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Old 09-03-2014, 07:11 PM   #1
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Thinking to go Solar

I am a full timer and live in my 5'er and live in Fruita Colorado. Now Colorado has more sunny days than any other state in the union. I think of going Solar. I have a 341 RLQS 38 footer. I have alot of room on top of my 5'er. I can have approx. 4 to 6 panels on top. And yes I know it's going to be expensive. I have been looking at batteries like the Rolls and Trojan 6 volt deep cell batteries.

Now I run approx 500 to 600 KWH per month that I am hooked to the 50 amp pole.

I am thinking to put 2 of the batteries in my generator box thats in front of the 5'er. These are not cheap and weigh about 318lbs each.

Here are the specs:

http://rollsbattery.com/public/specsheets/6CS25P.pdf
------------------------------------------------------

Are these batteries goin to be too heavy for the front of my RV?
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Old 09-03-2014, 08:05 PM   #2
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I don't know anything of the Rolls batteries. I went with Lifeline 6V Gell. 4 batteries make 600 Ah at 12 Volts. No water or venting gasses to worry about. They aren't cheap. I'm happy with them.

They say about one Watt Solar for every Amp Hour. Then there's the inverter.

I'm installing 600+ Watt Solar and a 2000+ Watt Inverter next year myself.

Let us know what you go with and how like it.
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Old 09-04-2014, 06:01 AM   #3
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Don't expect to run your roof air off of Solar.. I doubt even that expensive battery pack will handle it.. Convert all the lights you commonly use to LED. Always remember that the inverter sucks 3 ah just being turned on. Going solar does require you to think about power usage more than when you are plugged in. I am never on a powered site anymore.. been boondocking exclusively for the last 6 years.
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Old 09-04-2014, 11:44 AM   #4
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If you are currently using approximately 600 kW a month/30 days= 20kW a day,and you have (6) 250Watt panels (1.5 kW) * 5hrs of sun (4 would be a better # to use) = 7.5 kW, which I believe will leave you with a deficit around 13kW for each day. This is using the advertised wattage and is not a realistic output. That 1.5kW would probably only be realized for an hour or 2 max (based on the panel mounted flat on my roof). Now throw in a few clouds and cloudy/rainy days along with less sun light each day until December, and you need to be charging your batteries with a generator/TV. My 1500 watt inverter uses about .4 amps with no output, but each inverter is different (check mfr specifications prior to buying one). I think I said that correctly....

What do you use monthly without the AC/Microwave.

Without the AC and using the microwave a lot, you would have a GREAT system, but you still need to calculate all your other electrical usage for a daily basis (Tv usage, charging laptops, tablet, lights......)

Just my thoughts,
Don
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Old 09-04-2014, 03:02 PM   #5
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Originally Posted by Mustang65 View Post
If you are currently using approximately 600 kW a month/30 days= 20kW a day,and you have (6) 250Watt panels (1.5 kW) * 5hrs of sun (4 would be a better # to use) = 7.5 kW, which I believe will leave you with a deficit around 13kW for each day. This is using the advertised wattage and is not a realistic output. That 1.5kW would probably only be realized for an hour or 2 max (based on the panel mounted flat on my roof). Now throw in a few clouds and cloudy/rainy days along with less sun light each day until December, and you need to be charging your batteries with a generator/TV. My 1500 watt inverter uses about .4 amps with no output, but each inverter is different (check mfr specifications prior to buying one). I think I said that correctly....

What do you use monthly without the AC/Microwave.

Without the AC and using the microwave a lot, you would have a GREAT system, but you still need to calculate all your other electrical usage for a daily basis (Tv usage, charging laptops, tablet, lights......)

Just my thoughts,
Don
Don stated " What do you use monthly without the AC/Microwave?"

Answer: About 400 KWH
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Old 09-04-2014, 03:04 PM   #6
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Don't expect to run your roof air off of Solar.. I doubt even that expensive battery pack will handle it.. Convert all the lights you commonly use to LED. Always remember that the inverter sucks 3 ah just being turned on. Going solar does require you to think about power usage more than when you are plugged in. I am never on a powered site anymore.. been boondocking exclusively for the last 6 years.
I have already redid all my lites to Led's
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Old 09-04-2014, 05:10 PM   #7
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Some inverters come with a remote on/ off panel so you can shut it down when not in use and save some power. Not only will you save on the inverter load, but the vampire load of the 110v devices on the branch ( tv, microwave, etc )
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Old 09-04-2014, 07:18 PM   #8
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Is there some type of auto switching you can use that would auto switch to the pole when the batteries get down to a certain power level so the solar panels could recharge the batteries and vice versa.
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Old 09-05-2014, 08:55 AM   #9
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After my last post I remembered these batteries.. and since you are spending BIG BUCKS on your system you might want to look at these.. they are not for the timid of wallet..
http://www.lithiumion-batteries.com/...on-battery.php
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Old 09-05-2014, 12:10 PM   #10
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The above post requires a warning. I almost passed out!
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Old 09-05-2014, 12:22 PM   #11
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Regardless of price, can you just drop in a LION battery as a replacement for lead acid and not worry about the charging circuit and technology?

I also dabble a bit with Radio Control cars and planes. Several years ago when LION became available in RC it required a lot of changes. New chargers that you could set the charge current in relationship to battery capacitance as well as have a second monitoring circuit to manage the charge current in relationship to the state of charge. If one was to use the old NiCd or NIMH chargers on LION you were very likely to have a battery explosion and fire. In fact it is still common to use flame retardant battey pouches to keep LION batteries in while charging in case there is an issue.

LION is a superior battery chemistry, but it can be volatile if not used properly. Maybe the current multi-stage smart chargers in modern RV converters provide this protection if you change to LION -- but I would really want to do some research before I replaced my lead acid batteries with any other chemistry.
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Old 09-05-2014, 01:28 PM   #12
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Read - A Year On Lithium

Here is an article regarding Lithium and an RV. They follow up after a year of use.

http://www.technomadia.com/2012/09/a...-rv-batteries/

You will need to make some charging adjustments, also probably best to buy Battery Management System designed specifically for Lithium batteries.

Still have to charge them....

I will wait another year or two....
Just my thoughts,

Don
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Old 09-05-2014, 05:06 PM   #13
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After my last post I remembered these batteries.. and since you are spending BIG BUCKS on your system you might want to look at these.. they are not for the timid of wallet..
http://www.lithiumion-batteries.com/...on-battery.php
Holy Crap lol
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Old 09-05-2014, 05:07 PM   #14
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Well I just checked this out. It looks pretty kool. This is the 5300 version I might get the 6000 version of this and put it in my generator box. Check out the video!

http://totalsolar.us/

This is a 24 volt system.

Let me know what you guys think!
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Old 09-05-2014, 06:24 PM   #15
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Is there some type of auto switching you can use that would auto switch to the pole when the batteries get down to a certain power level so the solar panels could recharge the batteries and vice versa.
Not that I know of.

Keep in mind that the difference between 60% and 50% charged is only .14 volts. Hardware would have to be very sensitive and big $$$$ to be accurate I think.

That said, I'm sure that the inverter itself has a shutoff point of its own, but by then you could be down in the 11 volt range. Well below the level that you ever really want to take your batteries
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Old 09-06-2014, 06:05 AM   #16
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The above post requires a warning. I almost passed out!
Well it says not for the timid of wallet....
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Old 09-06-2014, 07:34 AM   #17
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Both mustang65 and I have some schematics and pics of our power systems with Solar in our profile sections. You can get some build ideas if you like.
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Old 09-06-2014, 03:43 PM   #18
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Thanks I'll check it out. Here is what I have in mind thus far and yes it's expensive. Now remember I live in my 5er full time........

This is a 24 volt solar system!

Solar Panels:

I can get 4 of these Mono panels on my roof:

Sise: 64"X40" Weight 37lbs each 300 watts each for a total 1200 watts.

http://www.lg.com/us/commercial/sola...lg-LG300N1C-B3
================================================== ====================

Batteries:

4 - 460 AH each Rolls Maint. Free batteries 10 year warrantee. 1840 amp AH total

http://www.dcbattery.com/rollssurretteagm_s6-460agm.pdf

================================================== =========

6000 watt 24 volt power inverter:

http://www.aimscorp.net/6000-Watt-Pu...r-24-Volt.html

================================================== ==========

Solar Controller:

http://www.ecodirect.com/Xantrex-865...mppt60-150.htm

================================================== ==========

Since I have no Generator in my Generator bay is empty and has the wiring and Transfer box already installed this is where I'm going to put all the solar stuff in there.

Plus I gotta buy cables and Thats it!

So let me know what you think.
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Old 09-06-2014, 07:06 PM   #19
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Batteries:

4 - 460 AH each Rolls Maint. Free batteries 10 year warrantee. 1840 amp AH total

http://www.dcbattery.com/rollssurretteagm_s6-460agm.pdf
Voltage adds in series strings, amperage adds in parallel strings

4 - 6VDC 460Ah batteries in series = 24VDC @ 460Ah

now

split that up into (2) 12VDC strings and you will have

12VDC @ 920Ah

I would go with the 2 12VDC strings...

Just my thoughts,
Don
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Old 09-06-2014, 08:34 PM   #20
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Voltage adds in series strings, amperage adds in parallel strings

4 - 6VDC 460Ah batteries in series = 24VDC @ 460Ah

now

split that up into (2) 12VDC strings and you will have

12VDC @ 920Ah

I would go with the 2 12VDC strings...

Just my thoughts,
Don
Humm... Did not know that I'll have to go and check that out. So how would you go and set that up and with what hardware.

Thanks Bud
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