No sure how many other follow "Gone with the Wynns" but they did a nice little video on Solar Boondocking. They make it very enticing. Check the video out Here.

We're fortunate in that we can drycamp about the same way, but with a little tiny 650 watt four-stroke genny (no longer available) that just sips the gas and is very quiet. It, along with the converter, can put up to 40-60 amps into our batteries every 5 hour run on it - which takes about 1/2 gallon of fuel. Our AGM batteries make this possible.The main difference is we don't have to be constantly vigilant regarding our power usage because we're guaranteed 40-60 amps into our battery bank any five-hour period we choose. Solar is of course great as another source, but if we had solar we would still back it up with our small powerhouse. We also use our air conditioning as needed via our fairly quiet built-in genny because we don't want to be restricted to only boondocking in mild temperatures.

Here is a simple flow chart.Budget-->Energy Audit-->Battery bank size-->number of watts-->PWM or MPPT.Here is a link to the rather special spreadsheet that N8GS has created to help size solar battery charging systems! Solar Spread Sheet N8GSFor a nice explanation of solar, try this link: Golden rules of solar

We are sort of in the same boat as PHIL PNICHOLS. Our camping off the power grid works just great running all of our needs from our increased battery bank and re-charging the next morning using smart mode technology and the 2KW quiet Honda generator for three hours. We consistently consume around 300WATTS or so during the one day/night run off the batteries. Being self-sustained for the one day/night run off the batteries is not an easy task and requires some planning for longer stays back in the woods.This fits in rather nice with 99% of places we go to here on the East side of the US where most everywhere has some sort of generator run time restrictions in place.With the generator I too have no problems whatsoever returning my battery banks back to their 90% charge state rain or shine with the three hours generator run time each day...Having done this for the past five or more years we have become most successful camping off the power grids. Adding solar panels would be icing on the cake for us and with some planning on the short comings of most small solar panel installs. The main problem we are experiencing with our solar panel planning is having a large battery bank already charged up and using the solar panels to put back power we have pulled from the banks in the 6-8 hours SUN window each day and not have to run the generator the next morning. With the generator run time restrictions in place at most of the places we go to we will have to know by 4:30 each day whether or not we will have our 90% battery charge state for the night run off the batteries. This window gives me enough time to run the generator for three hours if the solar panels are not doing their job. Not having a 90% battery charge state for the night run is NOT an option for us.I presently don't see any way we would ever be without having our generator on-hand however as small solar panels installs up to 360WATTS or so do not gaurentee a good 90% battery re-charge each day before starting your night time run from the batteries.I'm sure once I start playing with the solar panels this exercise will become easier to do. Roy Ken

Very cool video. We're working on it. We have a 230W panel, two Trojans but we need a good inverter. I like the idea that they really take advantage of their solar power during the day. They have a good system worked out.

Yesterday, due to the suggestions and prodding of Profdant, we ran our Honda 2000 for two hours to 'exercise' it. We had run it maybe once in the last six months, though we boondock and/or dry camp quite frequently. We were at home and it was in the backyard. By the end of two hours, I was grinding my teeth. It was such a relief when it was finally shut down. I can't imagine having to listen to it for 3-5 hours at a boondocking site. For me, unless it is an emergency, running the generator is just not worth it.I saw the Wynn's video. They use more power at a boondocking site than we do at an electric site! But, their video made some great points and when we start fulltiming in January, we will be looking for a solar installer on the road. If anyone knows of a reliable installer around DC, San Antonio or Phoenix please let me know!

What you can do with solar | Good Sam Community

38 Replies

EsoxLucius
Explorer
Nov 06, 2013
2oldman wrote:
Takes me a bit of figuring each time to convert that KWH number to watts.
http://www.rapidtables.com/calc/electric/kwh-to-watt-calculator.htm
gatorcq
Explorer
Nov 05, 2013
I used this site for calculations

Calculator

Then check my signature.
I also installed 20 CuFt residential Refrig for the DW.

And Yes WE LOVE BOON-DOCKING
2oldman
Explorer II
Nov 04, 2013
Love the cat.. he/she looks like he really likes being out there with you guys. Tail up is always a good sign!

Great video.. very well done. Only one minor complaint: I think your per-appliance usage should be shown in Watts, not KWH. Takes me a bit of figuring each time to convert that KWH number to watts.
pnichols
Explorer II
Nov 04, 2013
Jason,

Would you expand a bit on your use of a water distiller?

I know what they are and what distilled water is and isn't ... but never heard of using one in an RV. Is it's main purpose to get you safe drinking water from lakes and streams?

I backpack and as you probably know, there are great filters available now that can render water safe directly from dirty, non-potable sources without having to distill it. I generally stay away from using distilled water because of it's lack of minerals once you have it distilled ... PLUS, as you point out ... distilling takes power for the heating of it.
pianotuna
Nomad III
Nov 04, 2013
Hi,

While LI is a great chemistry for batteries it is also a LOT more money. If you don't wish to have battery maintenance the rational choice is AGM at the moment.
The_Wynns
Explorer
Nov 04, 2013
More batteries I on the plan for sure...but the quote from the service tech who installed our solar is "It appears your RV was built around your battery compartment"! Meaning there is no way we're adding more batteries unless we take over another bay or storage area. Ugh! What a pain...then there's the whole AGM vs. Lithium vs. flooded...yikes!
Anyway, we are not professional electric people so I cannot confirm nor deny the math I'm presented with in the comments, all I can say is the video is "our day in the life" using our solar.

Also we used to interact with the forum a lot under our old name JWynnPhoto, but I couldn't log in with that account anymore. Oh well. I appreciate you all keeping us honest, solar is so confusing for the "normal" person...and we are the "norm" when it comes to mAH, HZ, DC and all that stuff.
12thgenusa
Explorer
Nov 03, 2013
wbwood wrote:
I think he stated that you could not expect to run that many appliances every day and be able to keep your batteries charged. I agree with that. What I'm uncertain about is the ability to produce approximately 4.5 kWh in one solar period with 600 watts of solar with the conditions they allude to. They ran their batteries down to 50% that evening and turned off all electronics so they could start over again the next day and that it was the afternoon before they were charged back up. Still impressive IMHO.

If they had a couple more batteries and could harvest even more power there, then that would be even better. They certainly would benefit from more batteries with that much solar. However, batteries only store, not produce. Ultimately, all the power has to come from the panels. Solar will only produce to meet the demand up to its limit. A larger bank will let one average out the production fluctuations over a longer period of time.
wbwood
Explorer
Nov 02, 2013
12thgenusa wrote:
Jason, I see this is your first post on the forum so welcome.

I'm happy that you were able to do what you did. Many people spend a lot of time pointing out what you can't do with solar instead of exploring the possibilities.

I think I understand a little better what you did. You started the day with nearly full batteries, and charged them to full. You ended the day with 50% depleted batteries, taking about 1.9 kWh from the batteries. This left about 4.6 kwh to be produced by solar. This would require 8 to 9+ hours at full production of 34 amps to harvest. A very exceptional day indeed. Yet your video also shows a hazy day with a period of clouds and rain. The times you show the controller it is not showing max production. The batteries also showed 88% in the evening. So I'm a bit skeptical.

4.6 kWh proportional to my system of 370 watts would be 2.8 kWh. Running appliances all day in an attempt to keep production at maximum, the best I have seen is about 2.1 kWh.

On the other hand, 2kWh per day from a 600 watt system seems reasonable with generally good solar days.

I think he stated that you could not expect to run that many appliances every day and be able to keep your batteries charged. They ran their batteries down to 50% that evening and turned off all electronics so they could start over again the next day and that it was the afternoon before they were charged back up. Still impressive IMHO.

If they had a couple more batteries and could harvest even more power there, then that would be even better.
12thgenusa
Explorer
Nov 02, 2013
Jason, I see this is your first post on the forum so welcome.

I'm happy that you were able to do what you did. Many people spend a lot of time pointing out what you can't do with solar instead of exploring the possibilities.

I think I understand a little better what you did. You started the day with nearly full batteries, and charged them to full. You ended the day with 50% depleted batteries, taking about 1.9 kWh from the batteries. This left about 4.6 kwh to be produced by solar. This would require 8 to 9+ hours at full production of 34 amps to harvest. A very exceptional day indeed. Yet your video also shows a hazy day with a period of clouds and rain. The times you show the controller it is not showing max production. The batteries also showed 88% in the evening. So I'm a bit skeptical.

4.6 kWh proportional to my system of 370 watts would be 2.8 kWh. Running appliances all day in an attempt to keep production at maximum, the best I have seen is about 2.1 kWh.

On the other hand, 2kWh per day from a 600 watt system seems reasonable with generally good solar days.
pianotuna
Nomad III
Nov 02, 2013
Hi,

I enjoyed the video. http://www.gonewiththewynns.com/extreme-rv-solar

Do you know your daily harvest in amp-hours, assuming good solar conditions?

The_Wynns wrote:
We do NOT use as many electronics on a regular day as we did in this video. This video is exclusively shot to see how far we can push our solar and batteries in one day's use, and trying not to deplete our batteries below 50%. This video was created as a continuation of the original 'solar intro' video we created a few months earlier: http://www.gonewiththewynns.com/extreme-rv-solar

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