theoldwizard1 wrote:
magnusson wrote:
Can I use a 100 watt 12v portable solar panel to help charge the battery? If so how would I wire it? Thanks
100 watts is better than nothing. Just connect the output of the solar charge controller to the output of the battery bank,
It's barely better than nothing. OP has described 400ah of battery bank. He can safely discharge about 50% or 200ah. Depending on sun, angle, wiring used, etc. he will be lucky to get 6-7 usable amps at the controller in maximum daylight with a 100 watt panel. At that rate it would take about 30 hours of maximum sun to recharge 200ah.
Just basic parasitic loads (smoke alarm, propane detector, etc.) will use about an amp. Add some (very few if not LED) lights, water pump and other necessities, it doesn't take much to rack up 20-30ah overnight when the sun's not helping. This alone would be recoverable with a 100 watt panel. Add more loads than this (residential fridge, TV, DVD player, furnace,etc.) and you better bring a generator along.
