Diverting excess solar power to water heater
I'm about to install 1300 watts of solar. During part of the day I should have excess solar power left over. I plan on using the MidNite Solar Classic 150 MPPT controller which allows the excess pow...
Forum Discussion
Changing RV wiring is not that difficult, although sometimes require flexible body.
I rewire most of my RV with my mechanical skills just fine.
But the main issue here is that with lack of 12V heating element (who doesn't care if it gets 14 or 4 volts) - the inverter route require reliable and controlled power supply, that "excess" will never give.
The linked topic where somebody was able to manufacture such element is fun to read for hobbyists, but when you consider that average RVer spend $5 or 10 a year for water heating, the economy of such project is senseless.
I might have couple more ideas to check.
One would be for 12V electric blanket inserted under WH insulation. Such blankets exist for bed, question is can you get them to come to 100F temperatures?
Other option for WH having engine coolant option is to install ceramic resistor inside it, what would give some effect. Such resistor heaters are popular for freezers defrosting and even they are design for 120V, they will give more power than hooking up 12V to original 120V heater. Beside having independent 12V heater, you can still use original 120V at convenient time.
I rewire most of my RV with my mechanical skills just fine.
But the main issue here is that with lack of 12V heating element (who doesn't care if it gets 14 or 4 volts) - the inverter route require reliable and controlled power supply, that "excess" will never give.
The linked topic where somebody was able to manufacture such element is fun to read for hobbyists, but when you consider that average RVer spend $5 or 10 a year for water heating, the economy of such project is senseless.
I might have couple more ideas to check.
One would be for 12V electric blanket inserted under WH insulation. Such blankets exist for bed, question is can you get them to come to 100F temperatures?
Other option for WH having engine coolant option is to install ceramic resistor inside it, what would give some effect. Such resistor heaters are popular for freezers defrosting and even they are design for 120V, they will give more power than hooking up 12V to original 120V heater. Beside having independent 12V heater, you can still use original 120V at convenient time.
