How Much solar to Add??
We dry camp as much as wet camp. I have tow Trojan T-125's up front providng a good long draw for 240ah. I am looking to keep these charged up. 300-400-500 Watts? Waterpump and heater are the two larg...
Forum Discussion
Again I have to comment...
I have never, ever heard or read a complaint that said "I purchased too many solar panels"
A possibly useful question is: When you depart on a boondocking trip the batteries are jammed full, right?
The morning after you arrive, where do you find yourself state-of-charge-wise? Trying to get a handle on your usage. Try and remember a trip where you used the heater the first night. Do you arrive in the afternoon and find yourself needing to recharge your batteries the next day?
Do you "conserve" while wishing you didn't have to? This is a lifestyle choice and I believe it to be important. If you grumble to yourself "Switch this off ASAP, and don't use that" like rationing TV and DVD use, this is a factor. Deciding to limit heater use causing discomfort is another. Boondocking in comfort happens to be a major objective for me. Turn this off, and don't use that, irritates me. I happen to need a lot of light for reading, and having champagne tastes with a beer budget complicates it. Listening to Strauss, or Chopin, when reading causes some serious amp hours to be extracted. I have RV'ing friends who go to bed and arise with the chickens. No TV, no music, few or no lights at night (campfire) and their amp hour consumption is a tenth of mine.
L16's average around 320 ampere hours. Golf car batteries average around 220 ampere hours. Pondering present night amp hour usage versus "wanted" accessory usage might reveal useful information to you about what will be "sufficient". If the capacity of a pair of L-16's is "outgrown", you face a serious hurdle. The L-16's will offer around 140% as much capacity as two good quality golf car batteries (6 cells worth).
Hope This Helps
I have never, ever heard or read a complaint that said "I purchased too many solar panels"
A possibly useful question is: When you depart on a boondocking trip the batteries are jammed full, right?
The morning after you arrive, where do you find yourself state-of-charge-wise? Trying to get a handle on your usage. Try and remember a trip where you used the heater the first night. Do you arrive in the afternoon and find yourself needing to recharge your batteries the next day?
Do you "conserve" while wishing you didn't have to? This is a lifestyle choice and I believe it to be important. If you grumble to yourself "Switch this off ASAP, and don't use that" like rationing TV and DVD use, this is a factor. Deciding to limit heater use causing discomfort is another. Boondocking in comfort happens to be a major objective for me. Turn this off, and don't use that, irritates me. I happen to need a lot of light for reading, and having champagne tastes with a beer budget complicates it. Listening to Strauss, or Chopin, when reading causes some serious amp hours to be extracted. I have RV'ing friends who go to bed and arise with the chickens. No TV, no music, few or no lights at night (campfire) and their amp hour consumption is a tenth of mine.
L16's average around 320 ampere hours. Golf car batteries average around 220 ampere hours. Pondering present night amp hour usage versus "wanted" accessory usage might reveal useful information to you about what will be "sufficient". If the capacity of a pair of L-16's is "outgrown", you face a serious hurdle. The L-16's will offer around 140% as much capacity as two good quality golf car batteries (6 cells worth).
Hope This Helps
