny to make up the difference?
Anything that runs off 12v is directly powered by the batteries and hence the solar panels. The batteries are storage for the panels.

If you have a res fridge then the inverter is sized for that and if you want to power the whole RV you'll need another one. You can run A/C on batteries but you need more capacity then. Everything but A/C is less $'s.

We have 4x 6v AGM, 640w solar, 40A MPPT CC & 2000w PSW inverter. On AC I power the whole trailer and we can run m/w, hair dryer, etc.

Li batteries have come down a lot in price since I got the AGM's and I'd go that way if doing it again. We boondock about 2/3 of the 4 months we spend in the US SW.
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Old 09-22-2018, 07:52 AM   #19
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Thanks PlayersZ28. I'm pretty sure I only have 1000W inverter for the residential fridge. It is good to know I would have to upgrade the inverter as well.
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Old 09-22-2018, 09:11 AM   #20
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Question for you. I'm not a spark chaser, just an old retired jet engine mechanic. Where do you install this monitor and exactly how easy is it?

Thanks!
If its just a voltage monitor it hooks to any live 12vdc line, but the information provided is limited. On the other hand a Tri Metric TM-2030-RV (Bogart engineering) will monitor Amps in/out of the battery, % of charge, DOC, and charging voltage. This is the one preferred by many. It is a little harder to wire (and more expensive) as it has a shunt that connects to the neg battery cable and a data feed to the digital readout in the RV. For my money it is the best way to monitor your RV batteries and charge status.
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