If you wish to eliminate generator use, 400 watts of panels would be the minimum I would install. I did 256 watts--but that was went panels were $5.50 per watt, now the lowest price I've seen is 26 cents per watt.
The wfco is NOT going to finish charging the batteries. The voltage is too low. You need to equalize the jars and that requires at least 14.4 volts and 14.8 would be significantly faster and better.
SJ-Chris wrote:
Update: Yes, my RV does have a battery disconnect switch. This was the first time ever that I accidentally left it on, draining the batteries for 14 days down to 11.4v. The only thing on was about 6 LED bulbs.
I took off the stand-alone battery charger once the batteries were up to about 12.5v. I plugged back into shore power and the WFCO converter fan kicked on and started charging the batteries. I left it on overnight and when I went out this morning it was charging at 13.8v. Seems like they should be good and charged now (3 12v deep-cycle batteries in my bank).
One thing I'm thinking about doing is adding 100w (or 200w) solar. This seems like it would be a great way to keep the batteries charged when not camping, and when camping they would provide much less need for plugging in and/or generator usage.
Thanks all for your suggestions!
-Chris
