battery charging basics
i'm planning a 6 month trip in a minivan staying mostly in nat parks, probably with no hookups since i think hookup sites cost a lot more i need a bit of power for my electronics mostly and maybe a...
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I dunno, do you want to spend a few hours every week removing, returning, and re installing batteries?
Starter batteries are not the answer. Costco or Sam's club sell 6v Golf Cart batteries for $90 a pop. Hooking two of them up to get 12v will give you 220 AH of capacity and you won't need to remove and return them.
You'll need to do some research on solar power:Jack and Dan Meyer You will only get 5hr. of maximum solar harvest per day. The rest of the time will be productive but less so during the day.
When designing the solar charging system, the most important thing to define is your usage. Your RV will use power for alarms and circuit boards, lights, pumps, fans, and, if you use an electric fridge, that will be the biggest power user. A $700 12v. Danfoss compressor fridge may use an average of 48 W but a standard dorm fridge will use more. My new dorm fridge uses an average of 40 AH/day if I leave the door closed. A 12V starter battery will be discharged below 50% state of charge in a day just from the draw of the fridge.
Starter batteries are not the answer. Costco or Sam's club sell 6v Golf Cart batteries for $90 a pop. Hooking two of them up to get 12v will give you 220 AH of capacity and you won't need to remove and return them.
You'll need to do some research on solar power:Jack and Dan Meyer You will only get 5hr. of maximum solar harvest per day. The rest of the time will be productive but less so during the day.
When designing the solar charging system, the most important thing to define is your usage. Your RV will use power for alarms and circuit boards, lights, pumps, fans, and, if you use an electric fridge, that will be the biggest power user. A $700 12v. Danfoss compressor fridge may use an average of 48 W but a standard dorm fridge will use more. My new dorm fridge uses an average of 40 AH/day if I leave the door closed. A 12V starter battery will be discharged below 50% state of charge in a day just from the draw of the fridge.
