Question on Using Solar

[Taossalukis]

Hi,
We have a 2023 Jayco Feather Micro 166 with 200 watts of Solar. Our TT is new to us and so is using solar. Will 200 watts of Solar run a water pump, fan, 12v refrig and occasionally a coffee maker for 48 hours assuming we have 2 days of sun?
Your advice would be appreciated.
Thanks!

[TaftCoach]

The coffee maker will be your biggest current draw. A big factor will be your battery. What size and type of battery do you have?

[Jayhawk 29]

Since your list of energy requirements are mainly temporary for a days consumption, the key with solar is all about storage capacity. You will probably not have everything running at the same time either. But a 200 watt panel is really a starting point for relying on the 200 watt solar and a standard deep cycle group 24 battery.

Of course most regular coffee pots require house current. So you will need an inverter. You can also use propane for the old fashion coffee pots too. This keeps your needs for additional solar and battery capacity to a minimum.

With a limited amount of storage capacity don't go too big on an inverter. I like to use the 2000 watt pure sine wave inverter. You can also add to your solar setup with additional cables and parrallel connectors. So let us know if you may intend on improving your setup, if you do more off the grid camping and we can pass along some advice that can be a comparible matching setup.

[Taossalukis]

The coffee maker will be your biggest current draw. A big factor will be your battery. What size and type of battery do you have?[/QUOTE]

Thank you...we have a 12v 330 Amp Hour

[Taossalukis]

Thanks so much. We are looking at an inverter now.

[craigav]

If you want a non-electric drip coffee maker consider this.

I have had mine for 15~20 years or more and while you will find negative reviews for this item (and perhaps these coffee makers are hard to find now), from reading from others I learned early on to only use a very small stove top flame (just enough for it to work) and then turn off the flame once the coffee is ready (don't let it run out of water) and instead just use a very small flame under the glass pot (carafe) itself. Many times I only make enough to fill my large thermos so it stays hot a long time. (I mentioned this negative aspect because almost all of the negative reviews are related to overheating the coffee maker with too large of a flame and in particular after it runs out of water.)

Just to add, I only use it while boondocking and in particular during those times that I don't want to run the generator. The coffee that is made with this tastes the exact same as an electric drip coffee makers. ~CA

https://www.coleman.com/grills-stove...000038223.html

[Camper_bob]

I'm all about "efficient" coffee making these days.

The best I've found so far is pour-over. If you're trying to minimize power usage (or don't have power), it's great because you just need to heat up water, which is easily done on your propane stove, and using a tea kettle makes it even more efficient.

Then when it's time to clean up, that's simple too as I use cone filters in my pour-over "funnels".

I originally started using this for tent-camping trips, but I've discovered it's great in the camper too. The Keurig uses something like 11A, and when we're boondocking off the generator, with both AC units running, that easily puts us over.

All of that is to say that the more items you can run, or tasks you can complete, on something other than 12V will make it easier for you to not deplete your 12V in the first place. And coffee can be a pretty big power hog.

I'll defer to the others about running the math regarding your panels, solar controller, and your battery bank. I'm still trying to learn as much as I can about those things...

[craigav]

Originally Posted by Camper_bob

I'm all about "efficient" coffee making these days.

The best I've found so far is pour-over. If you're trying to minimize power usage (or don't have power), it's great because you just need to heat up water, which is easily done on your propane stove, and using a tea kettle makes it even more efficient.

Then when it's time to clean up, that's simple too as I use cone filters in my pour-over "funnels".

I originally started using this for tent-camping trips, but I've discovered it's great in the camper too. The Keurig uses something like 11A, and when we're boondocking off the generator, with both AC units running, that easily puts us over.

All of that is to say that the more items you can run, or tasks you can complete, on something other than 12V will make it easier for you to not deplete your 12V in the first place. And coffee can be a pretty big power hog.

I'll defer to the others about running the math regarding your panels, solar controller, and your battery bank. I'm still trying to learn as much as I can about those things...

I may purchase one of these as well, I have seen them but never owned one. I could use it boondocking as well as at home during a power outage (such as in the winter) as I have a NG stove. I suspect it would work very well and would be simple to use.

Point being, many 120v appliances use a lot of power, especially those that create heat. If a coffee makers uses 11 amps @ 120v then consider 10X+ that amount of current required out of a 12V battery (110 amps plus ~10%). ~CA

[Camper_bob]

Originally Posted by craigav

I may purchase one of these as well, I have seen them but never owned one. I could use it boondocking as well as at home during a power outage (such as in the winter) as I have a NG stove. I suspect it would work very well and would be simple to use.

Point being, many 120v appliances use a lot of power, especially those that create heat. If a coffee makers uses 11 amps @ 120v then consider 10X+ that amount of current required out of a 12V battery (110 amps plus ~10%). ~CA

I went with these:

https://www.amazon.com/Attsky-Collap...1zcF9hdGY&th=1

Cheap, and ultra-portable. I actually use them when traveling too. Oh, and I use mine at home quite often. We have an electric kettle that will boil water very rapidly. And if the power is out (which doesn't happen often), I can use any one of several gas/propane/cartridge stoves I own and maintain.

And you make a GREAT point about 120V appliances using gobs of power on inverted 12V. It's so inefficient. We have so much heavy amp draw equipment on our camper (2x AC units, ice maker, coffee maker, water heater, fridge, etc) that even plugged into reliable shore power, with both an EMS and a built-in power management system, I find myself turning things on/off to make them work. So I run as much on propane as I possibly can to squeeze a few more amps wherever I can.

I'm even almost to the point of installing 12V outlets in the bedroom to run our CPAPs. But we're never boondocking when it's cool enough NOT to run the AC units, so our generator is running, which makes the inefficiency irrelevant. Plus we have batteries to run them when we're tent camping. No problem to use those in the camper if we need to.

My interest in all of this is that I have a Lithium battery to replace my SLA house battery. It's just one 100AH battery (which will almost double our current usable AH, but it's still not a lot). I haven't installed it as of yet because I'm still dealing with making sure it gets cared for properly, but in the meantime, I'm trying to evaluate our 12V usage. My analysis is currently focusing around "What can we get away with NOT running on the rig's 12V system?"

I know I'm kind of coming at it backwards, but I feel like there's value in knowing what my absolute minimum AH requirements will be, and where I can cut down on that usage.

[Taossalukis]

Wow! This looks great as well as the Pour Over. Thank you so much!
Options!
Thanks so much,
Janet

[colby]

The DW just uses a French press (bodum) where the boiling water is just put in with the ground coffee and after a bit, you press the grounds down to the bottom. Electric free if you use the stove to boil the water and no filters required.

[jimmoore13]

Get a generator. We have 400 watts of solar and two golf cart batteries good for 115 USABLE amp hours. And, most importantly, we have a 120 volt/propane absorption fridge...not a power hog 12 volt compressor fridge.

If you have the conventional group 24 12 volt, lead acid marine battery on your tongue, your fridge will eat that battery in a day or less. That battery only has a usable capacity of 35 Amp Hours (AH). 200 watts of solar might produce as much as 60 amp hours of power on its best day, BUT you have no place to put that much juice. So, you need lots more battery, perhaps 200 AH of LiFePo4, and you need to be prepared for days with little or no solar gain...and that calls for a generator.

Thus, a big battery and a generator. With the genny, you don't need an inverter except during quiet hours...and then for what? Make all the coffee you can drink between 6 AM and 10 PM on the generator...with bonus points for the genny giving the battery bank a big boost first thing in the morning.

As for the coffee, we make espresso, because we aren't savages after all. The genny does that. We also make perk.

P.S. All campers are shipped as if they will live their lives as RV-Park queens. Nothing wrong with that, but if you want to boondock, you need to amp it up, check your freshwater tank to reinforce its supports to carry all that weight, learn the limits of your black tank, and learn, above all, to be frugal with power, water, and waste water.

All we do is boondock, but there's a learning curve. Welcome to the club.

[JKyle]

Originally Posted by Taossalukis

Thanks so much. We are looking at an inverter now.

If a coffee maker is your biggest draw, you might want to consider a portable power bank, like a Jackery or EcoFlow. It's portable, so you can use it outside your camper and it's far easier than inverting an outlet or two inside the camper. You can recharge it via your car. Also, your batteries should be lithium, that way you can pack power but still keep the weight down. Like others said...a small generator is your friend, too. It can recharge your tongue batteries or it can recharge a battery bank, to be used inside the camper at night, when a generator might not be allowed.

[kevinantholt]

Without an inverter none of your 120V Plugs will work.
Your 200 Watt solar will Produce about 150 watts of power while the sun is out.
The Easiest way to have all the plugs work in your trailer is to purchase a all in one Power station that has everything built in.
This is the one I use but there are other options. https://us.ecoflow.com/products/delt...-power-station.
This runs everything including my A/C (With a softStart installed on the A/C)
It also keeps the House battery charged during the night when there is no sun.
You can also purchase the option with portable solar panels to keep the Ecoflow charged. Right now they are having some great sales.
I've had mine for a few years and it's been working great. Just to give you an idea, On a single charge it will run my A/C for 2.5 hours, or run the house for a few days using appliances here and there.

[Taossalukis]

Thanks so much! Invaluable input for us...off to boondock we go.
Janet

[Camper_bob]

2 things:

1) I don't see where you address what type of battery bank you have. You say "12v 330 AH", but is that one 12V lead acid battery? AGM? Lithium? Multiple batteries?

Really the type of battery bank you have has an impact on how much power you have available. If it's made up of lead acid batteries, you have access to no more than half of the rated AH capacity (and actual capacity is likely less than rated). If it's lithium, you have access to nearly all of it. If it's 200W of solar, and a Lithium battery, and you don't run the AC, and you use some other method to make coffee, you'll likely be absolutely fine. In fact, you'll likely have plenty. I should be able to get through 48 hours on one 100AH lithium, but I don't have a 12V fridge (mine is the standard absorption type), I have no solar, and I'd be running several items on their own separate batteries.

2) While they're roughly equivalent from an energy usage side, I prefer pour-over as opposed to French Press simply because pour-over is easier to clean up when you use paper filters. I have a Stanley French Press that I absolutely LOVE (and I have a glass one at home). It makes great coffee, and is stoopid easy to use and very convenient. I choose pour-over because of the ease of cleanup.

[Taossalukis]

Hi Camper Bob,
We have 2-Acid batteries.
We did decide on the Pour Over Coffee Option even though we have a French Press at home. The Pour-Over looks super easy to use and as you said, easy clean-up.
Thank you!!
Janet

[Camper_bob]

Cool, so just keep in mind that you have 175 available amp hours before you draw the batteries down enough to begin causing permanent damage. And that's at full, rated capacity.

IMO, that's plenty of power for a short boondocking trip, especially with solar putting at least a few amp hours back in the system, and especially if you're conscious of your power usage, and you know how to make the most of it.

If we're careful, we can make it through an evening and a night on our single battery that's old and damaged, and was only originally rated at like 100AH (giving us 50 available). If we run 2 CPAPs from our inverter, we likely wouldn't make it through the night...

So, go have fun and let us know how it goes!