Solar help

[bownucman]

Consider what the head of Battleborn has to say about 7 pin charging of Li:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gxypk8J-0Mg

[kirkelli]

Originally Posted by Mopar_Earl

Not on lithium. Need a DC to DC charger or you will be buying alternators. Check it out on Google.


Earl

So you are assuming all RV's are not protected with a 30amp circuit breaker between the tow vehicle and the coach?? In my world, i've never seen one that is not. If you remove that protection then yes you can have a problem as you would in removing any fused protection in a circuit. As i said earlier, don't expect to charge lithium batteries 100% from your vehicles alternator. I won't happen because the alternator is not putting out enough voltage to allow the lithiums to reach their float status. In the 'real' world, Charing Lithiums with the standard vehicle charge wire is not going to damage either your Alternator or your lithium batteries.. In the off chance you install a heavy gauge direct feed, why wiuld you not install a DC-DC Charger.. It's common sense you would.

[Mopar_Earl]

Originally Posted by kirkelli

So you are assuming all RV's are not protected with a 30amp circuit breaker between the tow vehicle and the coach?? In my world, i've never seen one that is not. If you remove that protection then yes you can have a problem as you would in removing any fused protection in a circuit. As i said earlier, don't expect to charge lithium batteries 100% from your vehicles alternator. I won't happen because the alternator is not putting out enough voltage to allow the lithiums to reach their float status. In the 'real' world, Charing Lithiums with the standard vehicle charge wire is not going to damage either your Alternator or your lithium batteries.. In the off chance you install a heavy gauge direct feed, why wiuld you not install a DC-DC Charger.. It's common sense you would.

I assumed nothing. Again, I'm talking about on a high amp charge lead from the truck to the trailer. I don't know how many times I must state that? If you install a high amp charge lead with lithium batteries, you must use a DC to DC charger or plan to replace your alternator often. I even posted saying you wouldn't need anything on the factory charge lead as it won't harm anything. You couldn't even run a DC to DC charger on the factory charge lead, you'd blow the fuse. A 30 amp DC to DC requires a 60 amp circuit on the source. Can't do that on a 12 or so gauge wire with a likely 30 amp fuse.

Note, modern truck factory charge leads are typically fused, not circuit breaker protected.

Since solar and DC to DC chargers aren't common to all people, it wouldn't be common sense to majority of the population. People have been adding high amp charge leads for lead acid batteries for many years now. Not a problem. No DC to DC charger needed, unless different voltages. Do it with lithium, you're going to be burning up alternators. Lithium will eat any amperage available. Lead acid are limited and taper off as they charge. Lithium will balls to the wall till charged. Very little to no resistance in a lithium battery. This can be easily googled. My lithium server rack 12v 400ah batteries will handle 200 amp of charging, each.

Your lithium charging specs may not be equal to your alternator specs. Another reason a DC to DC charger would be needed on high amp charge leads.

Hopefully this helps.


Earl

[kirkelli]

Originally Posted by Mopar_Earl

I assumed nothing. Again, I'm talking about on a high amp charge lead from the truck to the trailer. I don't know how many times I must state that? If you install a high amp charge lead with lithium batteries, you must use a DC to DC charger or plan to replace your alternator often.
Hopefully this helps.


Earl

Well Earl,, you are wrong! Regardless, if you if you charge your Lithium batteries via a 2/0 wire (what you call a high amp charge lead) or the factory 10 ga. wire from your vehicle Alternator, YOU WILL NOT BURN UP your vehicle Alternator. And it's wise to use a DC-DC Charger for Lithiums only because that charger will fully charge your Lithiums and also manage the charge rate and state of charge.. Pay close attention to the Battleborn video posted. Plain and simple, you will not harm your vehicles Alternator charging wet cell batteries and or Lithium batteries. PERIOD...

[Mopar_Earl]

Originally Posted by kirkelli

Well Earl,, you are wrong! Regardless, if you if you charge your Lithium batteries via a 2/0 wire (what you call a high amp charge lead) or the factory 10 ga. wire from your vehicle Alternator, YOU WILL NOT BURN UP your vehicle Alternator. And it's wise to use a DC-DC Charger for Lithiums only because that charger will fully charge your Lithiums and also manage the charge rate and state of charge.. Pay close attention to the Battleborn video posted. Plain and simple, you will not harm your vehicles Alternator charging wet cell batteries and or Lithium batteries. PERIOD...

Oh my lol


Earl

[Mopar_Earl]

Originally Posted by kirkelli

Well Earl,, you are wrong! Regardless, if you if you charge your Lithium batteries via a 2/0 wire (what you call a high amp charge lead) or the factory 10 ga. wire from your vehicle Alternator, YOU WILL NOT BURN UP your vehicle Alternator. And it's wise to use a DC-DC Charger for Lithiums only because that charger will fully charge your Lithiums and also manage the charge rate and state of charge.. Pay close attention to the Battleborn video posted. Plain and simple, you will not harm your vehicles Alternator charging wet cell batteries and or Lithium batteries. PERIOD...

Watched the video, clearly for 7-way low amp charge lead, which I've stated wouldn't harm anything not alone do much for charging. He even states you'd would need other devices when you install a high amp lead to protect the alternator. A simple Google search of "charging lithium from an alternator" or "will lithium harm my alternator" will set you free. It will bring up manufacturer requirements, forums and videos on protecting your alternator. Especially at idle when the alternator builds the most heat. Even Victron has a video of them destroying an alternator without a DC to DC.

This will be my last reply to you on this subject. I suggest you open your mind a bit and research what I've been posting. It's best to research than to blatantly tell people they are wrong. I could of easily flat out tell you you're wrong. Instead I tried to educate you. I can only be civil so far, it's time to walk away. Good luck with your alternator, high charge lead and lithium setup. Keep on camping on.


Earl

[billcf7]

Depending on which residential fridge you have it can be double the amp draw from one to the next Check the sticker on your fridge for power usage

[campin]

Before investing in solar, load calculations are essential to properly size the system or most likely it’ll underperform.

I designed a 640W/24V 280AH lithium battery system to power the 184BH (no generator or shore power needed). My Norcold refrigerator alone uses over 150 amps in 24 hours.

[BernieMac13]

Solar was such a confusing thing for me 6 years ago and I struggled for the first few years to really "get it" and wanted to create videos to make things simple! This video is about how we can use our solar system, how clouds affect things, and how we calculate usage and such. I hope it's helpful!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZEi2b6wizRc

[jetlag]

Originally Posted by BernieMac13

Solar was such a confusing thing for me 6 years ago and I struggled for the first few years to really "get it" and wanted to create videos to make things simple! This video is about how we can use our solar system, how clouds affect things, and how we calculate usage and such. I hope it's helpful!

Excellent, Thank You. We drove yesterday 4.5 hours in overcast to near overcast conditions at our destination, and the two panels kept the batteries charged and the residential fridge happy. The BMPRO APP would show the voltage changing anywhere from 12.7-13.5V as we went along. Very impressive. We don't, or have yet to Boondock, and being new at this had no idea what to expect. Had read so much about having solar, we asked our dealer to install the Jayco option with the 2 panels. In hindsight, it is perfect for our needs as of now. As long as we have a bit of sun, it does its job well. My wife insists on running the fridge 24/7, on the road and at home, so we learn as we go.

[GHen]

I posted this in another area, it might help understanding what uses power in my rig.




“Made some progress on my Boon-docking abilities in regards to power. Here is my new setup.

Four interstate 6v CG2 batteries, RC@75amp 105/AH, AH@20amps 210aH (total 420ah, 210 usable)
Renogy 3000w pure sine wave inverter.
Victron 500amp smart shunt
300 watts renogy solar panels through GoPower 30amp PWM controller. (Plan to upgrade to MPPT)

I performed a full draw down test based on my expected average daily usage, then down to 0 usable of the 210 expected available. (No shore power or solar)

Parasitic draw is at .93AH with no inverter on, 4.66 with inverter on. This is included in all usage numbers.

2 cups of coffee (Keurig 120v single cup) 2 bowls oatmeal for 140seconds each in microwave, 11.7 amps consumed.
10 gallons of water pump usage, 1.1 amps consumed.
1 hour furnace usage, 7.1 amps consumed.
1 hour TV, Satellite and sound bar, 9.6 amps consumed.
3 slides extended then retracted, .8 amps consumed.
1 hour All LED ceiling lights, 4amps consumed
4 point levelers, raised then down with auto level, .6 amps consumed.

This resulted is a total of 34.9 amps consumed, for an average day. Obviously this can vary based on usage.

I then did a complete draw down using the inverter and and a heat gun on the low setting drawing 74 amps per hour. End result was 213amp used according to the smart shunt, ending resting voltage was 11.93 volts with smart shunt still showing 34% capacity left. I see many draw down tests continuing until the low voltage cut off by the inverter. I did not see the need to stress the batteries to that level so I quit when I got below 12 volts.

Result from my perspective, I expect to use up to 50amps per day so I should be able to last 4 days. Then I need to replenish around 200 amps back to the batteries.
My May 1st sun with 300 watts solar flat on the roof averages about 35 amps per day, some light clouds.
Shore power through stock converter provided an average of 35 amps per hour. A generator should provide the same although I did not test it. That said, solar with 1 hour of generator each day should maintain my power needs, of course depending on usage and clear sky’s. “