how many batteries
put a deposit on a small jayco toy hauler (octane 222). will pick it up next week. will be mostly used in campgrounds but few times a year i go to nascar races for 3-4 days at a time. have a generator...
Forum Discussion
RJsfishin wrote:
I think every off grid RV should have 2 batteries (200 AHs typical) 12v or 6v, don't matter, its still 200 AHs w/o getting all techie.
But between limited life span, and hauling dead weight around, batteries (like horses) eat hay. So my advice is don't have more batteries than you need, meaning, have just enuff to keep from discharging more than 50% each day.
Do have a means of charging those batteries in about 2 hrs generator run time each day,.....even if they don't get 100% charged. If you have 300 watts of solar, and can depend on sun every day, the batteries will take care of them selves, you don't have to even think about them.
Statements such as "You can't have too much battery capacity" and "You can't have too much solar" are just plain wrong and misleading. :(
RJ was quite right about not getting too much battery for what you can recharge in the time allowed. You can also have too much money invested in solar if you get to Float before lunch all the time.
The proper answer is always, "It depends" (on the scenario).
We have a good body of data here to say how many AH you can replace in how much time using various charging rates (amps vs AH capacity), charging profiles, with the available generator VA power, on Wets or AGMs.
Give us the situation, easy to give the answer for a particular allowed gen time. (You have to start with that--everything can't be a variable. Allowed gen time is one thing you can't control, so must adjust your set-up for. Other things you can't control are RV limitations on number or weight or size of batteries and generator weight and size--but it could be said you can always choose a different RV for the requirements that can carry or fit those.)
Most start out with the chosen RV and then learn afterwards what they can do. No problem, just plug in the facts of the situation, and what you can do in the time allowed can be calculated. If you don't like the answer, get a different RV or go where there is more gen time allowed.
