Recharging via generator and/or solar panels

BFL13 wrote:
Fridge on propane plus LP alarm and stereo clock takes 17AH/day in our rig, when we are away, fridge left on. That was in the summer daytime 80F. If using the rig, don't know fridge draw. The door would be opened and closed many times, which must add to it.

The actual draw is a small amount when the burner is not lit, part of a 0.3a standing draw in the rig. The burner when on takes another 0.5a

This pretty much confirms that unless I am staying at a park with hookups, it's no wonder the generator runs so much, hours wise per day, staying on top of keeping that single 24 DC battery charged up.

So, pretty sure at this point that 2 GC's and another solar panel are in my future.

Fridge on propane plus LP alarm and stereo clock takes 17AH/day in our rig, when we are away, fridge left on. That was in the summer daytime 80F. If using the rig, don't know fridge draw. The door would be opened and closed many times, which must add to it.

The actual draw is a small amount when the burner is not lit, part of a 0.3a standing draw in the rig. The burner when on takes another 0.5a

pianotuna wrote:
Hi nine,

That depends. I had room for three group 29 12 volt jars. I decided to upgrade to seven of them, giving up a compartment.

2 golf cart six volts still only get you to about 220 amp-hours. 2 group 29 may do 230 amp-hours.

Yeah, but 2 GC's will last a lot longer than a couple of WalMart special Group 29's, and get a lot more recharge cycles.

I've got a start on some solar, and I've got plenty of generator too. For like when I feel like nuking a TV dinner instead of cooking, for more time to tie flies before going fly fishing the next day.

Hi nine,

That depends. I had room for three group 29 12 volt jars. I decided to upgrade to seven of them, giving up a compartment.

2 golf cart six volts still only get you to about 220 amp-hours. 2 group 29 may do 230 amp-hours.

WTF? That's almost 45-50% drained, running absolutely no other goodies, in a 24 hour period, for your basic cheesy group 24 battery with 75AH at 20 amp load? I think it's GC-2 time reaaaal soon.

pianotuna wrote:
Hi nine,

The usual number quoted is about 30 to 36 amp-hours for running the fridge on propane, and all other parasitic loads.

NinerBikes wrote:
How many amp hours do you think that fridge and propane detector draw in a 24 hour period?

Hi nine,

The usual number quoted is about 30 to 36 amp-hours for running the fridge on propane, and all other parasitic loads.

NinerBikes wrote:
How many amp hours do you think that fridge and propane detector draw in a 24 hour period?

Expensive ? Smoke the battery expensive !
When I got my first 100 watt panel, and waiting on the controller, I connected directly to a 1/2 a$$ed.....1/2 charged 20 AH AGM battery, and in less than an hr, the whole carport smelled like battery acid. Won't do that no more !!

christopherglenn wrote:

Where things get exciting is if you are closer to 90% SOC, then several hours of clear sun can get expensive.

Expensive? please elaborate.

christopherglenn wrote:
Not much. The 120 watt panels at 17.2 volts generate just under 7 amps, 225 AH @ 75% you are down 56 amps. In theory you will need 8 hours of direct sunlight just to fill the bank. With the fridge and propane detector running at the same time you are likely closer to 10 hours. On a cloudy day you may be seeing 30% output - which doesn't matter, as there isn't 10 hours of daylight anyway.
Where things get exciting is if you are closer to 90% SOC, then several hours of clear sun can get expensive.

How many amp hours do you think that fridge and propane detector draw in a 24 hour period?

I have a wall mounted Volt and Amp meter installed, so I have a pretty good idea of what's going on.

With 120 watts through a controller, and a 100 watt panel un-controlled my 2 GC's voltage only gets into the 15 volt range when battery is close to 100% and un-controlled panel is facing bright direct sun. Unless you were close to full, you aren't going to run into problems. If you were to leave for a day, you might briefly over-charge; the sun will only be directly on panel for a short time. I wouldn't worry about it.

I have a controller on the 2 60 watt panels as they are fixed on the trailer. The 100 watt panel (not controlled) is portable, and used as needed.

Regards,
Doug