Solar Power Questions

[NDScouterHam]

Is a 55 watt solar panel power kit capable of keeping the Deep Cycle RV battery fully charged for night time use?

If 55 watts is not enough, does anyone have any suggestions on what might work to keep the battery charged for long weekend and week long boondocking trips?

Thanks in advance for any help.

Jim

[Terry]

Welcome to the forum Jim!

We have some good solar folks here so I am sure someone can chime in, but it really depends on how good you are at power management and what all you want to run. If you want inverters, televisions, etc then prob not. If you just need basics like water pump and a few lights then prob yes. Other big draw is furnace so you have to factor that in as well. Also recommend you search the forum about batteries and 6 vs 12 volt.

Enjoy!

[Seann45]

Hi Jim to answer that we need to know a lot more... there are lots of solar work sheets online to calculate how much you will use in a typical day... but I feel that 55 watts is nothing more than a maintainer... running your fridge on propane requires a constant power source... then there are all the other little draws.. elect ignition for the water heater, radio memory, etc etc etc... and this is not even thinking about TV in the evening.
Here is a link to a fellow that has forgotten more about solar than I will ever know.. he loves to talk about it... so check his web site then call him if you have questions...
Seann
http://www.thesunworks.com/

[NDScouterHam]

Thank you for the information. I will determine my usage needs based on running a few lights at night, the furnace as necessary in North Dakota (as it was needed last weekend) and the radio. To the dismay and disappointment of my teen the TV is left at home.

Jim

[clutch]

A small 1000 watt Honda generator will easily take care of week long needs. Just a couple quarts of gas each day will do it.

[NDScouterHam]

Thanks Clutch, that is exactly what I am going to do. Sams has a 2000 watt inverter generator that is reasonably priced and according to the specs is somewhat quiet so that is the way I am going to go. Have a great camping weekend everyone.

Jim