Critique proposed solar battery upgrade
Currently have a Jayco hybrid (Jayfeather 26L) but moving to a Denali 5th wheel in the spring (2012 DE324LBS). Currently have 4 Trojan T125’s with 600 watts of solar, with a Kisae 2000 watt pure sine...
Forum Discussion
OP, you're Canadian and East Coast. Is that where you boondock?
Although we actively search for sunny sites, we're often shaded or partially shaded out East. So rarely do we get "excess" sun when boondocking, our batteries are routinely partially charged and our solar charger usually stays in bulk/mppt mode all day. So, I too wonder about your "excess" solar.
A generator would help but I don't like them and some places we camp do not allow them. So I would like to have some portable panels, in addition to those on the roof, that can be moved to the sunny spots.
And batteries that survive PSOC would be helpful. Unfortunately, while our FLA batts can be heavily equalized after boondocking, most AGMs cannot. Some have switched to LiFePO4, but I worry about their issues with charging in freezing temperatures (and cost).
There are other possibilities like Firefly's Carbon Foam AGM, and lead acids with a carbon "secret sauce" that are supposed to handle PSOC better (AGM: Outback "Nano-Carbon"; FLA: Trojan T105RE "smart Carbon"). The Outback AGM is my current favourite.
With the sealed AGMs you can put them in a heated interior spot and preserve 20-30% of their capacity when it's cold outside.
And if you're a Snowbird and travel frequently between boondocking sites, you can gain a lot by upgrading your vehicle's charging system. I recently added a 1000W 120VAC inverter in the truck and ran an extension cord back to the charger in the trailer. Big help.
We recently converted to a 24V battery bank and with a 2000W 24V Kisae inverter. It essentially reduces all necessary wire sizes and solar charger Amperage by 1/2. But you've already got your 12V inverter, so maybe not.
Although we actively search for sunny sites, we're often shaded or partially shaded out East. So rarely do we get "excess" sun when boondocking, our batteries are routinely partially charged and our solar charger usually stays in bulk/mppt mode all day. So, I too wonder about your "excess" solar.
A generator would help but I don't like them and some places we camp do not allow them. So I would like to have some portable panels, in addition to those on the roof, that can be moved to the sunny spots.
And batteries that survive PSOC would be helpful. Unfortunately, while our FLA batts can be heavily equalized after boondocking, most AGMs cannot. Some have switched to LiFePO4, but I worry about their issues with charging in freezing temperatures (and cost).
There are other possibilities like Firefly's Carbon Foam AGM, and lead acids with a carbon "secret sauce" that are supposed to handle PSOC better (AGM: Outback "Nano-Carbon"; FLA: Trojan T105RE "smart Carbon"). The Outback AGM is my current favourite.
With the sealed AGMs you can put them in a heated interior spot and preserve 20-30% of their capacity when it's cold outside.
And if you're a Snowbird and travel frequently between boondocking sites, you can gain a lot by upgrading your vehicle's charging system. I recently added a 1000W 120VAC inverter in the truck and ran an extension cord back to the charger in the trailer. Big help.
We recently converted to a 24V battery bank and with a 2000W 24V Kisae inverter. It essentially reduces all necessary wire sizes and solar charger Amperage by 1/2. But you've already got your 12V inverter, so maybe not.
