Generator vs solar power
Our 2018 Jayco Hummingbird is wired for solar power. Should we buy a solar generator or skip the solar, park in the shade and by a gas generator? Will it charge our battery so we can turn it off dur...
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Mostly toward OP: I've got a 4kw generator and 100W of solar on the roof. Installed the solar myself with 3M VHB tape and angle brackets, ran the wires to a charge controller and then the battery.
The single deep-cycle 12v battery is enough to run lights, fans, fridge (on propane), and water pump for about two days. The solar panels extend that period indefinitely with good sun exposure.
When I need to run the AC, or if my battery is low, I run the generator. This is because my AC NOT ONLY takes an enormous amount of power (say 12 amps) BUT ALSO runs on a different voltage than my batteries output (AC needs 120v alternating current, batteries output 12v direct current). The generator provides a large amount of 120v alternating current (or AC, which is confusing in RVs because we talk a lot about both Air Conditioning and Alternating Current, the former of which runs on the latter).
If I never wanted to run the AC, and if I had good batteries, I wouldn't need my generator. If I wanted to run the AC on my battery/solar setup, I'd need to add several more batteries (to feed the power demands of the air conditioner), ten or more times as many solar panels (to supply more power to the batteries), and an inverter (to "invert" the output of the batteries from 12vDC to 120vAC).
There's no such thing as a solar generator. What you may be describing is a Goal Zero or similar system that is basically a large battery and a large inverter, which device comes pre-wired to easily plug solar panels into it. These things are nifty, but a better solution is to add more batteries to your existing system, add an inverter, and wire solar panels (with a charge controller) directly to your battery bank.
Many, many people set up their rigs as mine is set up: Day to day, they rely on their solar panels to keep their 12v batteries charged, and they rely on their 12v batteries to power all of the incidental electric things in the rig. When they need to run a large appliance or if their batteries are low, they turn on their generators.
Hope this helps. RV electricity isn't super hard, but the learning curve is vertical.
The single deep-cycle 12v battery is enough to run lights, fans, fridge (on propane), and water pump for about two days. The solar panels extend that period indefinitely with good sun exposure.
When I need to run the AC, or if my battery is low, I run the generator. This is because my AC NOT ONLY takes an enormous amount of power (say 12 amps) BUT ALSO runs on a different voltage than my batteries output (AC needs 120v alternating current, batteries output 12v direct current). The generator provides a large amount of 120v alternating current (or AC, which is confusing in RVs because we talk a lot about both Air Conditioning and Alternating Current, the former of which runs on the latter).
If I never wanted to run the AC, and if I had good batteries, I wouldn't need my generator. If I wanted to run the AC on my battery/solar setup, I'd need to add several more batteries (to feed the power demands of the air conditioner), ten or more times as many solar panels (to supply more power to the batteries), and an inverter (to "invert" the output of the batteries from 12vDC to 120vAC).
There's no such thing as a solar generator. What you may be describing is a Goal Zero or similar system that is basically a large battery and a large inverter, which device comes pre-wired to easily plug solar panels into it. These things are nifty, but a better solution is to add more batteries to your existing system, add an inverter, and wire solar panels (with a charge controller) directly to your battery bank.
Many, many people set up their rigs as mine is set up: Day to day, they rely on their solar panels to keep their 12v batteries charged, and they rely on their 12v batteries to power all of the incidental electric things in the rig. When they need to run a large appliance or if their batteries are low, they turn on their generators.
Hope this helps. RV electricity isn't super hard, but the learning curve is vertical.
