pianotuna wrote:
So how is the system working?
Update: I've been boondocking 3-4 times with this RV (200AH lead acid batteries and 500w of solar installed) each time for 3-4 days. The most strain on the batteries was a trip where I was camping in 35-40 degree F nighttime weather and running the furnace at night. Plenty of TV time and computer use also. I think the lowest I saw the battery bank in the morning was in the high 60s (60% batteries full). As soon as the sun came up the solar kicked in and within a few hours I was up to 85-90% and always up to about 95% by sundown. As you know, the last ~5% charge on your battery tends to take a very long time with lead acid batteries (...they only seem to allow about 1-2 amps in at a time even if your system can deliver 20-30).
All-in-all, I haven't had to worry at all about my batteries at all with my newly installed 500w solar system. I ended up adding an identical 500w system onto my other Majestic 28a. The last battery related project I need/want to do is to add one more 100AH lead acid battery to one of my RVs. This will give me 300AH, but more importantly I believe I'll be able to run my microwave through my 2000w inverter with 3 batteries. (With just 2 lead acid batteries the amp draw through each will be about 80amps which I'm not comfortable with. With 3 batteries it drops down to ~50amps from each battery which I think is manageable for a few minute microwave task.)
Happy Camping!
Chris
